CCA Winners: ‘One Battle After Another’ Wins Picture-Director; Chalamet, Buckley, Elordi & Madigan Win Acting Awards

Not that it’s ever been considered an Oscar precursor, but due to demand, I’ll start a thread updating the Critics’ Choice Awards winners at 7 PM Eastern. These awards are voted on by approximately 500 CCA members.

It’s practically a foregone conclusion that “One Battle After Another” will win Best Picture, Best Director, and maybe some acting awards tonight — no other serious rival seems to have emerged this awards season

UPDATES/NOTES:

It came as absolutely no surprise that “One Battle After Another” won Best Picture at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards. Is anything going to stop the film’s momentum on its way to what feels like an inevitable triumph on Oscar night in March? I don’t see any other contender stepping up—the closest challenger appears to be “Sinners.”

Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”) gets Best Director. He’s released many masterful films in his career, has been consistently snubbed, and has never won the Oscar — that’ll change very soon. It won’t be for his best film, not even top five, but the same can be said for Scorsese, who popped his Oscar cherry for “The Departed” (still a great film).

Timothée Chalamet, whom I’ve been predicting for weeks now to win his first Oscar, is one step closer to that goal. Winning the CCA ups his momentum—and really, who else could win it? DiCaprio? He’s already won. Michael B. Jordan? There isn’t much depth to that role (or those roles). Wagner Moura? Will enough voters even see the film? No—most likely, it will come down to Chalamet or Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and I’ll be satisfied if either of them wins it.

Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) is crowned Best Actress. All right, fine — great performance, and she’s the current front-runner, but all hail Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), who deserves it more. Here’s hoping for an Oscar upset in what’s shaping up as a two-way race in this category.

Jacob Elordi winning supporting actor for “Frankenstein” was certainly a surprise. Benicio del Toro (”One Battle After Another”) swept awards season, and was expected to win this category. Maybe his ‘One Battle’ co-star, Sean Penn, stole a few votes away from him.

Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for “Weapons.” Many thought Teyana Taylor (”One Battle After Another”) had this one in the bag. Evidently not. The question now is whether Madigan can take the Oscar. She’s been acting for more than five decades and has never enjoyed this level of awards traction before. That late-career surge makes for a compelling narrative.

Best Picture: One Battle After Another

Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

Best Animated Film: K-Pop Demon Hunters

Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler (Sinners)

Best Score: Ludwig Göransson (Sinners)

Best Supporting Actor: Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)

Best Foreign Language Film: The Secret Agent

Best Comedy Film: The Naked Gun

Best Cinematography: Train Dreams

Best Casting/Ensemble: Sinners

Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Sound: F1

Best Song: “Golden” — KPop Demon Hunters

Best Production Design: Frankenstein