The 31st annual Critics Choice Awards are less than a month away when they will announce the winners on Janurary 4th airing live on E! and USA. We are a mere few days away from the nominations being announced where we will start to narrow the races down in the biggest catergories. Below I share my predictions in the big catergories.

My podcast partner at Awards Central broke down our thoughts on the big catergories and the shortlists that were announced on the latest episode. You can check that out on all podcast platforms here and the video version below. We will also be reacting to the nominations along with the Golden Globe nominations on December 8th.

2026 Critics Choice Awards Predictions

Best Film

One Battle After Another
Sinners
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Frankenstein
Sentimental Value
Wicked For Good
No Other Choice
Train Dreams

Best Director

One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson
Sinners – Ryan Coogler
Marty Supreme – Josh Safdie
Hamnet – Chloe Zhao
No Other Choice – Park Chan-wook
Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro

Best Actress

Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Best Actor

Timothee Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
George Clooney – Jay Kelly
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Dwayne Johnson – The Smash Machine

Best Supporting Actress

Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners

Best Supporting Actor

Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly

Best Original Screenplay

Sinners
Sentimental Value
Marty Supreme
It Was Just An Accident
Jay Kelly
A House of Dynamite

Best Adapted Screenplay

One Battle After Another
Hamnet
Frankenstein
Wake Up Dead: A Knives Out Mystery
No Other Choice
Train Dreams

Check out the full predictions in our video below