by: Chloe Wilson

Culture Editor

The 31st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards, hosted by Chelsea Handler, took place on Sunday, Jan 4. The ceremony was held at Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar, and was streamed live on E! and USA. The awards went to many successful directors, actors, and films, including Sinners, Adolescence, and One Battle After Another.

One Battle After Another took home the award for best picture. Additionally, Paul Thomas Anderson won the Best Director award for the film. Sinners received 17 nominations, almost matching Barbie’s record of 18 nominations in 2024, and received four awards such as Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), Best Young Actor/Actress (Miles Caton), Best Casting & Ensemble (Francine Maisler), and Best Score (Ludwig Göransson). The critics organization added four new categories this year: Best Sound Design, Best Stunt Design, Best Variety Series, and Best Casting/Ensemble. Furthermore, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was named Best Talk Show despite it’s brief and controversial suspension in September. 

As for the acting-specific categories, Timothee Chalamet won best actor for his role in Marty Supreme, standing out for Chalamet’s impressive skill of character study, while Jessie Buckley won best actress for Hamnet. Hamnet was a film centered on grief and the emotional life behind Shakespeare’s work, which gave room for Buckley to deliver a passionate performance. Horror made a surprising but deserved appearance in the acting category, as Amy Madigan won best supporting actress for the film Weapons, and Jacob Elordi won best supporting actor for Frankenstein. Sarah Snook won Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for her role in All Her Fault. Stephen Graham of Adolescence took best actor of a limited series. Erin Doherty and Owen Cooper of Adolescence won Best Supporting Actress and Actor in a Limited Series. The Studio received the award for the best comedy series. Seth Rogen and Ike Barinholtz from the show, along with Jean Smart from Hacks and Janelle James from Abbott Elementary, received acting awards in the comedy series categories.

KPop Demon Hunters, a film from Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, won Best Animated Feature with its song Golden taking home the award for Best Song. EJAE, the main singer of Golden, explained that the song “needed to be an expression of hope to convince herself (Rumi) that she could write and reach for her dreams. In many ways, it did the same for me, but most importantly, for it to be giving hope to so many people around the world is truly the greatest honor.”

For acting in a drama series, Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress for their roles in The Pitt, a series about the conflicts surrounding healthcare workers in America. Rhea Seehorn won best actress in a drama series for Pluribus and Tramell Tillman won best supporting actor in Severance. 

The 31st Critics’ Choice Awards proved highly successful in implementing new awards, spotlighting recent films, and shining light on underrepresented actors and actresses.(Sources: Critics’ Choice, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times)