Critics Choice Awards 2026: Complete Winners List & Red Carpet Highlights
Complete 2026 Critics Choice Awards recap: shocking Best Picture winner, red-carpet fashion, and the speech that stole the night.
A Night of Surprises and Standing Ovations
Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar shimmered under a canopy of lights Sunday as Hollywood’s sharpest critics handed out their 2026 trophies. From the moment Da’Vine Joy Randolph kicked off the red-carpet arrivals with a midnight-blue Valentino train that required three handlers, the evening promised spectacle—and delivered.
The Speech Everyone’s Talking About
Midway through the telecast, Cillian Murphy accepted Best Actor for Oppenheimer II and paused, visibly shaken. “I thought I’d be bored of trophies by now,” he told the hushed room, “but when your kids think the statue makes a better lightsaber, you remember none of it is guaranteed.” The line drew a roar that rolled into the commercial break.
Upset in Best Picture
Few pundits had money on The Memory Thief, the micro-budget Korean thriller that landed on Netflix only three weeks ago. Yet the critics rallied around its twisty meditation on surveillance culture, vaulting director Lee Min-jung onto the stage for the night’s final envelope. “We shot on expired stock and borrowed streetlights,” she grinned, hoisting the crystal trophy. “Turns out frugality looks like vision if you squint hard enough.”
Red Carpet Snapshots
- Zendaya arrived in vintage Galliano—1996 archive, fresh from conservation.
- Paul Mescal matched his date—mom—on emerald lapels.
- Anya Taylor-Joy sparked a thousand memes by carrying a clutch shaped like a Polaroid.
“I wore sneakers under this gown because critics keep you on your feet,” laughed Supporting Actress winner Ariana DeBose, flashing cherry-red Converse as proof.
Streaming vs. Cinema: Score One for Theaters
Apple’s WWII epic Silver Skies took four technical prizes, but every performance award went to titles that enjoyed exclusive theatrical runs. Insiders read the split as critics nudging studios back to 90-day windows.
The After-Party Whisper
By 1 a.m. the dance floor at the Viceroy belonged to Greta Lee and Charles Melton, trading verses from the Mean Girls soundtrack while Barbie director Greta Gerwig filmed on her phone like a proud camp counselor. Somewhere between the mini corn dogs and the espresso martinis, a studio chief was overheard saying the quiet part loud: “If we can bottle this energy, awards season just got interesting.”