Who won big at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards? See the full list

As Hollywood's 2026 awards season officially kicks off, theCritics Choice Awardsmight be offering an early look at this year's Oscar ballot.

During the Santa Monica, California, awards ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 4, "Sinners" and "Frankenstein" went neck-and-neck, tying for the most trophies, with four wins each, including best supporting actor for "Frankenstein" star Jacob Elordi and best young actor for Miles Caton of "Sinners." Meanwhile, "One Battle After Another" took home best picture, best director (for Paul Thomas Anderson) and best adapted screenplay.

In TV, "Adolescence" had a big night as the Netflix series scored four trophies; meanwhile, HBO's hit drama "The Pitt" and Apple TV's "The Studio" tied in second place with three wins each.

In the closely watched best actor and actress categories, "Marty Supreme" leading manTimothée Chalametand "Hamnet" starJessie Buckleyreigned supreme, launching to the forefront for theAcademy Awards.

Full list of winners at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards:

Hollywood's biggest names got glam for the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, Jan. 4, in Santa Monica, California. See which stars hit the red carpet, starting with Ariana Grande.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Elle Fanning

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Adam Sandler and Jackie Sandler

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Host Chelsea Handler

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Mia Goth

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Michael Peña

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ramy Youssef

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Mia Goth

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Chloé Zhao

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Critics Choice Awards 2026 – See Ariana Grande, more red carpet stars

Hollywood's biggest names got glam for the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, Jan. 4, in Santa Monica, California. See which stars hit the red carpet, starting with Ariana Grande.

FILM

Best picture

"One Battle After Another"

Best actor

Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme"

Best actress

Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet"

Best supporting actor

Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein"

Best supporting actress

Amy Madigan, "Weapons"

Best young actor/actress

Miles Caton, "Sinners"

Best director

Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another"

Best original screenplay

Ryan Coogler, "Sinners"

Best adapted screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another"

Best casting and ensemble

Francine Maisler, "Sinners"

Best cinematography

Adolpho Veloso, "Train Dreams"

Best production design

Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau, "Frankenstein"

Best editing

Stephen Mirrione, "F1"

Best costume design

Kate Hawley, "Frankenstein"

Best hair and makeup

Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey, "Frankenstein"

Best visual effects

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett, "Avatar: Fire and Ash"

Best stunt design

Wade Eastwood, "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning"

Best animated feature

"KPop Demon Hunters"

Best comedy

"The Naked Gun"

Best foreign language film

"The Secret Agent"

Best song

"Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters," Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy

Best score

Ludwig Göransson, "Sinners"

Best sound

Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John, "F1"

Best drama series

Best actor in a drama series

Noah Wyle, "The Pitt"

Best actress in a drama series

Rhea Seehorn, "Pluribus"

Best supporting actor in a drama series

Tramell Tillman, "Severance"

Best supporting actress in a drama series

Katherine LaNasa, "The Pitt"

Best comedy series

"The Studio"

Best actor in a comedy series

Seth Rogen, "The Studio"

Best actress in a comedy series

Jean Smart, "Hacks"

Best supporting actor in a comedy series

Ike Barinholtz, "The Studio"

Best supporting actress in a comedy series

Janelle James, "Abbott Elementary"

Best limited series

"Adolescence"

Best movie made for TV

"Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy"

Best actor in a limited series or movie made for TV

Stephen Graham, "Adolescence"

Best actress in a limited series or movie made for TV

Sarah Snook, "All Her Fault"

Best supporting actor in a limited series or movie made for TV

Owen Cooper, "Adolescence"

Best supporting actress in a limited series or movie made for TV

Erin Doherty, "Adolescence"

Best foreign language series

"Squid Game"

Best animated series

"South Park"

Best talk show

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Best variety series

"Last Week Tonight With John Oliver"

Best comedy special

"SNL50: The Anniversary Special"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Critics Choice Awards 2026 winners – Full list

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 04, 2026

Who won big at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards? See the full list

As Hollywood's 2026 awards season officially kicks off, theCritics Choice Awardsmight be offering an early look at th...

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Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 say their struggles linger, 5 years after the riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Donald Trumpwas inaugurated for the second timeon Jan. 20, 2025, former Capitol Police Sgt.Aquilino Gonellput his phone on "do not disturb" and left it on his nightstand to take a break from the news.

That evening, after Gonell spent time with family and took his dog on a long walk, his phone started to blow up with calls. He had messages from federal prosecutors, FBI agents and the federal Bureau of Prisons — all letting him know that the new president had justpardoned about 1,500 peoplewho had been convicted for their actions at the Capitol onJan. 6, 2021. The pardons included rioters who had injured Gonell as he and other officers tried to protect the building.

"They told me that people I testified against were being released from prison," Gonell said. "And to be mindful."

Gonell was one of the officers whodefended the central West Front entrance to the Capitolthat day as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory and hundreds of Trump's supportersbroke into the building, echoing his false claims of a stolen election. Gonell was dragged into the crowd by his shoulder straps as he tried to fight people off. He almost suffocated. In court, hetestified about injuriesto his shoulder and foot that still bother him to this day.

"They have tried to erase what I did" with the pardons and other attempts to play down the violent attack, Gonell said. "I lost my career, my health, and I've been trying to get my life back."

Five years since the siege, Gonell and some of the other police officers who fought off the rioters are still coming to terms with what happened, especially after Trump was decisively elected to a second term last year and granted those pardons. Their struggle has been compounded by statements from the Republican president and some GOP lawmakers in Congressminimizing the violencethat the officers encountered.

"It's been a difficult year," said Officer Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who was also injured as he fought near Gonell in a tunnel on the West Front. Hodges was attacked several times, crushed by the rioters between heavy doors and beaten in the head as he screamed for help.

"A lot of things are getting worse," Hodges said.

An evolving narrative

More than 140 police officers were injured during the fighting on Jan. 6, which turned increasingly brutal as the hours wore on.

Former Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger took over the department six months after the riot. He said in a recent interview that many of his officers were angry when he first arrived, not only because of injuries they suffered but also "they resented the fact that theydidn't have the equipment they needed, the training they needed" to deal with the unexpectedly violent crowd.

Several officers who fought the rioters told The Associated Press that the hardest thing to deal with has been the effort by many toplay down the violence, despite amassive trove of video and photographic evidencedocumenting the carnage.

Trump has called the rioters he pardoned, including those who were most violent toward the police, "patriots" and "hostages." He called their convictions for harming the officers and breaking into the building "a grave national injustice."

"I think that was wrong," Adam Eveland, a former District of Columbia police officer, said of Trump's pardons. If there were to be pardons, Eveland said, Trump's administration should have reviewed every case.

"I've had a hard time processing that," said Eveland, who fought the rioters and helped to push them off the Capitol grounds.

The pardons "erased what little justice there was," said former Capitol Police Officer Winston Pingeon, who was part of the force's Civil Disturbance Unit on Jan. 6. He left the force several months afterward.

Pushback from lawmakers and the public

Hodges and Gonell have been speaking out about their experiences since July 2021, when theytestifiedbefore the Democratic-led House committee that investigated Jan 6. Since then, they have received support but also backlash.

At a Republican-led Senate hearing in October on political violence, Hodges testified again as a witness called by Democrats. After Hodges spoke about his experience on Jan. 6, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked the other witnesses whether they supported Trump's pardons of the rioters, including for those who injured Hodges. Three of the witnesses, all called by Republicans, raised their hands.

"I don't know how you would say it wasn't violent," says Hodges, who is still a Washington police officer.

It has not just been politicians or the rioters who have doubted the police. It also is friends and family.

"My biggest struggle through the years has been the public perception of it," Eveland said, and navigating conversations with people close to him, including some fellow police officers, who do not think it was a big deal.

"It's hard for me to wrap my head around that, but ideology is a pretty powerful thing," he said.

Improvements in safety and support

As police officers struggled in the aftermath, Manger, the former Capitol Police chief, said the department had to figure out how to better support them. There were no wellness or counseling services when he arrived, he said, and they were put in to place.

"The officers who were there and were in the fight — we needed to make sure that they got the help that they needed," Manger said.

Manger, who retired in May, also oversaw major improvements to the department's training, equipment, operational planning and intelligence. He said the Capitol is now "a great deal safer" than it was when he arrived.

"If that exact same thing happened again, they would have never breached the building, they would have never gotten inside, they would have never disrupted the electoral count," Manger said.

Pingeon, the former Capitol Police officer, said he believes the department is in many ways "unrecognizable" from what it was on Jan. 6 and when he left several months later.

"It was a wake-up call," he said.

Pressing on

Pingeon, who was attacked and knocked to the ground as he tried to prevent people from entering the Capitol, said Jan. 6 was part of the reason he left the department and moved home to Massachusetts. He has dealt with his experience by painting images of the Capitol and his time there, as well as advocating for nonviolence. He said he now feels ready to forgive.

"The real trauma and heartache and everything I endured because of these events, I want to move past it," he said.

Gonell left the Capitol Police because of his injuries. He has not returned to service, though he hopes to work again. He wrote a book about his experience, and he said he still has post-traumatic stress disorder related to the attack.

While many of the officers who were there have stayed quiet about their experiences, Eveland said he decided that it was important to talk publicly about Jan. 6 to try to reach people and "come at it from a logical standpoint."

Still, he said, "I've had to come to terms with the fact that just because something happened to me and was a major part of my world doesn't mean that everyone else has to understand that or even be sympathetic to that."

He added: "The only thing I can do is tell my story, and hopefully the people who respect me will eventually listen."

byDaniel Coleman

in

January 04, 2026

Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 say their struggles linger, 5 years after the riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Donald Trumpwas inaugurated for the second timeon Jan. 20, 2025, former Capitol Police Sgt.Aquilino ...

Read More