Anticipating the Critics Choice Awards Nominations: A Look at the Front-Runners
The upcoming Critics Choice Awards nominations are highly anticipated for films like "One Battle After Another," "Hamnet," "Sentimental Value," and "Sinners." These movies are expected to receive multiple nominations when the announcements are made. The TV nominees will also be revealed soon.
If "One Battle After Another" performs well in the nominations, it will cap off a busy week of recognition at various awards ceremonies like the Gotham Awards, New York Film Critics Circle Awards, National Board of Review, and AFI Awards. "Sentimental Value" and "Sinners" have already received accolades from these organizations, with AFI showing some love for "Hamnet" as well.
In November, "Sinners" led the pack with 13 nominations across 11 categories in the Critics Choice Awards below-the-line shortlists. Other films like "F1," "Frankenstein," and "Wicked: For Good" also received recognition in multiple categories.
"The Perfect Neighbor" was honored as the best nonfiction film of 2025 at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in November. This Netflix film, which tells the story of a white woman in Florida who shot her Black neighbor, won five awards, including best director for Geeta Gandbhir.
The Critics Choice Awards are known to be a strong indicator of potential Academy Award nominees, with about 75% of their nominees going on to receive Oscar nominations. The ceremony will be broadcast live on E! and the USA Network on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET, with Chelsea Handler returning as the host for the fourth consecutive time.
Stay tuned as we will be updating the list of nominees live, so make sure to check back with us for the latest updates.