The 30th Critics Choice Awards have chosen Anora as their Best Picture of 2024. Sean Baker’s only win on the night was the top prize, but in a year where the race for Best Picture is wide open, this was a much needed win for the Neon film, as it went home empty handed at the Golden Globes a month ago. It is the first film in CCA history to win Best Picture as its only award.
In the night’s most shocking win, Jon M. Chu was awarded Best Director for Wicked. Chu, not nominated in the same category at the Oscars, DGA, or BAFTA is a puzzling win, one that many predicted to go to Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, and will be a true outlier in the ongoing season. Speaking of The Brutalist, Adrien Brody won Best Actor, which was the film’s sole win on the night, and putting him outfront as the man to beat in the category going forward.
A big winner on the night was The Substance, which took home Best Actress for Demi Moore, Best Hair and Makeup, and Best Original Screenplay for the film’s writer-director Coralie Fargeat. Conclave took home the other screenplay prize for Peter Straughan’s adaptation of Robert Harris’ celebrated novel of the same name, as well as Best Ensemble. Could we be looking at our Oscar screenplay winners or the SAG Ensemble winner; we’ll see.
Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain, further cementing his place as the frontrunner for the Oscar. Culkin seems like the most sure bet this season for someone in the acting categories, as he will most like continue to win all the major awards moving forward, including the Academy Awards. Netflix’s Emilia Perez had a strong night, winning three awards including Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña, Best International Feature Film, and Best Song. These wins come off the heels of a controversial week for the film regarding its lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón discovered social media posts and her fumbled attempts at making a sincere apology.
It is worth noting that the winners for the Critics Choice Awards were voted on several weeks ago before most of the online discourse for various films in the race surfaced. Only time will tell with the upcoming guilds and BAFTA awards just how much tonight’s winners will impact the Oscar race moving forward.
On the TV side of things, it was another impressive showing for Shōgun (FX/Hulu), winning Best Drama Series alongside Hiroyuki Sanada for Best Actor, Tadanobu Asano for Best Supporting Actor) and Moeka Hoshi for Best Supporting Actress. In a shocking upset, Kathy Bates took home the prize for Best Actress in a Drama series for Matlock (CBS), the only win for broadcast television on the night. Over in the Comedy categories, Hacks (HBO/Max) home Best Comedy Series, as well as wins for the show’s stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Adam Brody received Best Actor in a Comedy for Nobody Wants This (Netflix) and Michael Urie won Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for Shrinking (Apple TV+).
In the limited series categories, Baby Reindeer (Netflix) won Best Limited Series, matching its win from the Emmys and Golden Globe, as well as Jessica Gunning winning Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television. The Penguin (HBO/Max) took home a pair of wins for Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti in the Best Actor and Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television categories. Live Schreiber rounded out the winners in the Limited Series or Movie Made for Television with a win for Best Supporting Actor for his work on The Perfect Couple (Netflix).
Here is the complete list of winners of the 30th Critics Choice Awards for film and television.
BEST PICTURE
Anora – WINNER
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked
BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist – WINNER
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic
BEST ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance – WINNER
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain – WINNER
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez – WINNER
BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Elliott Heffernan – Blitz
Maisy Stella – My Old Ass – WINNER
Izaac Wang – Didi
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Anora
Conclave – WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked
BEST DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker – Anora
Edward Berger – Conclave
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Jon M. Chu – Wicked – WINNER
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Sean Baker – Anora
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David – September 5
Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.
Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.