KPop Demon Hunters were among the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards winners that were announced this past Sunday, January 4, 2026. While it was an incredible night for pop entertainment fans, Demon Hunters only won two of the trophies, with the Soundtrack category going to Sinners.
Because the Critics’ Choice Awards often predict Oscar winners, you should keep reading for the complete list of winners to see who might win big at the Academy Awards later in the year.
KPop Demon Hunters and Sinners Win Music Awards at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards
Awards season is here, and it began with a bang this past Sunday, January 4, 2026, with the 31st annual Critics’ Choice Awards.
The awards ceremony celebrates the best movies and television shows in the past year, as voted by entertainment journalists and critics. They’re fun to watch because the winners often win Oscars as well.
This year’s event handed out awards in 44 categories that parallel the 24 we see at the Oscars. Two of these categories celebrate the musical arts in film: soundtrack score and song.
The Score category went to Sinners.
The critics chose Ludwig Göransson’s score for Sinners as the Best Soundtrack Score in 2025. They noted that his work defined the film’s tension, emotion, and immersive atmosphere. This gave him his second CCA award after his previous win for 2024’s Oppenheimer.
The stacked competition makes the win even more impressive, since everyone deserved the award:
KPop Demon Hunters grabbed Best Song at the Critics’ Choice Awards
The Best Song category was nothing but “Golden”. KPop Demon Hunters got the award for the iconic song, with recognition given to Ejae and Mark Sonnenblick for writing it. Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami joined the two on stage, along with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans.
The win cemented the animated movie’s rise to popularity and pop cultural impact. During her victory speech, Ejae noted how she mixed her own pop idol experience with her character’s journey into the song, creating something relatable, honest, and deeply meaningful.
It will be interesting to see if Demon Hunters can win the Best Song Oscar as well. The Academy tends to agree with the critics. So, it’s very possible. Plus, Demon Hunters is up against the same competition:
KPop Demon Hunters Also Won Best Animated Feature
KPop Demon Hunters just kept on winning, too. Besides Best Song, the Netflix original also bagged the Best Animated Feature category, making it one of the night’s biggest winners.
The win placed the flashy K-pop movie in the same league as past winners such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, and Soul. Every one of them shared a common thread: strong emotional storytelling and clear artistic ambition.
Meanwhile, South Park won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Animated Series in 2025.
The Other Critics’ Choice Awards Winners
While KPop Demon Hunters dominated the music and animation categories, it failed to make a dent in the others. Still, those categories gave us a glimpse into the state of Hollywood as we head into the Golden Globes this weekend and the greater awards season that lies beyond.
Overall, the Critics’ Choice Association presented 44 awards this year. Twelve of them were dedicated to movies:
- Best Motion Picture – One Battle After Another
- Best Actor in a Movie – Timothée Chalamet for his work in Marty Supreme.
- Best Actress in a Movie – Jessie Buckley for Hamnet.
- Best Supporting Actor in a Movie – Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein.
- Best Supporting Actress in a Movie – Amy Madigan for her work in Weapons.
- Best Young Actor or Actress in Movies – Miles Caton for his work in Sinners.
- Best Director – Paul Thomas Anderson for his work on One Battle After Another.
- Best Original Movie Screenplay – Sinners
- Best Movie Adaptation – One Battle After Another, which adapted Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland
- Best Comedy Movie – The Naked Gun
- Best Foreign Language Film – The Secret Agent
The Critics’ Choice Awards Winners in the Technical Fields
The CCA recognizes 11 technical film fields that encompass both film and television production, including three new ones. These winners for these categories are:
- Best Casting or Ensemble [new] – Sinners
- Best Cinematography – Train Dreams
- Best Editing – F1
- Best Costume Design – Frankenstein
- Best Production Design – Frankenstein
- Best Hair and Makeup – Frankenstein
- Best Visual Effects – Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Best Stunts [new] – Mission: Impossible, The Final Reckoning
- Best Sound [new] – F1
The Critics’ Choice Awards Winners in the Television Categories
The 31st Critics’ Choice Awards gave out awards in 21 television categories.
Television Series Acting
There were eight awards for television acting:
- Best Drama Series Actor – Noah Wyle for The Pitt
- Best Drama Series Actress – Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus
- Best Drama Series Supporting Actor – Tramell Tillman for Severance
- Best Drama Series Supporting Actress – Katherine LaNasa for The Pitt
- Best Comedy Series Actor – Seth Rogen, for The Studio
- Best Comedy Series Actress – Jean Smart for Hacks
- Best Comedy Series Supporting Actress – Ike Barinholtz for The Studio
- Best Comedy Series Supporting Actor – Janelle James for Abbott Elementary
Best Television Series
The CCA crowned the Best Television Series in 2025 in seven categories:
- Best Drama Series – The Pitt
- Best Comedy Series – The Studio
- Best Comedy Special – SNL50: The Anniversary Special
- Best Talk Show – Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Best Variety Series (new) – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- Best Animated Series – South Park
- Best Foreign Language Series – Squid Game
Television Movies and Mini-Series
Finally, the CCA devoted six categories to television mini-series and films:
- Best Mini-Series – Adolescence
- Best Television Movie – Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
- Best Actor in a Television Mini-Series or Movie – Stephen Graham for Adolescence
- Best Actress in a Television Mini-Series or Movie – Sarah Snook for All Her Fault
- Best Supporting Actor in a Television Mini-Series or Movie – Owen Cooper for Adolescence
- Best Supporting Actress in a Television Mini-Series or Movie – Erin Doherty for Adolescence
Final Thoughts
Congratulations to all the winners. I have issues with some of the categories, but I believe the awards went to the most deserving overall. While using these winners to predict the Oscars is tempting, I’ll wait until those nominations are out.
How about you? Do you agree with these winners? Post your answer in the forums.
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