THE 29th CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS – THE WINNERS

And the Critics Choice Award goes to…

BEST PICTURE: Oppenheimer

BEST DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

BEST ACTRESS: Emma Stone, Poor Things

BEST ACTOR: Paul GIamatti, The Holdovers

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Robert Downey, Jr., Oppenheimer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers

BEST ENSEMBLE: Oppenheimer

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Barbie

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Oppenheimer

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Barbie

BEST EDITING: Oppenheimer

BEST COSTUMES: Barbie

BEST HAIR AND MAKE-UP: Barbie

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Oppenheimer

BEST COMEDY: Barbie

BEST ANIMATED FILM: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Anatomy of a Fall

BEST SONG: “I’m Just Ken”, Barbie

BEST SCORE: Oppenheimer

“Barbenheimer” strikes again! The big winners at the Critics Choice Award should come as no surprise as Oppenheimer won eight awards including Best Picture and Best Director, while Barbie won six, including Best Comedy. With the Golden Globes, The Astras, and now the Critic Choice Awards having handed out their honors for the best of the year, the Oscar race is really starting to take shape with people like Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Emma Stone, and Robert Downey Jr taking multiple acting honors. That being said, don’t count out Cillian Murphy or Lily Gladstone yet as they are still rightly in this race. We’ve seen big movies like 1917, The Power of the Dog and The Fabelmans do well early in the season only to be usurped by Parasite, CODA, and Everything Everywhere All at Once as the season progressed. Does that mean Barbie or The Holdovers will have a late season Best Picture upset? We shall see!

Overall, the ceremony was a big success. The stars came out drawing more talent and winners than in years past. Chelsea Handler hosted the evening with some fun zingers as she praised the year of women while mocking studio exes and even her ex, Jo Koy, after his lackluster job hosting the Golden Globes. America Ferrera gave an incredibly moving speech after accepting the annual See Her award as she discussed representation on screen and inspiring new generation of Latina actresses like Selena Gomez and Jenna Ortega. The only huge faux pas came with a joke landed at Ariana DeBose. While introducing Best Song, the presenters lumped DeBose in with Ryan Gosling and Jack Black labeling the three as “Actors who think they can sing” It’s an uneducated joke as DeBose is one of the best young singers working in the industry with Broadway credits like Hamilton and winning an Oscar for playing Anita in West Side Story.

It’s always rewarding being a voting member of the Critics Choice Association. It’s a wonderful collection of other critics and reporters that I have gotten to know over the years, and I am already looking forward to the year ahead. There are some fun surprises coming ahead!