The Critics Choice Award (CCA) announced today the shortlists for the following below-the-line film categories for the 31st annual Critics’ Choice Awards: Best Casting and Ensemble, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Production Design, Best Score, Best Song, Best Sound, Best Stunt Design, and Best Visual Effects. A special BTL Nominating Committee created the shortlists for the 11 below-the-line categories. Write-in votes will be allowed for films that were not available for viewing before November 24th, so long as they are available prior to December 3rd.
“Sinners” topped the Critics’ Choice Awards shortlists, earning recognition in all categories. Three songs from the film were shortlisted for the Best Song category, including “I Lied to You,” “Last Time (I Seen the Sun),” and “Pale, Pale Moon,” garnering “Sinners” a total of 13 spots on the shortlists. “F1,” “Frankenstein,” and “Wicked: For Good” followed, with each project recognized in a total of 9 categories.
As previously announced, comedian, television host, and seven-time New York Times best-selling author Chelsea Handler will return as host of the 31st annual Critics’ Choice Awards, marking her fourth consecutive year in that role. Returning to E! for the second year in a row, the telecast will also air live on USA Network on Sunday, January 4th, 2026 from 7:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The star-studded show will once again be held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. It will continue its combined film and television awards format, honoring the best in cinematic, televised, and streaming achievement. Notably, four new categories have been added to this year’s show: Best Variety Series, Best Stunt Design, Best Casting and Ensemble, and Best Sound.
Select TV and Film category nominations for the annual event will first be announced at 9:00 a.m. PT on Friday, December 5th, on E! and USA Network linear channels, as well as E! Online, and on E! ‘s, USA’s, and CCA’s YouTube channels. The complete list of nominations will be available directly after on E! Online, and across E!, USA, and CCA’s social media channels.
The complete shortlists are available below.
BEST CASTING AND ENSEMBLE
Susanne Scheel – A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
Nina Gold – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Rich Delia – The Long Walk (Lionsgate)
Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme (A24)
No Other Choice (Neon)
Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Rebecca Dealy – The Plague (IFC)
Kei Kawamura, Yumi Takada – Rental Family (Searchlight Pictures)
Gabriel Domingues – The Secret Agent (Neon)
Francine Maisler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle – 28 Years Later (Sony Pictures)
Claudio Miranda – F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Łukasz Żal – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Linus Sandgren – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Darius Khondji – Marty Supreme (A24)
Kim Woo-hyung – No Other Choice (Neon)
David Chambille – Nouvelle Vague (Netflix)
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Steven Breckon – The Plague (IFC)
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams (Netflix)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alexandra Byrne – The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Malgosia Turzanska – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)
Colleen Atwood – Kiss of the Spider Woman (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
Miyako Bellizzi – Marty Supreme (A24)
Colleen Atwood – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Rita Azevedo – The Secret Agent (Neon)
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Ernesto Martinez – Song Sung Blue (Focus Features)
Małgorzata Karpiuk – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
BEST EDITING
Kirk Baxter – A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
Stephen Mirrione – F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
Evan Schiff – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Chloé Zhao, Affonso Gonçalves – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Amir Etminan – It Was Just an Accident (Neon)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Kim Sang-bum, Kim Ho-bin – No Other Choice (Neon)
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Bob Ducsay – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)
Joe Murphy – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
28 Years Later (Sony Pictures)
Bugonia (Focus Features)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hedda – Amazon MGM Studios)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
Kokuho (Gkids)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
The Smashing Machine (A24)
Superman (Warner Bros.)
The Ugly Stepsister (IFC)
Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Jeremy Hindle, David Schlesinger – A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
Ben Munro, Mark Tildesley, Reynan Castro Del Rosario, Andrew McCarthy, Véronique Melery – F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
Kasra Farahani, Jille Azis – The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)
Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Cara Brower, Stella Fox – Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)
Jack Fisk, Adam Willis – Marty Supreme (A24)
Ryu Seong-hie – No Other Choice (Neon)
Inbal Weinberg, Kendall Anderson – Roofman (Paramount Pictures)
Jørgen Stangebye Larsen, Catrine Gormsen – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
BEST SCORE
Volker Bertelmann – A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
Jerskin Fendrix – Bugonia (Focus Features)
Hans Zimmer – F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Max Richter – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Hildur Guðnadóttir – Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)
Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme (A24)
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Johan Lenox – The Plague (IFC)
Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Kangding Ray – Sirāt (Neon)
Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares (Walt Disney Pictures)
BEST SONG
“Clothed by the Sun” – Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
“Dear Me” – Diane Warren – Diane Warren: Relentless (Greenwich Entertainment)
“Drive” – Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin – F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
“Golden” – Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy – KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
“Highest 2 Lowest” – Howard Drossin, Aiyana-Lee – Highest 2 Lowest (A24/Apple Original Films)
“I Lied to You” – Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” – Alice Smith, Miles Caton, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Lose My Mind” – Don Toliver, Doja Cat, Hans Zimmer, Ryan Tedder, Grant Boutin – F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
“No Place Like Home” – Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
“Pale, Pale Moon” – Brittany Howard, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams (Netflix)
BEST SOUND
A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hamnet (Focus Features)
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)
The Lost Bus (Apple Original Films)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Sirāt (Neon)
Superman (Warner Bros.)
Warfare (A24)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
BEST STUNT DESIGN
Ballerina (Lionsgate)
F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Predator: Badlands (20th Century Studios)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
The Smashing Machine (A24)
Superman (Warner Bros.)
Thunderbolts* (Marvel Studios)
Warfare (A24)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
F1 (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
How to Train Your Dragon (Universal Pictures)
Mickey 17 (Warner Bros.)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Predator: Badlands (20th Century Studios)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Sketch (Angel)
Superman (Warner Bros.)
Tron: Ares (Walt Disney Pictures)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
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