‘Sinners’ Leads 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards Shortlists Of Below The Line Categories With 13 Mentions
In a first for the Critics Choice Association (CCA), shortlists in 11 categories for the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards have been announced, narrowing the contenders in those below the line categories of 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 to 12 achievements each, from which the final nominees will be selected by the entire membership. . A special BTL Nominating Committee (FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a member of CCA and served on the 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 prior to November 24, so long as they are available prior to December 3. Most notably that would include Avatar: Fire And Ash which is launching screenings on December 1, and for a select group of journalists over next weekend. There will be a special line on the ballot for write in votes.
Sinners with a whopping 13 mentions topped the Critics Choice Awards shortlists and is the only film to be named on all 11 of the lists, earning accross the board recognition in every category. Three songs from the film were also shortlisted for the Best Song category including “I Lied to You,” “Last Time (I Seen the Sun),” and “Pale, Pale Moon”. F1, Frankenstein, and Wicked: For Good followed, with each film being recognized in nine categories total.
Full nominations for the 31st Critics Choice Awards will be announced at 9:00AM PT on December 5, 2025. The ceremony will be the first of this season’s nationally televised awards shows, air on E! and USA Network Sunday January 4, 2026.
31ST ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS BELOW-THE-LINE SHORTLISTS:
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 – New Wave (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 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 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 COSTUME DESIGN
Alexandra Byrne – The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Turzasanska Malegy – 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 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 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)
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 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 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.)
Kanding Ray – Sirāt (NEON)
Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares (Walt Disney Pictures)
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.)
Cry (Neon)
Superman (Warner Bros.)
Warfare (A24)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
