My Critics Choice Awards ballot
Christopher Lloyd, a voting member of the prestigious broadcast film critics group, shares his not-so-secret ballot. The annual awards will be presented 7 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 13.
Last year, I started the tradition of sharing my ballot for the annual Critics Choice Awards. The results are secret until announced, but I like revealing my picks for the transparency it provides to some of these film awards processes, which can seem pretty opaque.
Plus, it’s fun to discuss and argue! If you think I’m wrong, make sure to leave a comment.
Please note, I can only vote for the nominees listed. In many cases, they are not my first, or second, or even third choices in that category. For example, only one of the CCA Best Picture nominees made my Top 10 list. And I ended up not voting for it (“West Side Story”) in the CCAs because I’d rather pick an original film than a remake.
Overall, I’m pretty proud of the choices CCA has made over the years. Unlike the (now disgraced) Golden Globes and even the Academy Awards, the broadcast critics often reach for some interesting and eclectic winners you don’t expect. We rarely have years where a single film dominates the awards.
Below are my selections for this year’s awards. Be sure to tune in this Sunday at 7 p.m. EDT on the CW or TBS to watch!
BEST PICTURE
Belfast
✔CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
Tick, Tick … Boom!
West Side Story
BEST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick … Boom!
✔Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
✔Kristen Stewart – Spencer
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
✔Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jared Leto – House of Gucci
J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
✔Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Rita Moreno – West Side Story
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Jude Hill – Belfast
Cooper Hoffman – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – CODA
Woody Norman – C’mon, C’mon
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
✔Rachel Zegler – West Side Story
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
✔Belfast
Don’t Look Up
The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
✔Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Zach Baylin – King Richard
✔Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Adam McKay, David Sirota – Don’t Look Up
Aaron Sorkin – Being the Ricardos
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
✔Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Siân Heder – CODA
Tony Kushner – West Side Story
Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth – Dune
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Greig Fraser – Dune
Janusz Kaminski – West Side Story
Dan Laustsen – Nightmare Alley
✔Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog
Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Jim Clay, Claire Nia Richards – Belfast
✔Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Nightmare Alley
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – The French Dispatch
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – West Side Story
Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos – Dune
BEST EDITING
✔Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn – West Side Story
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
Andy Jurgensen – Licorice Pizza
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Joe Walker – Dune
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
✔Jenny Beavan – Cruella
Luis Sequeira – Nightmare Alley
Paul Tazewell – West Side Story
Jacqueline West, Robert Morgan – Dune
Janty Yates – House of Gucci
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Cruella
Dune
✔The Eyes of Tammy Faye
House of Gucci
Nightmare Alley
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
✔Dune
The Matrix Resurrections
Nightmare Alley
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
BEST COMEDY
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Don’t Look Up
✔Free Guy
The French Dispatch
Licorice Pizza
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Flee
Luca
✔The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Hero
Drive My Car
Flee
The Hand of God
✔The Worst Person in the World
BEST SONG
“Be Alive” – King Richard
“Dos Oruguitas” – Encanto
“Guns Go Bang” – The Harder They Fall
✔“Just Look Up” – Don’t Look Up
“No Time to Die” – No Time to Die
BEST SCORE
Nicholas Britell – Don’t Look Up
✔Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
Nathan Johnson – Nightmare Alley
Hans Zimmer – Dune