KPop Demon Hunters wins two honours at Critics Choice Awards 2026

KPop Demon Hunters

• KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature and Song at Critics Choice Awards
• Golden from KPop Demon Hunters topped Billboard's Hot 100 chart
• Jacob Elordi won Best Supporting Actor for Frankenstein at Critics Choice Awards

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Netflix's animated film KPop Demon Hunters kicked off the 2026 awards season with two major wins at the Critics Choice Awards, securing honours for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film won Best Song for Golden, with songwriter EJAE, who also served as the singing voice of lead character Rumi, accepting the award alongside co-writer Mark Sonnenblick. Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the other singing voices behind the fictional K-pop girl group Huntrix, joined them on stage.

Also Read: Critics Choice Awards 2026: Complete list of winners

"When writing this song, I found myself living vicariously through my character Rumi," EJAE said while accepting the award. "The song needed to be an expression of hope -- to convince herself that she could reach for her dreams," as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.

Also Read: Jacob Elordi wins first Big prize for Frankenstein at Critics Choice Awards, says ‘Bloody hell, I really didn't plan for it...’

Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans accepted the award for Best Animated Feature along with members of the voice and singing cast.

KPop Demon Hunters, a collaboration between Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, follows the adventures of Huntrix, a K-pop girl group that secretly battles monsters from the underworld, as per the outlet.

The film has emerged as Netflix's most popular title to date. Its soundtrack spent several weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart, while Golden reached the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 31st Critics Choice Awards held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

Late filmmaker Rob Reiner was posthumously honoured at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, held three weeks after he and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were tragically murdered, according to Page Six.

Timothee Chalamet also won the Best Actor Award for his role in Marty Supreme. The actor also thanked his partner Kylie Jenner for all her support.

Actor Jacob Elordi won his first major acting award at the Critics Choice Awards 2026. Elordi won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, held on January 4 in Santa Monica, California. He received the honour for his role as the Creature in director Guillermo del Toro's film Frankenstein.