Netflix Sweeps 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Squid Game Scores Historic Hat-Trick While K-Pop Demon Hunters Takes Double Win
Korean entertainment dominated Sunday's Critics Choice Awards ceremony as Netflix claimed multiple victories across television and film categories at the Santa Monica event.
Third Time's the Charm for Squid Game
The survival drama pulled off a rare achievement by winning Best Foreign Language Series for all three seasons. Sunday's win caps a remarkable run that began in 2022 when Season 1 became the first Korean drama to claim the award. Lee Jung-jae made parallel history that year as the first Korean actor to win Best Actor in a Drama Series.
Season 2 repeated the success in 2025, setting up the trilogy of wins with Season 3's January 4, 2026 victory over competitors including Acapulco, Last Samurai Standing, and Mussolini: Son of the Century.
The Critics Choice Association comprises over 600 television and film critics from the United States and Canada, making their recognition particularly significant for the series' global impact.
K-Pop Demon Hunters' Breakout Night
Sony Pictures Animation's K-Pop Demon Hunters delivered the evening's biggest surprise by defeating animation giants Disney and Pixar to win Best Animated Feature. The film beat Zootopia 2 and Elio among others, significantly boosting its Oscar prospects.
The film secured a second trophy when "Golden" won Best Song. EJAE, the Korean American songwriter who co-wrote the track, delivered an emotional acceptance speech.
"The song needed to be an expression of hope to convince herself that she could rise and reach for her dreams," EJAE said. "But most importantly for it to be giving hope to so many people around the world is truly the greatest honor."
Since its June 2025 Netflix release, K-Pop Demon Hunters has accumulated over 400 million views, becoming the platform's most-watched film. "Golden" spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with the soundtrack making history as the first film album to place four songs in the Hot 100 top 10 simultaneously.
The film follows fictional K-pop group Huntr/x, who battle demons using music. With five Grammy nominations including Song of the Year and three Golden Globe nods, the animated feature continues gaining awards momentum.
Park Chan-wook Misses Despite Nominations
Director Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice failed to convert its two nominations into wins. The dark comedy thriller, starring Lee Byung-hun as a laid-off worker who takes drastic measures, lost Best Foreign Language Film to Brazilian drama The Secret Agent.
No Other Choice earned a nine-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival and represents South Korea's entry for Best International Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards.
The ceremony at Barker Hangar marked the first major awards show of 2026 and historically serves as an accurate predictor of Oscar nominations, which will be announced January 22.
