Timothee Chalamet’s Oscars marketing campaign earned a serious increase Sunday as he scooped one of the best actor prize for “Marty Supreme” on the Critics Choice Awards, the primary main gala of this yr’s Hollywood awards season.
He defeated rival Leonardo DiCaprio, whose raucous political thriller “One Battle After Another” took the evening’s prime prize for greatest image, in addition to greatest director and greatest tailored screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson.
In “Marty Supreme,” Chalamet performs a Nineteen Fifties desk tennis champion consumed by grand ambitions.
Loosely based mostly on a real story, and benefiting from the Franco-American actor’s distinctive viral marketing campaign, the movie directed by Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”) has turn out to be an unlikely international hit.
“Josh, you made a story about a flawed man with a relatable dream,” stated Chalamet.
“And you didn’t preach to the audience about what’s right and wrong, and I think we should all be telling stories like that, so thank you for this dream.”
The film is loosely based mostly on the lifetime of desk tennis star Marty Reisman, a person pushed by the assumption that he can obtain fame and fortune via a sport little identified within the United States.
Chalamet — the “Dune” celebrity and two-time Oscar nominee who lately portrayed Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown” — rigorously skilled in desk tennis for the position.
The 30-year-old has prior to now made no secret of his ambitions to win a number of Academy Awards, and can now be the frontrunner for the ceremony on March 15.
The awards bestowed by North America’s largest critics’ group might give film campaigns much-needed further momentum as Oscars voting nears.
This yr, it took the coveted first weekend of awards season often occupied by the Golden Globes, which is able to happen in Beverly Hills subsequent weekend.
Jessie Buckley received greatest actress for her tragic position because the spouse of William Shakespeare in interval drama “Hamnet.”
Jacob Elordi received greatest supporting actor for his portrayal of the Monster in “Frankenstein,” which additionally received three technical awards, whereas Amy Madigan received supporting actress for a villainous flip in horror flick “Weapons.”
Netflix’s international mega-hit musical “KPop Demon Hunters” received greatest animated function and greatest track.
“Sinners,” a interval horror movie additionally seen as a serious contender for a lot of of this season’s prime prizes, needed to accept greatest unique screenplay, younger actor, rating, and casting and ensemble.
Among the tv prizes, hospital saga “The Pitt” received greatest drama, Hollywood satire “The Studio” received greatest comedy, and teenage homicide drama “Adolescence” received greatest restricted sequence.
Best speak present winner Jimmy Kimmel joked about his spat with U.S. President Donald Trump final yr, which noticed the late-night host briefly taken off the air.
“Thank you, Mr President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day,” stated Kimmel.
“A FIFA Peace Prize would have been better but this is nice too,” Kimmel joked.
In the present’s opening monologue, host Chelsea Handler paid tribute to the late Rob Reiner, “the nicest guy in Hollywood.”
The beloved “When Harry Met Sally” director and his spouse Michele had been discovered stabbed to loss of life of their Los Angeles dwelling final month.
“Anyone who ever spent time with Rob Reiner knows that the minute that you met him, he felt like an old friend,” she stated, to emotional applause from the gathered A-listers and critics.
© 2026 AFP