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It is once again time for the ButteredPopcorn Movie Awards! Celebrating the best releases of 2025! This is a strictly fun exercise to give attention to the incredible talent that battled through one of the most challenging years in recent memory and still produced some incredible work! Without further ado, here are the official 2026 ButteredPopcorn Movie Award Winners!

​Best Sound Design:

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• F1
• Sinners
• Sirāt (WINNER)

​Best Animation Design:

• Death Does Not Exist
• Dog of God (WINNER) 
  
• I am Frankelda
• KPop Demon Hunters

​​Best Visual Design:

• CIELO
• The Chronology of Water
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (WINNER)
• Plainclothes

​Best Costume Design:

• Bugonia (Jennifer Johnson)
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (Colleen Atwood)
• Snow White (Sandy Powell)
• Wicked: For Good (Paul Tazewell) (WINNER)

​Best Production Design:

• Hamnet (Fiona Crombie)
• Jay Kelly (Mark Tildesley) (WINNER)
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (Scott Chambliss)
• The Testament of Ann Lee (Samuel Bader)

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​Best Makeup & Hairstyling:

• 28 Years Later (Flora Moody)
• Bring Her Back (Rebecca Buratto) (WINNER)
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (Scott Barnes & Michelle Johnson)
• Wicked: For Good (Frances Hannon)

​Best Visual Effects:

• Avatar: Fire and Ash (WINNER)
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning 

​Best Film Editing:

• The Chronology of Water (Olivia Neergaard-Holm) (WINNER)
• Plainclothes (Erik Vogt-Nilsen)
• Sinners (Michael P. Shawver)
• The Voice of Hind Rajab (Qutaiba Barhamji, Maxime Mathis, & Kaouther Ben Hania)

​Best Cinematography:

• After the Hunt (Malik Hassan Sayeed)
• The Love That Remains (Hlynur Pálmason)
• Presence (Peter Andrews)
• The Stranger (Manuel Dacosse) (WINNER)

​​Best Use of Music:

• Kiss of the Spider Woman
• Marty Supreme
• Sinners (WINNER)
• Sirāt

​Best Original Song:

• Drive (F1)
• Golden (KPop Demon Hunters) (WINNER)
• Highest 2 Lowest (Highest 2 Lowest)
• My San Francisco (Plainclothes)
• Train Dreams (Train Dreams)
• Zoo (Zootopia 2)

​Best Score:

• Black Bag (David Holmes)
• F1 (Hans Zimmer)
• Marty Supreme (Daniel Lopatin) (WINNER)
• Rental Family (Jónsi & Alex Somers)

Best Solo Directorial Debut:

• Carmen Emmi (Plainclothes)
• Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby)
• Kate Beecroft (East of Wall)
• Kristen Stewart (The Chronology of Water) (WINNER)
• Mehrnoush Alia (1001 Frames)
• Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (A Useful Ghost)

​Best International Narrative Feature:

• 1001 Frames
• All That's Left of You (WINNER)
• Sentimental Value
• A Useful Ghost
• The Voice of Hind Rajab
• What Does That Nature Say To You​

​Best Documentary Feature:

• 2000 Meters to Andriivka (WINNER)
• Apocalypse in the Tropics
• The Eyes of Ghana
• Ocean with David Attenborough
• Riefenstahl
• Secret Mall Apartment

​Best Animated Feature:

• Death Does Not Exist
• Dog Man (WINNER)
• I am Frankelda
• KPop Demon Hunters
• Lesbian Space Princess
• Predator: Killer of Killers

​Best Youth Performance:

• Alfie Williams (28 Years Later)
• Billy Barratt (Bring Her Back) (WINNER)
• Doha Ramadan (Happy Birthday)
• Everett Blunck (The Plague)
• Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda (CIELO)
• Kayo Martin (The Plague)

​Best Voiceover Performance:

• Arturo Mercado Jr. (I am Frankelda)
• Jack Corbett (Boys Go to Jupiter)
• Jason Bateman (Zootopia 2) (WINNER)
• Jenna Davis (MEGAN 2.0)
• Remy Edgerly (Elio)
• Sam Rockwell (The Bad Guys 2)

​Best Ensemble:

• 1001 Frames
• After the Hunt
• Father Mother Sister Brother
• Marty Supreme
• The Plague
• Sinners (WINNER)

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• The Chronology of Water (Kristen Stewart) (WINNER)
• Hedda (Nia DaCosta)
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (Bill Condon)
• Rewrite (Makoto Ueda)
• Train Dreams (Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar)
• The Wedding Banquet (Andrew Ahn & James Schamus)

Best Original Screenplay:

• After the Hunt (Nora Garrett)
• All That's Left of You (Cherien Dabis) (WINNER)
• It Ends (Alexander Ullom)
• Plainclothes (Carmen Emmi)
• A Useful Ghost (Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke)
• What Does That Nature Say To You (Hong Sang-soo)

Best Supporting Actress:

• Ayo Edebiri (After the Hunt)
• Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value) (WINNER)
• Lily Gladstone (The Wedding Banquet)
• Naomi Ackie (Sorry, Baby)
• Nina Hoss (Hedda)
• Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)​

Best Supporting Actor:

• Andrew Garfield (After the Hunt)
• Kwon Hae-hyo (What Does That Nature Say To You)
• Mohammad Ali Elyasmehr (It Was Just an Accident)
• Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) (WINNER)
• Vishal Jethwa (Homebound)
• William H. Macy (Train Dreams)

Best Actress:

• Cherien Dabis (All That's Left of You)
• Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby)
• Imogen Poots (The Chronology of Water)
• Julia Roberts (After the Hunt)
• Myriem Akheddiou (We Believe You) (WINNER)
• Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You)

Best Actor:

• Ben Whishaw (Peter Hujar's Day)
• Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)
• George Clooney (Jay Kelly)
• Motaz Malhees (The Voice of Hind Rajab)
• Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)
• Tonatiuh (Kiss of the Spider Woman)
• Will Arnett (Is This Thing On?) (WINNER)

Best Director:

• Cherien Dabis (All That's Left of You)
• Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning)
• James Cameron (Avatar: Fire and Ash)
• Kleber Mendonça Filho (The Secret Agent)
• Kristen Stewart (The Chronology of Water)
• Luca Guadagino (After the Hunt) (WINNER)

​The Golden Popcorn Legacy Award:

Ed Wood

While it takes passion to complete any feature production, few filmmakers have brought quite as much passion to their work as Ed Wood. Existing at a time when both queerness and genre filmmaking were under attack, Wood stands tall as a trailblazer both for LGBTQ+ cinema and the horror genre. Wood put himself and his inspirations directly into his productions, from his depiction of cross-dressing in Ed Wood to his collaborations with Bela Lugosi, giving the star the leading role he deserved. Wood was a master of camp and filmmaking intelligence, creating a filmography that is not only fun to explore but also one that is rich in perspective and portrayal. While many are familiar with Wood's story from Tim Burton's 1994 feature, Ed Wood, the work produced by the filmmaker also holds up and shows the mind and soul of a filmmaker far ahead of their time.

The Golden Popcorn in Filmmaking Award:

David Attenborough

Few figures have done as much to spread awareness and understanding towards the natural world as David Attenborough. With a career stretching back to 1952 as a producer, Attenborough has become the most well-known voice for nature documentary filmmaking, including work on projects such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet, and Our Planet. Even at the age of 99, Attenborough continues to work with multiple projects each year, including being the presenter of the 2025 documentary Ocean with David Attenborough. Every project from the legendary filmmaker should be considered an absolute treat, and one cannot overstate the impact Attenborough has had in changing the world for the better through his activism and career.

The Golden Popcorn in Acting Award:

Josh O'Connor

While Josh O'Connor's upwards trajectory had already started by the time 2025 started with a filmography including God's Own Country, Challengers, and La Chimera, 2025 still proved to be a career-defining step for the young filmmaker who continued to prove both his talent and range as a performer, and his inspiration to work with worthy cinematic voices to continue to learn and develop his craft. In leading roles, he brought to life complex portraits of identity and masculinity in Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind and Max Walker-Silverman's Rebuilding. In supporting roles, he stole the show with his work in Oliver Hermanus' The History of Sound and Rian Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man, with his screen time even making it arguable that he was the true lead of the latest Knives Out mystery. The year Josh O'Connor had in 2025 was one that many actors dream of, yet it feels clear that the heights of his career are still on the horizon as 2026 sees him jump into the filmography of Steven Spielberg with his role in Disclosure Day.

​Best Picture:

• After the Hunt
• All That's Left of You
• The Chronology of Water (WINNER)
• Plainclothes
• Sorry, Baby
• What Does That Nature Say To You