Demi Moore, Zoe Saldana, Kieran Culkin, and Adrien Brody emerged as prominent winners at this year’s Critics Choice Awards. Moore received the best actress award for her role in *The Substance*, where she portrays a declining Oscar winner who finds a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself. This accolade adds to her Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination, marking her first significant recognition from major Hollywood awards after years in the industry. “This has been such a wild ride; I never imagined being here when I started this journey on this film,” the 62-year-old expressed while accepting her award in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. “This is so far beyond anything I could have hoped for.”
As she celebrated her win, Moore encouraged others on their journeys, stating, “For anyone out there still struggling to find their way… just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening – dreams do come true.”
Coralie Fargeat, the director of *The Substance*, also won the award for best original screenplay, and the film secured a third award for hair and make-up. *Anora*, a film about a sex worker marrying the son of a Russian oligarch, was awarded best picture, while the papal thriller *Conclave*, featuring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini, won for best acting ensemble.
Blockbuster musical adaptation *Wicked* took home three awards, including best director for John M. Chu. Brody, a Golden Globe winner and Oscars contender, was named best actor for his portrayal of a Hungarian-Jewish architect in *The Brutalist*, while Saldana and Culkin received awards in the supporting categories for their performances in *Emilia Perez* and *A Real Pain*, respectively.
*Emilia Perez*, a Spanish-language musical thriller about a Mexican drug lord who transitions genders, was also recognized as best foreign language film and won for best song for “El Mal,” featuring Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Camille Dalmais. The film leads this year’s Oscar nominations but has faced controversy following the resurfacing of old social media posts by Gascon that criticized Islam and George Floyd.