Chelsea Handler brought the laughs at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards with her no-holds-barred opening monologue at Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger on Jan. 4. The comedian didn’t waste any time diving into the big nominees of the evening, starting off with a hilarious jab at Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars in the blockbuster film “One Battle After Another.”
“Leo almost didn’t make it tonight because he was trapped on a boat in St. Barts,” Handler quipped, eliciting laughter from DiCaprio himself. “It was just like the ‘Titanic,’ but worse, because Jeff Bezos was there.”
Last week, DiCaprio and his girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, were spotted on a superyacht in St. Barts with Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. Despite the travel complications, DiCaprio did manage to attend the Critics’ Choice Awards, although he missed the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala the night before due to FAA air traffic control issues following the attack on Venezuela.
Handler didn’t stop there with her jokes, later poking fun at Paramount+’s “Landman” and a certain revealing scene involving Billy Bob Thornton. She also took a dig at Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav while discussing the hit film “Sinners.”
“‘Sinners’ is the story of brothers who start this really fun place for entertainment, and then vampires show up, suck the life out of everybody and burn it all to the ground,” Handler quipped. “Fun fact, the original name of the main vampire was David Zaslav.”
The Critics Choice Awards kick off the 2026 awards season, with Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” leading the pack with 17 nominations, including best picture. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” closely follows with 14 nods.
In the TV categories, Netflix’s “Adolescence” dominates with six nominations, with “Nobody Wants This” not far behind with five. Other notable shows like “The Pitt,” “All Her Fault,” “Severance,” “The Diplomat,” “Ghosts,” and “Death by Lightning” each landed four nominations.
For the full list of winners, be sure to check out the official website. The 2026 Critics Choice Awards set the stage for what promises to be an exciting and competitive awards season in the world of entertainment.
