AARP Movies for Grownups Awards 2026: Full Winners List

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, the biopic about a pivotal period in the life of Bruce Springsteen, was named best period film at the 2026 Movies for Grownup Awards with AARP, which were presented on Saturday (Jan. 10) at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. 

The Springsteen film, which fell short of expectations but was by no means a bomb, beat Dead Man’s Wire, Marty Supreme, Nuremberg and Sinners in that category.

Another film about a legendary rock act came up short at the Movies for Grownup Awards. Becoming Led Zeppelin lost best documentary to My Mom Jayne, actress Mariska Hargitay’s film about her late mother, 1960s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield.

The Movies for Grownups Awards honor films and television projects that celebrate the voices and stories of those who are 50-plus. This year’s show, hosted by Alan Cumming, the Tony and Primetime Emmy-winning host of The Traitors, will be broadcast by Great Performances on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. ET/PT/6 p.m. CT on PBS and the PBS app.

Hamnet won the top award, best picture/best movie for grownups, though it won no other awards. One Battle After Another won three awards on the night — best ensemble, best screenwriter for Paul Thomas Anderson and best supporting actress for Regina Hall.

Sentimental Value and the TV series The Pitt each won two awards.

Adam Sandler received the Movies for Grownups career achievement award and amused the audience with a tongue-in-cheek “top 10” list of signs he’s officially growing up. Henry Winkler, a friend of Sandler’s since the comedian included Winkler’s Happy Days character Arthur Fonzarelli in his 1994 classic “The Chanukah Song,” spoke to Sandler’s character.

Chloé Zhao, Paul Mescal, and Jessie Buckley accepted the award for Hamnet, and Noah Wyle and R. Scott Gemmill accepted best tv series or limited series for The Pitt. 

George Clooney, honored as best actor for Jay Kelly, and Wyle, recognized as best TV actor for The Pitt, presented the awards to one another, a nod to their longtime friendship and collaboration that began in 1994 on the blockbuster series ER.

Clooney reflected on his role in Jay Kelly, saying, “I couldn’t believe my luck that I got to play the part… This film was made by people who love actors.” Wyle added that The Pitt has given him the chance to thrive at this stage of his life.

Best actress winner Laura Dern, honored for Is This Thing On?, spoke about legacy and the privilege of storytelling: “My parents [Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd] taught me… we are lucky and blessed to be part of this industry. It is an extraordinary gift not to be wasted.”

Kathy Bates, who received best TV actress for Matlock, dedicated her award to her mother and reflected on how opportunities continue to evolve — even at the age of 77. “Thank the good Lord, week after week, especially older women who have reached out to share how empowered they are to finally be able to feel seen in their own lives,” she said.

Jacob Elordi presented the best director award to del Toro, saying, “With Frankenstein, Guillermo returns to a story he’s carried with him for decades. This version isn’t about spectacle. It’s about responsibility — about what it means to create something and what happens when you don’t take care of it.”

The annual Movies for Grownups Awards raises funds for AARP Foundation, which works to strengthen older adults’ financial resilience.

Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 2026 Movies for Grownups with AARP Awards, with winners marked:

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups

WINNER: Hamnet

A House of Dynamite

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Train Dreams

Best Actress

WINNER: Laura Dern, Is This Thing On?

Jodie Foster, A Private Life

Lucy Liu, Rosemead

Julia Roberts, After the Hunt

June Squibb, Eleanor the Great

Best Actor

WINNER: George Clooney, Jay Kelly

Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams

Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon

Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine

Best Supporting Actress

WINNER: Regina Hall, One Battle After Another

Amy Madigan, Weapons

Helen Mirren, Goodbye June

Gwyneth Paltrow, Marty Supreme

Sigourney Weaver, Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Supporting Actor

 Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another

WINNER: Delroy Lindo, Sinners

Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Michael Shannon, Nuremberg

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Kathryn Bigelow, A House of Dynamite

Scott Cooper, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

WINNER: Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein

Spike Lee, Highest 2 Lowest

Best Screenwriter

WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, Jay Kelly

Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, and Mark Chappell, Is This Thing On?

Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

James Vanderbilt, Nuremberg

Best Ensemble

 A House of Dynamite

Jay Kelly

Nuremberg

WINNER: One Battle After Another

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Intergenerational Film

Eleanor the Great

The Lost Bus

Rental Family

Rosemead

WINNER: Sentimental Value

Best Period Film

Dead Man’s Wire

Marty Supreme

Nuremberg

Sinners

WINNER: Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Best Documentary

Becoming Led Zeppelin

Cover Up

WINNER: My Mom Jayne

Riefenstahl

Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost

Best Foreign Language Film

It Was Just an Accident

No Other Choi

Nouvelle Vague

The Secret Agent

WINNER: Sentimental Value

Best TV Series or Limited Series

Adolescence

Hacks

WINNER: The Pitt

The Studio

The White Lotus

Best Actor (TV)

Walton Goggins, The White Lotus

Stephen Graham, Adolescence

Gary Oldman, Slow Horses

Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us

WINNER: Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Best Actress (TV)

WINNER: Kathy Bates, Matlock

Kathryn Hahn, The Studio

Catherine O’Hara, The Studio

Parker Posey, The White Lotus

Jean Smart, Hacks