Skip to main content Skip to footer site map
S53E7

Movies for Grownups® Awards 2026 with AARP The Magazine

Premiere: 2/22/2026
PBS   •   PBS App

Iconic and beloved screen and stage performer Alan Cumming returns as host for this awards show in which Adam Sandler receives the Career Achievement Award.

The Annual Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP Announces The 2026 Nominees

SHARE

The Best Movies and TV for Grownups to Be Honored During the Annual Awards Ceremony in Beverly Hills on January 10, 2026, and Broadcast by Great Performances on PBS in February 

AARP announced today the nominees for the upcoming Movies for Grownups® (MFG) Awards, honoring this year’s most outstanding films and television projects that celebrate the voices and stories of the 50-plus. Leading this year’s contenders for Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups are Hamnet, A House of Dynamite, One Battle After Another, Sinners and Train Dreams.

For more than 20 years, Movies for Grownups has been a leading voice for age representation in entertainment. The franchise advocates for the 50-plus audience, challenges industry ageism, and champions films and television that resonate with older viewers. By celebrating the creativity and experience of seasoned actors and filmmakers, Movies for Grownups continues to elevate stories that reflect the richness of life at every age.

“These nominees prove that powerful storytelling transcends age. At AARP, we believe representation matters—not just for audiences, but for the industry itself,” said Myechia Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP. “By honoring these actors and creators, we’re shining a light on the richness, depth, and diversity of experience that deserves to be seen and celebrated.”

The annual MFG Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California. Alan Cumming, the Tony- and Emmy Award-winning  host of the widely lauded competition show The Traitors, will return to host the Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP, which will be broadcast by Great Performances on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 7/6c on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/moviesforgrownups and the PBS app.

In the Best Actress category, nominees are Laura Dern (Is This Thing On?), Jodie Foster (A Private Life), Lucy Liu (Rosemead), Julia Roberts (After the Hunt), and June Squibb (Eleanor the Great).

In the Best Actor category, George Clooney (Jay Kelly), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine).

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are Regina Hall (One Battle After Another), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Helen Mirren (Goodbye June), Gwyneth Paltrow (Marty Supreme), and Sigourney Weaver (Avatar: Fire and Ash). In the Best Supporting Actor category, Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), Michael Shannon (Nuremberg) and Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value).

Movies for Grownups nominees for Best Director are Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Kathryn Bigelow (A House of Dynamite), Scott Cooper (Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere), Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein), and Spike Lee (Highest 2 Lowest).

In the Best TV Series or Limited Series category, nominations go to Adolescence, Hacks, The Pitt, The Studio, and The White Lotus.

The television nominees for Best Actress are Kathy Bates (Matlock), Kathryn Hahn (The Studio), Catherine O’Hara (The Studio), Parker Posey (The White Lotus) and Jean Smart (Hacks). In the Best Actor category for television, Walton Goggins (The White Lotus), Stephen Graham (Adolescence), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) and Noah Wyle (The Pitt).

 

The complete list of the annual Movies for Grownups Awards Nominees:

  • Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups: Hamnet, A House of Dynamite, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Train Dreams.
  • Best Actress: Laura Dern (Is This Thing On?), Jodie Foster (A Private Life), Lucy Liu (Rosemead), Julia Roberts (After the Hunt), and June Squibb (Eleanor the Great).
  • Best Actor: George Clooney (Jay Kelly), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine).
  • Best Supporting Actress: Regina Hall (One Battle After Another), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Helen Mirren (Goodbye June), Gwyneth Paltrow (Marty Supreme), and Sigourney Weaver (Avatar: Fire and Ash).
  • Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), Michael Shannon (Nuremberg), and 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), Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein), and Spike Lee (Highest 2 Lowest).
  • Best Screenwriter: 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), and James Vanderbilt (Nuremberg).
  • Best Ensemble: A House of Dynamite, Jay Kelly, Nuremberg, One Battle After Another, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
  • Best Intergenerational Film: Eleanor the Great, The Lost Bus, Rental Family, Rosemead, Sentimental Value.
  • Best Period Film: Dead Man’s Wire, Marty Supreme, Nuremberg, Sinners, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.
  • Best Documentary: Becoming Led Zeppelin, Cover Up, My Mom Jayne, Riefenstahl, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost.
  • Best Foreign-Language Film: It Was Just an Accident, No Other Choice, Nouvelle Vague, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value.
  • Best TV Series or Limited Series: Adolescence, Hacks, 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), Noah Wyle (The Pitt).
  • Best Actress (TV): Kathy Bates (Matlock), Kathryn Hahn (The Studio), Catherine O’Hara (The Studio), Parker Posey (The White Lotus), Jean Smart (Hacks).

The annual Movies for Grownups Awards raises funds for AARP Foundation, which works to strengthen financial resilience for and with older adults — in Los Angeles and across the country — by empowering individuals and improving systems.

SHARE
MOVIES FOR GROWNUPS® AWARDS WITH AARP PHILANTHROPIC GOALS

The annual Movies for Grownups® Awards raises funds for AARP Foundation, AARP’s affiliated charity,  which works for and with older adults to increase economic opportunity by creating pathways to work, expanding access to financial support, mobilizing volunteer-driven community service, and advancing legal advocacy so that everyone can age with dignity and purpose.

ABOUT AARP

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 125 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/about–aarp/, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates on social media.