'Superman' flies high at super awards

James Gunn's 'Superman' emerged as the biggest contender at the sixth annual Critics Choice Super Awards, securing six nominations to lead this year's field as the Critics Choice Association recognised the best in superhero, science fiction, fantasy, horror and action storytelling across film and television.

The DC Studios blockbuster was nominated for Best Superhero Movie and dominated the acting categories, with stars David Corenswet, Edi Gathegi and Nicholas Hoult all earning Best Actor in a Superhero Movie nominations. Hoult also received a second nod for Best Villain in a Movie, while Rachel Brosnahan was nominated for Best Actress in a Superhero Movie.

Several other films followed closely with four nominations each, including Focus Features' horror thriller 'Obsession', Warner Bros.' horror hit 'Weapons', Marvel Studios' 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps', Amazon MGM Studios' 'Masters of the Universe' and the science fiction adventure 'Project Hail Mary'.

In the horror film categories, 'Obsession' and 'Weapons' emerged among the strongest contenders. Veteran actress Amy Madigan earned two nominations for her performance in 'Weapons', receiving recognition in both the Best Actress in a Horror Movie and Best Villain in a Movie categories.

She will compete alongside Jessie Buckley for 'The Bride!', Alison Brie for 'Together', Rachel McAdams for 'Send Help', Renate Reinsve for 'Backrooms' and Inde Navarrette for 'Obsession'.

The action film categories also featured several notable nominees. Pamela Anderson received a Best Actress in an Action Movie nomination for 'The Naked Gun', while Charlize Theron, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Eiza González were also recognised.

Ryan Gosling and Sandra Huller collected acting nominations for 'Project Hail Mary', while Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons were honoured for Yorgos Lanthimos' science fiction feature 'Bugonia'.

Television nominations were led by the final season of Prime Video's superhero series 'The Boys', which earned five nominations, including Best Superhero Series. Antony Starr received dual nominations for Best Actor and Best Villain, while co-stars Valorie Curry and Colby Minifie were both recognised in the Best Actress category.

Three other series - 'Fallout', 'House of the Dragon' and 'Paradise' - received four nominations apiece, reflecting a competitive television field spanning superhero, fantasy and post-apocalyptic genres.

Among the television acting nominees, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II received a Best Actor nomination for Marvel's 'Wonder Man', while Nicolas Cage was recognised for 'Spider-Noir'. Other high-profile nominees include Colin Farrell for 'Sugar', Rebecca Ferguson for 'Silo' and Holly Hunter for 'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy'.

The Critics Choice Association launched the Super Awards to honour genre productions that often receive less recognition during mainstream awards season. The awards cover separate film and television competitions across the superhero, science fiction, fantasy, horror and action genres, including adaptations based on comic books and video games. Winners of this year's Critics Choice Super Awards will be announced on August 6.