Spider-Man Sweeps and BTS Take Three: Every Big Winner From the 2026 Kids' Choice Awards
(Illustration: USA Current Affaires)
The slime has settled, the blimps have been handed out, and the 2026 Kids' Choice Awards have their winners. Spider-Man: Brand New Day was the night's biggest movie triumph, BTS ruled the music categories, and the show made history of its own — airing on CBS and Nickelodeon at the same time for the first time ever.
Hosted by singer Alex Warren on Saturday, November 14, live from Television City Studios in Los Angeles, the ceremony ran from 8 to 9:30 p.m. ET and celebrated the movies, television shows, musicians, creators and sports stars that young fans voted for over the past year. Taylor Swift led the nominations with six, followed by Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter with five each — but on the night, it was the web-slinger and the world's biggest boy band who took home the most trophies.
Spider-Man Swings Away With Four Blimps
Spider-Man: Brand New Day won Favorite Movie, and its two stars took the acting prizes with it: Tom Holland won Favorite Movie Actor for his return as Peter Parker, and Zendaya won Favorite Movie Actress for MJ. Sadie Sink completed the film's sweep by winning Favorite Villain, giving the movie four blimps in total.
The animated categories had their own winners. Zootopia 2 took Favorite Animated Movie, while KPop Demon Hunters scored a string of wins: Arden Cho won for voicing Rumi, Ahn Hyo-seop won for voicing Jinu, and the film's song "Golden" was named Favorite Movie Song. On television, Percy Jackson and the Olympians claimed Favorite Kids TV Show, Stranger Things took Favorite Family TV Show, SpongeBob SquarePants won Favorite Cartoon, and Jenna Ortega won Favorite Female TV Star for Wednesday.
There was also a poignant moment away from the big categories. Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly took the stage to accept the new Watch Party award for Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, and dedicated the win to their late co-star Carla Jeffery, who appeared in the first three Zombies movies and died in September. The pair, who now serve as executive producers on the upcoming Zombies 5: Secrets of the Sea, were visibly moved as they paid tribute to her.
BTS Rule the Music Prizes
If Spider-Man owned the movies, BTS owned the music. The group won Favorite Music Group or Duo ahead of BLACKPINK, the Jonas Brothers and Maroon 5, then added Favorite Song for "SWIM" and Favorite Album for ARIRANG — three wins in a single night.
The solo artist prizes went elsewhere: ROSÉ won Favorite Female Artist, beating a field that included Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo, while Bruno Mars won Favorite Male Artist. Elsewhere on the night, Lionel Messi was named Favorite Male Sports Star, Olympian Alysa Liu won Favorite Female Sports Star, Roblox took Favorite Video Game, MrBeast won Favorite Male Creator and the LOL Podcast won Favorite Podcast.
Chris Pratt received the night's special honour, the King of Comedy Award, collecting a silver blimp rather than the traditional orange trophy — and taking a bath in slime for his trouble. The host was not spared either: Alex Warren was slimed during the show, along with Alysa Liu, singer Ashe — who was covered mid-performance of her hit "Wedding" — and Savanna Bananas star Jackson Olson.
A First for the Show
The 2026 ceremony was a milestone for Nickelodeon itself. For the first time, the Kids' Choice Awards aired simultaneously on CBS and Nickelodeon, with streaming on Paramount+, bringing the fan-voted show to its biggest audience yet. Unlike industry awards decided by panels of professionals, every winner on Saturday night was chosen by kids voting for their favourites.
That is what makes the results such a useful snapshot of the year in pop culture: the biggest movie of the year for young fans is a superhero sequel, the biggest music act is BTS, and the biggest television show is a fantasy adventure. The slime may wash off, but the winners list will be talked about in school corridors on Monday morning.
Music was also the story of the week beyond the ceremony: the leaked GTA VI album tracklist revealed Cardi B, Dua Lipa and Jennie among its 34 songs, and Ariana Grande — a five-time nominee on the night — takes centre stage in the new Focker In-Law featurette.
Did your favourite win at the Kids' Choice Awards? Let us know in the comments.
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