The 14th Critics' Choice Awards were presented on Thursday, January 8, 2009 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking.
Nominees were announced on December 9, 2008.
Winners and nominees
Best Film
Slumdog Millionaire
- Changeling
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Doubt
- Frost/Nixon
- Milk
- The Reader
- WALL·E
- The Wrestler
Best Action Film
The Dark Knight
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- Iron Man
- Quantum of Solace
- Wanted
Best Comedy Film
- Burn After Reading
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall
- Role Models
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Documentary Film
Man on Wire
- I.O.U.S.A.
- Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
- Standard Operating Procedure
- Young@Heart
Best Foreign Language Film
Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir) • Israel
- A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël) • France
- Gomorrah (Gomorra) • Italy
- I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) • France
- Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) • Sweden
- Mongol • Kazakhstan
Best Animated Film
WALL·E
- Bolt
- Kung Fu Panda
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
- Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir)
Best Television Film
John Adams
- Recount
- Coco Chanel
Best Actor
Sean Penn â€" Milk
- Clint Eastwood â€" Gran Torino
- Richard Jenkins â€" The Visitor
- Frank Langella â€" Frost/Nixon
- Brad Pitt â€" The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Mickey Rourke â€" The Wrestler
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway â€" Rachel Getting Married
Meryl Streep â€" Doubt
- Kate Beckinsale â€" Nothing But the Truth
- Cate Blanchett â€" The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Angelina Jolie â€" Changeling
- Melissa Leo â€" Frozen River
Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger â€" The Dark Knight
- Josh Brolin â€" Milk
- Robert Downey, Jr. â€" Tropic Thunder
- Philip Seymour Hoffman â€" Doubt
- James Franco â€" Milk
Best Supporting Actress
Kate Winslet â€" The Reader
- Penélope Cruz â€" Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- Viola Davis â€" Doubt
- Vera Farmiga â€" Nothing But the Truth
- Taraji P. Henson â€" The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Marisa Tomei â€" The Wrestler
Best Young Performer
Dev Patel â€" Slumdog Millionaire
- Dakota Fanning â€" The Secret Life of Bees
- David Kross â€" The Reader
- Brandon Walters â€" Australia
Best Cast
Milk
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Doubt
- Rachel Getting Married
Best Director
Danny Boyle â€" Slumdog Millionaire
- David Fincher â€" The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Ron Howard â€" Frost/Nixon
- Christopher Nolan â€" The Dark Knight
- Gus Van Sant â€" Milk
Best Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy â€" Slumdog Millionaire
- Eric Roth â€" The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- John Patrick Shanley â€" Doubt
- Peter Morgan â€" Frost/Nixon
- Dustin Lance Black â€" Milk
Best Composer
A. R. Rahman â€" Slumdog Millionaire
- Alexandre Desplat â€" The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Clint Eastwood â€" Changeling
- Danny Elfman â€" Milk
- James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer â€" The Dark Knight
Best Song
"The Wrestler" performed by Bruce Springsteen â€" The Wrestler
- "Another Way to Die" performed by Alicia Keys and Jack White â€" Quantum of Solace
- "Down to Earth" performed by Peter Gabriel â€" WALL·E
- "I Thought I Lost You" performed by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta â€" Bolt
- "Jai Ho!" performed by Sukhwinder Singh â€" Slumdog Millionaire
Awards breakdown
Number of nominations (minimum 2)
- 8 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Milk
- 6 The Dark Knight, Doubt and Slumdog Millionaire
- 5 The Wrestler
- 4 Frost/Nixon
- 3 Changeling, The Reader and WALL·E
- 2 Bolt, Nothing But the Truth, Quantum of Solace, Rachel Getting Married, Tropic Thunder and Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Number of awards (minimum 2)
- 5 Slumdog Millionaire
- 2 The Dark Knight and Milk