Netflix's animated phenomenon dominated nearly every category at this year's Annie Awards, cementing its place as one of the most successful animated films in recent memory.
In a ceremony that left little room for suspense, KPop Demon Hunters claimed 10 prizes at the 2026 Annie Awards—including Best Feature—making it one of the most dominant performances in the history of the animation honors. The awards are presented annually by ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association.
Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the Sony Pictures Animation–produced film had already rewritten the rules of streaming success before the ceremony began. Netflix launched it last summer with minimal fanfare, yet it became an overnight global sensation and is now reported to be the platform's most-watched film of all time, accumulating an extraordinary 481.6 million views worldwide in the second half of 2025 alone.
"Netflix launched it with little promotion… and it became an overnight sensation."
Saturday night confirmed what audiences had already decided: the pop musical is a cultural force. Beyond Best Feature, the film also claimed Best Direction, Best Writing, Best Music, Best Editorial, Best FX, Best Character Animation, Best Character Design, and Best Production Design—a near-total sweep of the feature categories. Actress Arden Cho, who voices the lead character Rumi, took home Best Voice Acting in the feature division.
Historical Context
Whether the Annie sweep translates to Oscar glory remains an open question. Several past Annie winners for Best Feature have gone on to claim the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature—most recently Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio in 2023. Last year, the Annie top prize went to The Wild Robot, though the Oscar ultimately went to the Annie's Best Independent winner, Flow.
This year's Best Independent Feature at the Annies went to Ugo Bienvenu's hand-drawn French film Arco—making it the film to watch heading into Oscar season.
Television Highlights
On the television side, Adult Swim's Common Side Effects was the standout, claiming Best TV/Media – Mature as well as Best Direction, Best Writing, and Best Editorial in the TV categories. Hulu's The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball took Best TV/Media – Children, while Pixar's Disney+ series Win or Lose won Best Limited Series and Best Character Animation. The preschool prize went to the Chilean production Wow Lisa, a visually inventive series that places 3D characters inside handcrafted, scale-model sets.
Lifetime Achievement & Special Honors
The evening's Winsor McCay Award—ASIFA-Hollywood's highest lifetime honor—was presented to four recipients: Dutch filmmaker Michaël Dudok de Wit (The Red Turtle), the Lego Movie writer-director duo Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, and Chris Sanders, whose credits span Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Wild Robot.
Producer Sandy Rabins received the June Foray Award for her leadership of AnimAID, an initiative that provided critical support to animation industry workers affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. Japanese technology company Wacom, maker of the Cintiq graphics tablet—now the de facto industry standard for professional 2D animation—received the Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement.
Animation convention LightBox Expo earned a Special Achievement Award for its role in connecting the broader animation community, from working filmmakers to students and fans alike.