Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, the biopic about a pivotal period in the life of Bruce Springsteen, was named best period film at the 2026 Movies for Grownup Awards with AARP, which were presented on Saturday (Jan. 10) at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Springsteen film, which fell short of expectations but was by no means a bomb, beat Dead Man’s Wire, Marty Supreme, Nuremberg and Sinners in that category.
Another film about a legendary rock act came up short at the Movies for Grownup Awards. Becoming Led Zeppelin lost best documentary to My Mom Jayne, actress Mariska Hargitay’s film about her late mother, 1960s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield.
The Movies for Grownups Awards honor films and television projects that celebrate the voices and stories of those who are 50-plus. This year’s show, hosted by Alan Cumming, the Tony and Primetime Emmy-winning host of The Traitors, will be broadcast by Great Performances on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. ET/PT/6 p.m. CT on PBS and the PBS app.
Hamnet won the top award, best picture/best movie for grownups, though it won no other awards. One Battle After Another won three awards on the night — best ensemble, best screenwriter for Paul Thomas Anderson and best supporting actress for Regina Hall.
Sentimental Value and the TV series The Pitt each won two awards.
Adam Sandler received the Movies for Grownups career achievement award and amused the audience with a tongue-in-cheek “top 10” list of signs he’s officially growing up. Henry Winkler, a friend of Sandler’s since the comedian included Winkler’s Happy Days character Arthur Fonzarelli in his 1994 classic “The Chanukah Song,” spoke to Sandler’s character.
Chloé Zhao, Paul Mescal, and Jessie Buckley accepted the award for Hamnet, and Noah Wyle and R. Scott Gemmill accepted best tv series or limited series for The Pitt.
George Clooney, honored as best actor for Jay Kelly, and Wyle, recognized as best TV actor for The Pitt, presented the awards to one another, a nod to their longtime friendship and collaboration that began in 1994 on the blockbuster series ER.
Clooney reflected on his role in Jay Kelly, saying, “I couldn’t believe my luck that I got to play the part… This film was made by people who love actors.” Wyle added that The Pitt has given him the chance to thrive at this stage of his life.
Best actress winner Laura Dern, honored for Is This Thing On?, spoke about legacy and the privilege of storytelling: “My parents [Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd] taught me… we are lucky and blessed to be part of this industry. It is an extraordinary gift not to be wasted.”
Kathy Bates, who received best TV actress for Matlock, dedicated her award to her mother and reflected on how opportunities continue to evolve — even at the age of 77. “Thank the good Lord, week after week, especially older women who have reached out to share how empowered they are to finally be able to feel seen in their own lives,” she said.
Jacob Elordi presented the best director award to del Toro, saying, “With Frankenstein, Guillermo returns to a story he’s carried with him for decades. This version isn’t about spectacle. It’s about responsibility — about what it means to create something and what happens when you don’t take care of it.”
The annual Movies for Grownups Awards raises funds for AARP Foundation, which works to strengthen older adults’ financial resilience.
Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 2026 Movies for Grownups with AARP Awards, with winners marked:
Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups
WINNER: Hamnet
A House of Dynamite
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Actress
WINNER: Laura Dern, Is This Thing On?
Jodie Foster, A Private Life
Lucy Liu, Rosemead
Julia Roberts, After the Hunt
June Squibb, Eleanor the Great
Best Actor
WINNER: George Clooney, Jay Kelly
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine
Best Supporting Actress
WINNER: Regina Hall, One Battle After Another
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Helen Mirren, Goodbye June
Gwyneth Paltrow, Marty Supreme
Sigourney Weaver, Avatar: Fire and Ash
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
WINNER: Delroy Lindo, Sinners
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Michael Shannon, Nuremberg
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
WINNER: Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein
Spike Lee, Highest 2 Lowest
Best Screenwriter
WINNER: 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
James Vanderbilt, Nuremberg
Best Ensemble
A House of Dynamite
Jay Kelly
Nuremberg
WINNER: One Battle After Another
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Intergenerational Film
Eleanor the Great
The Lost Bus
Rental Family
Rosemead
WINNER: Sentimental Value
Best Period Film
Dead Man’s Wire
Marty Supreme
Nuremberg
Sinners
WINNER: Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Best Documentary
Becoming Led Zeppelin
Cover Up
WINNER: My Mom Jayne
Riefenstahl
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost
Best Foreign Language Film
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choi
Nouvelle Vague
The Secret Agent
WINNER: Sentimental Value
Best TV Series or Limited Series
Adolescence
Hacks
WINNER: 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
WINNER: Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Best Actress (TV)
WINNER: Kathy Bates, Matlock
Kathryn Hahn, The Studio
Catherine O’Hara, The Studio
Parker Posey, The White Lotus
Jean Smart, Hacks
