Categories at the PWNIEs

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The following is a list of current and former awards given out at the PWNIEs. As of now, 35 unique categories have been presented, with the exact number fluctuating each year.

List of Categories and Winners[edit | edit source]

The following is a list of categories that have been presented at any of the five PWNIE Awards ceremonies. The criteria for nominations is also included.

The Qualitative Awards[edit | edit source]

These are awards given to specific types of movies (such as sequels vs. original ideas), or awards based on expectations and reactions (pleasant surprise vs. disappointment). These are generally the first awards presented.

Best Sequel, Reboot, or Remake

This award is given to any film that is not an original concept, such as a sequel or remake, which greatly improves or expands upon the films which came before it. This category was introduced in 2015, and has been awarded each year since then. It is the first award presented. All films which have won this category have been sequels, though several remakes have been nominated.

  • 2015 - Mad Max: Fury Road
  • 2016 - 10 Cloverfield Lane
  • 2017 - Logan
  • 2018 - Deadpool 2
  • 2019 - Avengers: Endgame

Best Original Idea

This award is given to any film which is not a direct sequel or remake of a previous film, and generally one which produces a new or novel concept. In previous years, it was simply given to the best movie which was not in a franchise, however in recent years the trend has been towards awarding the idea itself. The film which wins may not be the best in the category, but the concept is unique or interesting enough to merit a win. This category was first presented in 2015, and has been awarded every year since then.

  • 2015 - Ex Machina
  • 2016 - Sing Street
  • 2017 - Get Out
  • 2018 - Bandersnatch
  • 2019 - Us

Best Adaptation

This former award was given to the best film of each year that was adapted from some prior source, usually a comic book or novel. It was first awarded in 2015, and only given to two films.

  • 2015 - Kingsman: The Secret Service
  • 2016 - Doctor Strange

Best Animated Movie

This former award was given to the best animated film of each year. It was first awarded in 2015, and only given to two movies. It was discontinued after 2017 as none of the trio had seen a good animated movie that year, and was never renewed after that.

  • 2015 - Shaun the Sheep Movie
  • 2016 - Zootopia

Best Summer (And Also May) Blockbuster

This former award was given to films released during the summer which were intended for a broad audience. The purpose of the award was to recognize quality movies with larger budgets, which were not often given awards in the other categories. The award was awarded only once, in 2015. The reason for discontinuing the award was a lack of good summer movies released in 2016, a point acknowledged in the infamous Hollywood is Dead series on PWN.

  • 2015 - Mad Max: Fury Road

Pleasantly Surprising Movie

This award is given to a film whose quality exceeded the expectations of the trio. Generally, it is the film with the largest aggregate positive reception in comparison to negative expectations, which may stem from a sub-par trailer or a bad cast/crew. Originally, the award simply went to a good movie with no discernible criteria beyond that. The award was first given in 2015, and has been given every ceremony since 2017.

  • 2015 - The Peanuts Movie
  • 2017 - Split
  • 2018 - Wreck-it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet
  • 2019 - Alita: Battle Angel

Damn Fine Film Award

This award is the subject of much debate within the trio, however it is generally given to a film which qualifies as "good", however would not be considered for the Golden Egg Award. Ari once attempted to describe the award as "the tallest midget", while Nick considers it to be "the best average movie". The award was first presented in 2018, and awarded each year since then. However, the award has been retroactively awarded.

  • 2016 - The Founder (retroactively awarded)
  • 2018 - Isle of Dogs
  • 2019 - Fod v. Ferarri

Biggest Disappointment and Most Overrated Movie

These awards have been given out each year since 2015, however they were presented as a single award in the 2017 and 2018 ceremonies. The "Biggest Disappointment" award is presented as an antithesis of the "Pleasantly Surprising Movie" award, to a film which did not meet the expectations of the trio. The "Most Overrated Movie" award goes to any film, regardless of quality, which is misrepresented by the general public as better than it actually is. Generally, this is the movie with the greatest disparity between audience opinion and the opinions of the trio.

Awarded as separate awards:

  • 2015 - Spectre (BD), Jurassic World (MOM)
  • 2016 - Suicide Squad (BD), Captain America: Civil War (MOM)
  • 2019 - The Irishman (BD), Joker (MOM)

Awarded as "Biggest Disappointment/Overrated Movie"

  • 2017 - Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  • 2018 - Bird Box

Funniest Movie

This award is simply given to the movie that produces the most laughs from the trio, whether strictly a comedy or not. It was first awarded in 2015, and has been presented at each ceremony since then.

  • 2015 - Shaun the Sheep Movie
  • 2016 - Hunt for the Wilderpeople
  • 2017 - Kingsman: The Golden Circle
  • 2018 - Deadpool 2
  • 2019 - Jojo Rabbit

The Acting Awards[edit | edit source]

These are awards based on performances, both positive and negative. Some acting awards are nominated or awarded to more than one performer or more than one performance.

Best Actor

This award was given to the best performance by a male actor (or male actors) in a film. It was ceremoniously presented to the performer, not to the film. The award was first presented in 2015, and last presented in 2018 before its split into two categories. The nominees were capped at no more than ten per ceremony, and did not discriminate by age or language, and often included comedic performances as well as dramatic. In 2017, a dog was un-ironically nominated for the award.

  • 2015 - Matt Damon as Mark Watney, The Martian
  • 2016 - Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler, Manchester by the Sea
  • 2017 - Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, Get Out
  • 2018 - Bradley Cooper as Jackson Maine, A Star is Born

Best Lead Actor

The acting awards were split into lead and supporting categories to allow for more nominees, capped at ten per category per ceremony. The revised categories were first presented for the 2019 awards.

  • 2019 - Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Best Supporting Actor

The acting awards were split into lead and supporting categories to allow for more nominees, capped at ten per category per ceremony. The revised categories were first presented for the 2019 awards. The specific rules for what constitutes a "supporting" performance are unclear.

  • 2019 - Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake, The Lighthouse

Best Actress

This award was given to the best performance by a female actress (or actresses) in a film. It was ceremoniously presented to the performer, not to the film. The award was first presented in 2015, and last presented in 2018 before its split into two categories. The nominees were capped at no more than ten per ceremony, and not discriminate by age or language.

  • 2015 - Alicia Vikander as Ava, Ex Machina
  • 2016 - Emma Stone as Mia, La La Land
  • 2017 - Frances McDormand (Fran) as Mildred, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  • 2018 - Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone in The Favourite

Best Lead Actress

The acting awards were split into lead and supporting categories to allow for more nominees, capped at ten per category per ceremony. The revised categories were first presented for the 2019 awards.

  • 2019 - Lupita Nyong'o as Adelaide/Red, Us

Best Supporting Actress

The acting awards were split into lead and supporting categories to allow for more nominees, capped at ten per category per ceremony. The revised categories were first presented for the 2019 awards. The specific rules for what constitutes a "supporting" performance are unclear.

  • 2019 - Scarlett Johansson as Rosie Betzler, Jojo Rabbit

Worst Actor

This award is presented to the worst male performer (or performers) of the year. It was first presented in 2015, and has been presented at each ceremony since 2017. No winner was chosen in 2016.

  • 2015 - Every male lead in Pixels
  • 2017 - Bruce Greenwood, Kingsman: The Golden Circle"
  • 2018 - Will Ferrel, Holmes and Watson
  • 2019 - Kevin Hart, Hobbs & Shaw

Worst Actress

This award is presented to the worst female performer (or performers) of the year. It was first presented in 2015 to the sole nominee, and had been presented each year since 2017. No winner was chosen in 2016.

  • 2015 - Mila Kunis, Jupiter Ascending
  • 2017 - The Old Lady from Split
  • 2018 - Sherri Saum, #SquadGoals
  • 2019 - Hilary Duff, The Haunting of Sharon Tate

The Cringe Award

First awarded in 2015 as the "Most Cringeworthy Performance" award, it has since been expanded to include non-performances and individual elements of films. It was first awarded under the new criteria in 2017, and has been presented at every ceremony.

  • 2015 - Eddie Redmayne, Jupiter Ascending
  • 2016 - Jesse Eisenberg, Batman v Superman
  • 2017 - Henry Cavill's face in Justice League
  • 2018 - "What are those!?" from Black Panther
  • 2019 - Lando Calrissian, Star Wars: Episode IX

Surprisingly Not Shit Performance

This former award was given to a performer that exceeded expectations in their role, based either on lack of experience, prior bad roles, or the overall quality of the film. It was first presented in 2015, and discontinued after 2016 when it was partially merged into its successor award, "Best Performance by a Non-Actor".

  • 2015 - John Cena, Trainwreck
  • 2016 - Ben Affleck, Batman v Superman

Best Performance by a Non-Actor

This award is presented to a performer (or performers) of any gender who is not primarily known for their acting ability. This includes musicians, comedians, wrestlers, or any other non-actor, and may be presented to either a cameo performance or a fictional role. It was first awarded in 2017, and has been presented each year since.

  • 2017 - Elton John (musician) as himself, Kingman: The Golden Circle
  • 2018 - Tom Waits (musician) as the Old Prospector, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  • 2019 - Kevin Gernett (basketballer) as himself, Uncut Gems

The Aspect Awards[edit | edit source]

This is a loose subsection of awards given to individual qualities of a film, including visuals, music, scenes, or characters.

Most Visually Interesting

This award is given to the film considered to be the best-looking movie of a given year. This could be due to cinematography, camera movement, color grading and correction, or framing and visual style. The award was first given in 2015 as "Most Aesthetically Pleasing", and presented each year since. The award's name was changed in 2019. The award was also presented after the acting categories, whereas in previous years it preceded these awards.

  • 2015 - Mad Max: Fury Road
  • 2016 - Hunt for the Wilderpeople
  • 2017 - It Comes at Night
  • 2018 - Into the Spider-Verse
  • 2019 - Monos

Best Score

This award is presented to the film with the best original score or music. The award is always presented by Wesley, who is often responsible for nominating and selecting the winners. It was first awarded in 2015, and has been presented every year since 2017.

  • 2015 - Mad Max: Fury Road
  • 2017 - Dunkirk
  • 2018 - You Were Never Really Here
  • 2019 - Monos

Worst Score

This award is presented to the film with the worst original score or soundtrack. The award is always presented by Wesley, however it is generally Nick who picks the winner, as he watches the most bad movies. It was first awarded in 2015, and has been presented every year since 2017.

  • 2015 - Pixels
  • 2017 - The Greatest Showman
  • 2018 - The Meg
  • 2019 - Playmobil: The Movie

Worst Song

This award was only presented once, without additional nominees. It was presented in 2015, and has never been included in a ceremony since then. There has never been a corresponding award for "best song".

  • 2015 - "Writing's on the Wall" from Spectre

Best Part of a Bad Movie

This award is presented to either a character, scene, or some other quality that redeems a bad movie. This award was introduced in 2016, and has been presented each year since 2018.

  • 2016 - The sausage factory scene in The Secret Life of Pets
  • 2018 - Ng Chin Han (Lau from The Dark Knight) in Skyscraper
  • 2019 - Ned in Spider-Man: Far From Home

Get Off the Fucking Screen Award

This award is presented to an annoying trend in the industry, or to a bad performer/crew member. It was first presented in 2015, and was not awarded in 2018 or 2019.

  • 2015 - Adam Sandler movies
  • 2016 - "Directed by Zack Snyder"
  • 2017 - Trailers for trailers

Best Hero and Best Villain

These former awards were respectively given to the best protagonist and the best antagonist in a film. They were first presented in 2015, and discontinued after 2016. No winner was chosen in 2016 for the "Best Villain" award.

  • 2015 - Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road (BH), Valentine in Kingsman: The Secret Service (BV)
  • 2016 - Donnie Yen's character in Rogue One (BH), N/A (BV)

Best Hero-Villain Pair

This award is presented to the protagonist and the antagonist with the best chemistry or most interesting backstory. It was first presented as an ironic award in 2015, and revived in 2019 after being discontinued since 2016.

  • 2015 - Leonardo DiCaprio vs. The Academy
  • 2019 - Robert Pattinson vs. Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse

Best Fight Scene

This award is presented to the best action or fight scene within a film. It was first presented in 2015, before being revived in 2019 after two years of disuse.

  • 2015 - The church scene, Kingsman: The Secret Service
  • 2016 - Backwards China, Doctor Strange
  • 2019 - Knife fight (and the whole film, John Wick 3

Best Trailer

This award is presented to the best trailer or teaser for a film released within a certain year. The year of the film's release is the main criteria, not the year of release for the trailer. It was first awarded in 2016, and has been given each year since 2018. The winner is usually chosen and presented by Nick.

The Superlative Awards[edit | edit source]

These are the awards granted to the superlative films of the year. There are three primary awards.

The Little Movie That Could

The award for "The Little Movie That Could" is presented to a film that not only exceeded expectations, but proved to be great or effective despite limited resources or a low budget. This could be a successful film based on a difficult concept, a film that persevered through development hell, or a fantastic film by a first-time or inexperienced director. The winner is chosen by and presented by Nick. He first gave the award in 2015, and has been awarded every year since. The current criteria were decided after the 2016 awards.

  • 2015 - Shaun the Sheep Movie
  • 2016 - Hardcore Henry
  • 2017 - The Florida Project
  • 2018 - Eighth Grade, with honorable mention for The Other Side of the Wind
  • 2019 - The Peanut Butter Falcon

Rotten Tomato Award

This award is presented to the worst film of each year. First presented in 2015 as the "Worst Picture", the award was renamed the "Rotten Tomato Award" in the 2017 ceremony. Limited to ten nominees, the winner is unanimously chosen though it usually is a film that only Nick saw. Prior to 2017, all three voters were required to have seen the film, meaning the winner generally was not the objectively worst film. The rules were changed to allow for The Emoji Movie to win in 2017.

  • 2015 - Spectre
  • 2016 - Batman v Superman
  • 2017 - The Emoji Movie
  • 2018 - The Meg
  • 2019 - The Haunting of Sharon Tate

Golden Egg Award

This award is presented to the best film of each year. First presented in 2015 as the "Best Picture", the award was renamed the "Golden Egg Award" at the 2017 ceremony. The award is limited to ten nominees. Anybody may nominate a film, however the winner must be one that all three members of the trio have seen. The winner is often the film that cumulatively ranks the highest on each member's best of the year list. This rule was introduced in 2017 after the prior two winners were films that Ari had not seen.

  • 2015 - Mad Max: Fury Road
  • 2016 - Sing Street
  • 2017 - Baby Driver
  • 2018 - Sorry to Bother You
  • 2019 - Parasite