The Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP has announced that Adam Sandler will receive the prestigious Career Achievement Honor at its 2026 ceremony.
The 59-year-old actor is receiving some of the best reviews of his career for his supporting turn in Jay Kelley, Netflix’s coming-of-age dramedy starring George Clooney and directed by Noah Baumbach. The awards show will take place in Beverly Hills on Jan. 10, and will be broadcast by Great Performances on PBS in February..
Based on the latest Gold Derby data, Sandler is currently projected as a Best Supporting Actor nominee at both the 2026 Oscars (the top five get in) and Golden Globes (the top six get in).
Oscars Nominations 2026
Best Picture Best Director Best Actress Best Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Screenplay Best Casting Best Cinematography Best Costume Design Best Film Editing Best Makeup and Hairstyling Best Production Design Best Score Best Sound Best Visual Effects Best Animated Feature Best International Film
Contender
Odds
1.
Sean Penn
95.2%
2.
Stellan Skarsgard
94.4%
3.
Paul Mescal
92.8%
4.
Benicio Del Toro
65.2%
5.
Adam Sandler
53.4%
6.
Jacob Elordi
28.9%
7.
Delroy Lindo
22.9%
8.
Jeremy Strong
19.4%
9.
Miles Caton
4.3%
10.
Jonathan Bailey
3.9%
11.
Jack O’Connell
2.0%
12.
Andrew Scott
1.8%
13.
Josh O’Connor
1.4%
14.
Mark Hamill
0.7%
15.
Andrew Garfield
0.7%
16.
Diego Luna
0.6%
17.
Bradley Cooper
0.6%
18.
Billy Crudup
0.3%
19.
Pedro Pascal
0.3%
20.
Jacobi Jupe
0.3%
21.
William H. Macy
0.3%
22.
Stephen Graham
0.3%
23.
Idris Elba
0.3%
24.
Akira Emoto
0.2%
25.
Matt Smith
0.2%
26.
James Sweeney
0.2%
27.
Ebrahim Azizi
0.2%
28.
Adam Driver
0.2%
29.
Michael Stuhlbarg
0.1%
30.
Tracy Letts
0.1%
31.
Keanu Reeves
0.1%
32.
Aziz Ansari
0.1%
33.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
0.1%
34.
LaKeith Stanfield
0.1%
35.
Al Pacino
0.1%
36.
Leo Woodall
0.1%
37.
Aidan Delbis
0.1%
38.
Lewis Pullman
0.1%
39.
David Jonsson
0.1%
40.
Conan O’Brien
0.1%
41.
Alexander Skarsgard
0.1%
42.
Michael Shannon
0.1%
43.
Javier Bardem
0.1%
44.
Josh O’Connor
0.1%
45.
Gabriel Basso
0.1%
46.
Pedro Pascal
0.1%
47.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
0.1%
48.
Benjamin Pajak
0.1%
49.
Richard E. Grant
0.1%
50.
Peter Dinklage
0.1%
51.
LaKeith Stanfield
0.1%
52.
Robert Pattinson
0.1%
53.
Andy Samberg
0.1%
54.
Liev Schreiber
0.1%
55.
Stavros Halkias
0.1%
56.
Kevin Kline
0.1%
57.
Josh Brolin
0.1%
58.
Samuel Bottomley
0.1%
59.
Andrew Scott
0.1%
60.
Damson Idris
0.1%
61.
Takehiro Hira
0.1%
62.
Colman Domingo
—
63.
Simon Russell Beale
—
64.
Ben Foster
—
65.
Albert Brooks
—
66.
Jack Lowden
—
67.
Dacre Montgomery
—
68.
Sean Bean
—
69.
Bill Murray
—
70.
Abel Ferrara
—
71.
Dustin Hoffman
—
72.
Jacob Anderson
—
73.
Christopher Abbott
—
74.
Tim Blake Nelson
—
75.
Brendan Gleeson
—
76.
Christoph Waltz
—
77.
Tom Bateman
—
78.
ASAP Rocky
—
79.
Woody Harrelson
—
80.
Austin Butler
—
81.
Nick Nolte
—
82.
Aubry Dullin
—
Golden Globes Film Nominations 2026
Best Film Drama Best Film Drama Actress Best Film Drama Actor Best Film Comedy/Musical Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress Best Film Comedy/Musical Actor Best Film Supp. Actress Best Film Supp. Actor Best Film Director Best Film Screenplay Best Animated Feature Best Non-English Film Best Score
Contender
Odds
1.
Stellan Skarsgard
97.2%
2.
Paul Mescal
96.9%
3.
Sean Penn
94.9%
4.
Adam Sandler
83.7%
5.
Benicio Del Toro
67.6%
6.
Jeremy Strong
48.3%
7.
Jacob Elordi
48.2%
8.
Delroy Lindo
31.9%
9.
Jonathan Bailey
7.3%
10.
Josh O’Connor
4.0%
11.
Andrew Scott
2.8%
12.
Miles Caton
2.5%
13.
Jack O’Connell
1.2%
14.
Diego Luna
1.1%
15.
Mark Hamill
0.9%
16.
Akira Emoto
0.5%
17.
Alexander Skarsgard
0.5%
18.
Bradley Cooper
0.5%
19.
Tracy Letts
0.4%
20.
Pedro Pascal
0.2%
21.
Idris Elba
0.2%
22.
William H. Macy
0.2%
23.
Sean Bean
0.2%
24.
Javier Bardem
0.1%
25.
Richard E. Grant
0.1%
26.
Michael Stuhlbarg
0.1%
27.
Aidan Delbis
0.1%
28.
David Jonsson
0.1%
29.
Andrew Garfield
0.1%
30.
Billy Crudup
0.1%
31.
ASAP Rocky
0.1%
32.
Josh O’Connor
0.1%
33.
Gabriel Basso
0.1%
34.
Ebrahim Azizi
0.1%
35.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
0.1%
36.
Benjamin Pajak
0.1%
37.
Robert Pattinson
0.1%
38.
Aubry Dullin
0.1%
39.
LaKeith Stanfield
—
40.
Simon Russell Beale
—
41.
Matt Smith
—
42.
Liev Schreiber
—
43.
Stavros Halkias
—
44.
Stephen Graham
—
45.
Kevin Kline
—
46.
James Sweeney
—
47.
Josh Brolin
—
48.
Samuel Bottomley
—
49.
Andrew Scott
—
50.
Leo Woodall
—
51.
Peter Dinklage
—
52.
Bill Murray
—
53.
Abel Ferrara
—
54.
Dustin Hoffman
—
55.
Jacob Anderson
—
56.
Jacobi Jupe
—
57.
Christopher Abbott
—
58.
Tim Blake Nelson
—
59.
Lewis Pullman
—
60.
Conan O’Brien
—
61.
Brendan Gleeson
—
62.
Damson Idris
—
63.
Jack Lowden
—
64.
Christoph Waltz
—
65.
Aziz Ansari
—
66.
Keanu Reeves
—
67.
Woody Harrelson
—
68.
Tom Bateman
—
69.
Jeffrey Wright
—
70.
Albert Brooks
—
71.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
—
72.
Adam Driver
—
73.
Pedro Pascal
—
74.
Austin Butler
—
75.
LaKeith Stanfield
—
76.
Nick Nolte
—
77.
Michael Shannon
—
78.
Al Pacino
—
79.
Dacre Montgomery
—
80.
Ben Foster
—
81.
Takehiro Hira
—
Sandler previously won the Movies for Grownups Award for Best Actor in 2020 for his heralded performance in Uncut Gems. Myechia Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP, “couldn’t be prouder” to present the achievement to Sandler, calling him “a Hollywood legend whose remarkable career has set a new standard for comedic storytelling, captivating audiences across generations.”
Alan Cumming, the four-time Emmy-winning host of The Traitors, has been tapped to emcee the Movies for Grownups Awards ceremony. This will be his fourth time as the event’s host.
The 25th annual event will celebrate the best movies and TV shows of the 2025 calendar year that resonated with the 50-plus crowd. The group’s most recent Best Picture winners were A Complete Unknown (2024), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and Belfast (2021). The last time their top pick matched up with the Oscars was Green Book (2018).
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