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Composite photo of "KPop Demon Hunters" and "Elio"
Netflix, Disney-Pixar
MANILA, Philippines — The biggest ceremony for animated projects in the United States is setting up to be a battle between Pixar's latest movie "Elio" and Netflix's breakout hit "KPop Demon Hunters."
Both movies scored 10 nominations for the 2026 Annie Awards — the most among all nominees this edition — including Best Feature where they will compete against another Disney entry "Zootopia 2," French film "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain," and Dreamworks' "The Bad Guys 2."
"KPop Demon Hunters" and "Elio" are also going head-to-head in the feature film categories for Animated Effects, Character Animation, Character Design, Editorial, Music, Production Design, and Writing.
Category splits. One of the most closely watched races is the Voice Acting category, where Arden Cho (Rumi in "KPop Demon Hunters") faces off against Remy Edgerly (Glordon in "Elio").
Their only separate categories is "Elio" — where the titular character is voiced by Filipino-American actor Yonas Ascunsion Kibreab — being nominated for Storyboarding while "KPop Demon Hunters" has a Directing nomination.
"Little Amélie or the Character of Rain" and "Zootopia 2" follow all nominees with seven nods each.
Related: 'Zootopia 2' now Disney Animation's biggest movie, overtaking 'Frozen 2'
Among television shows, Pixar's "Win or Lose" leads the pax with six nominations followed by "Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight" and "Common Side Effects" with five apiece.
"Win or Lose" and "Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight" are in hotly contested Best TV/Media – Limited Series category alongside "Star Wars: Visions – Volume 3" and two Marvel Studios Animation projects — "Eyes of Wakanda" and "Marvel Zombies."
"Common Side Effects" meanwhile is in the Best TV/Media – Mature race up against "Bob's Burgers," "Haha, You Clowns," "Il Baracchino," and "South Park."
Why it matters. The Annie Awards serve as a strong precursor for the Academy Awards where "KPop Demon Hunters" and "Zootopia 2" are favorites to lead the Animated Feature Filmc category.
However, the Annie Awards are limited largely to U.S.-produced works, meaning internationally produced hits — such as the Japanese anime "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle" and Chinese blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" — could still factor into the Oscars race despite their absence from the Annie nominations.
