HOLLYWOOD—AVN Media Network returned Thursday night to the Avalon nightclub in Hollywood to host its annual AVN Awards Nominations Party, where the nominees were announced in a handful of the very top categories for the 2026 AVN Awards Show, set to take place January 24, 2026 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, presented by MyFreeCams.
The full list of nominees in 87 categories recognizing outstanding achievements in the video, pleasure product and retail arenas can be found here.
The Nominations Party was presided over by 2026 AVN Awards co-hosts Abigaiil Morris and ItsLo, with presentations by official Trophy Girls Ava Amira and Meagan Moore, AVN Media Network CEO Tony Rios and AVN Hall of Famer Amber Lynn.
While AVN streamlined its categories for the upcoming show to an extent, it also introduced a pair of new ones: Best DP/Mondo Movie or Series, and Best Indie/Amateur Movie or Series.
“We noticed a major boom over the last year or so in releases featuring large and often extreme group scenes, and felt these types of titles were ripe for their own category,” AVN managing editor Peter Warren explained. “The term ‘mondo’ is an informal one that came out of Italian cult cinema of the ’60s, and it can mean both big and shocking or extreme, so it seemed to fit.
“There also has been a void for some time in our show of properly recognizing the work of smaller producers with more limited budgets than the big guys, but who make highly noteworthy content in their own right,” Warren added. “We wanted to rectify that, and hence Indie/Amateur was formed.”
Warren concluded, “Our Nominations Committee was worked tirelessly for the last two months on these selections, and it’s deeply gratifying to now share them with the world. Our heartiest congratulations to all the nominees, and see you in January!”
AVN also announced nominees Thursday night for the 2026 GayVN Awards and the 2026 “O” Awards.
Nominees for the 2026 Fan-Voted AVN Awards will be announced soon.
Tickets to the 2026 AVN Awards Show are available here.
For info about rooms at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, click here.
