Here are all the Golden Globes nominations — but what do these awards really celebrate?

Over the past week, awards pundits were enraged over Yorgos Lanthimos and Poor Things. Erik Weber tweeted out, “#PoorThings sucks.” He was joined by a small collection of cackling monsters who obsess over award shows devoted to cinema, all while rejecting any movies that are artful, challenging or nuanced. They’re not critics; they’re not even reviewers. Once upon a time, they were maybe tastemakers, influential on a small but powerful faction of the Hollywood elite. Now, they cling to the semblance of past influence as they predict and evaluate various award shows. 

It’s not that disliking Poor Things or films like it are disqualifying of good taste. Writers like Beatrice Loayza for Film Comment have published thoughtful takedowns of the film. The problem is that so much film culture is still wrapped up in award shows that reduce cinema as an art form to celebrity and industry, with little regard for its art. Somehow, in a cinematic landscape overrun by horrendous fandoms, the awards pundit remains the most insidious member of the cinematic community. They care about little more than upholding the status quo, fascistically uplifting conservative norms and their fragile egos. 

With the announcement of the nominees for the Golden Globes this morning, Poor Things had seven nominations, much to the groaning despair of Weber. 

As the Golden Globes push forward with their rebrand post-nearly collapsing a few years ago, it’s worth remembering that the changes to the organization are superficial. They’re increasingly diverse and (allegedly) taking fewer bribes. The illusion that they once had an outsized influence on the Oscars, though, increasingly, seems busted. It’s a dinner party where celebrities can drink and cheer for themselves. It’s an opportunity for the parasites of the film ecosystem to continue posting to an audience that treats film appreciation like a fantasy sports league. 

As someone who has been writing film criticism for over 10 years, there has never been a time when people were not discussing the death of cinema and film critic. The war of popular audiences versus critics has only intensified with the continued popularity of Rotten Tomatoes and the degradation of public discourse into partisan culture wars where conceding a point is paramount to failure. Indulging in events like the Golden Globes further degrades a precarious critical role, especially when everyone is afraid of taking a stand, preferring to post memes or vague promotional material rather than engage thoughtfully with the art they’re watching. 

Is it wrong to enjoy the Golden Globes? No, not really. It’s occasionally refreshing to take pleasure in glamour and frivolity. But, if we’re going to be real, all of our engagement with film is increasingly reduced to thoughtless non-engagement. As someone who has gone on the record numerous times about the worthlessness of award shows, my stance has hardly wavered.

Large swaths of the industry have gone on strike this year, searching not only for better working conditions but to protect their rights as artists against the use of AI. It’s hard not to be cynical. What do award shows like the Golden Globes really celebrate? Great art? Hard work? I’m not convinced. If they celebrate anything, it’s the reduction of art to an industry where the rich can get richer off the backs of workers. Harsh, maybe — but am I wrong?

The 81st Golden Globe Awards ceremony will air on CBS Sunday, Jan. 7, 8 p.m. with a livestream available on Paramount+.

The complete list of Golden Globes nominations

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
Maestro (Netflix)
Past Lives (A24)
The Zone of Interest (A24)
Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy

Barbie (Warner Bros.)
Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)
American Fiction (MGM)
The Holdovers (Focus Features)
May December (Netflix)
Air (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Director, Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper — Maestro
Greta Gerwig — Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos — Poor Things
Christopher Nolan — Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese — Killers of the Flower Moon
Celine Song — Past Lives

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture 

Barbie — Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
Poor Things — Tony McNamara
Oppenheimer — Christopher Nolan
Killers of the Flower Moon — Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese
Past Lives — Celine Song
Anatomy of a Fall — Justine Triet, Arthur Harari

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama 

Bradley Cooper — Maestro
Cillian Murphy — Oppenheimer
Leonardo DiCaprio — Killers of the Flower Moon
Colman Domingo — Rustin
Andrew Scott — All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan — Saltburn

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama 

Lily Gladstone — Killers of the Flower Moon
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Annette Bening — Nyad
Greta Lee — Past Lives
Cailee Spaeny — Priscilla

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy 

Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple
Jennifer Lawrence – No Hard Feelings
Natalie Portman – May December
Alma Pöysti – Fallen Leaves
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Nicolas Cage — Dream Scenario
Timothée Chalamet — Wonka
Matt Damon — Air
Paul Giamatti — The Holdovers
Joaquin Phoenix — Beau Is Afraid
Jeffrey Wright — American Fiction

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture 

Willem Dafoe — Poor Things
Robert DeNiro — Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. — Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling — Barbie
Charles Melton — May December
Mark Ruffalo — Poor Things

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture 

Emily Blunt — Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks — The Color Purple
Jodie Foster — Nyad
Julianne Moore — May December
Rosamund Pike — Saltburn
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — The Holdovers

Best Television Series, Drama 

1923 (Paramount+)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
The Last of Us (HBO)
The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Succession (HBO)

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy 

The Bear (FX)
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Jury Duty (Amazon Freevee)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Barry (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama 

Pedro Pascal — The Last of Us
Kieran Culkin — Succession
Jeremy Strong — Succession
Brian Cox — Succession
Gary Oldman — Slow Horses
Dominic West — The Crown

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama 

Helen Mirren — 1923
Bella Ramsey — The Last of Us
Keri Russell — The Diplomat
Sarah Snook — Succession
Imelda Staunton — The Crown
Emma Stone — The Curse

Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy 

Ayo Edebiri — The Bear
Natasha Lyonne — Poker Face
Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary
Rachel Brosnahan — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Selena Gomez — Only Murders in the Building
Elle Fanning – The Great

Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy 

Bill Hader — Barry
Steve Martin — Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short — Only Murders in the Building
Jason Segel — Shrinking
Jason Sudeikis — Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White — The Bear

Best Supporting Actor, Television 

Billy Crudup — The Morning Show
Matthew Macfadyen — Succession
James Marsden — Jury Duty
Ebon Moss-Bachrach — The Bear
Alan Ruck — Succession
Alexander Skarsgård — Succession

Best Supporting Actress, Television 

Elizabeth Debicki — The Crown
Abby Elliott — The Bear
Christina Ricci — Yellowjackets
J. Smith-Cameron — Succession
Meryl Streep — Only Murders in the Building
Hannah Waddingham — Ted Lasso

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television 

Beef
Lessons in Chemistry
Daisy Jones & the Six
All the Light We Cannot See
Fellow Travelers
Fargo

Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television 

Matt Bomer — Fellow Travelers
Sam Claflin — Daisy Jones & the Six
Jon Hamm — Fargo
Woody Harrelson — White House Plumbers
David Oyelowo — Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Steven Yeun — Beef

Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television 

Riley Keough — Daisy Jones & the Six
Brie Larson — Lessons in Chemistry
Elizabeth Olsen — Love and Death
Juno Temple — Fargo
Rachel Weisz — Dead Ringers
Ali Wong — Beef

Best Original Score, Motion Picture 

Ludwig Göransson — Oppenheimer
Jerskin Fendrix — Poor Things
Robbie Robertson — Killers of the Flower Moon
Mica Levi — The Zone of Interest
Daniel Pemberton — Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Joe Hisaishi — The Boy and the Heron

Best Picture, Non-English Language 

Anatomy of a Fall (Neon) — France
Fallen Leaves (Mubi) — Finland
Io Capitano (01 Distribution) — Italy
Past Lives (A24) — United States
Society of the Snow (Netflix) — Spain
The Zone of Interest (A24) — United Kingdom

Best Original Song, Motion Picture 

Barbie — “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas
Barbie — “Dance the Night” by Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
She Came to Me — “Addicted to Romance” by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa
The Super Mario Bros. Movie — “Peaches” by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, and John Spiker
Barbie — “I’m Just Ken” by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
Rustin — “Road to Freedom” by Lenny Kravitz

Best Motion Picture, Animated 

The Boy and the Heron (GKids)
Elemental (Disney)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal Pictures)
Suzume (Toho Co.)
Wish (Disney)

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy or Television

Ricky Gervais — “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon”
Trevor Noah — Trevor Noah: Where Was I
Chris Rock — Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
Amy Schumer — Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact
Sarah Silverman — Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love
Wanda Sykes — Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Barbie (Warner Bros.)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney)
John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate Films)
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount Pictures)
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal Pictures)
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (AMC Theatres)

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