Golden Globes nominations: Left-field picks, Oscar contenders, unfortunate snubs

You know awards season is well underway when the Golden Globes nominations are announced. Among this morning’s announcements are multiple noms for Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist, Conclave, Anora and Wicked, suggesting that these titles might be favourites for Best Picture at the Oscars (a category that doesn’t have any obvious frontrunner this year).

After being revived and rebranded for the 2023–24 awards season, with an expanded voting body and a continued commitment against corruption, the Golden Globes has introduced some more left-field choices into the conversation, including The Substance and Challengers — audience and box-office favourites that have had negligible awards attention thus far.

For local legend Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two only snagged two nominations: Best Motion Picture – Drama and Hans Zimmer for his soundtrack (a surprise after he was said to be disqualified in this category by most awards shows this year). Villeneuve will always be a winner in our hearts. Meanwhile, Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya were nominated for roles in other films (A Complete Unknown and Challengers, respectively).

On the topic of “snubs,” Anthony Jeselnik’s Bones and All not securing a nomination in the stand-up category is egregious, but also predictable. The best films of the year that didn’t receive attention are small, independent and foreign; they likely weren’t even on the voters’ radar. It has yet to screen for critics in Montreal, but the lack of any Golden Globes nominations for Barry Jenkins Mufasa: The Lion King also raises some eyebrows. Though it possibly only qualified for last year (it didn’t receive any nominations either), the biggest miss of the past year (or two) has to be Nathan Fielder’s The Curse, one of the best works of screen art of the past decade. 

The inclusion of the meant-to-be-audience-pleasing Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award continues to be an embarrassment. The category is used as an excuse to list a few high-earning films that otherwise are undeserving of serious awards attention. Ignoring the fact that the category more appropriately should be understood as a way of rewarding gigantic marketing budgets, it would have been better suited to go niche, highlighting films like The Substance or Challengers that were made on a smaller budget but garnered not only unexpected box-office results but were memed to oblivion. 

The obvious pandering of the existence of the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category also discounts that the Golden Globes, in also including television, already rewards enormously popular screen culture. Sure, the average Canadian maybe hasn’t seen Anora or All We Imagine as Light, but many have watched The Bear, Abbott Elementary and House of the Dragon. Why are we pretending that the problem with awards shows is the quality and popularity of the nominations and not the culture itself? Awards shows don’t resonate the way they used to, and it remains to be seen whether their maintenance (and, in this case, revival) are worthwhile.

The 82nd Golden Globes ceremony will air on CityTV, CBS and Paramount+ on Jan. 5, 2025, 8 p.m., with host Nikki Glaser.

The complete list of Golden Globes nominations

Best Motion Picture – Drama

The Brutalist (A24)
A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)
Conclave (Focus Features)
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon Mgm Studios)
September 5 (Paramount Pictures)

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Anora (Neon)
Challengers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures)
The Substance (Mubi)
Wicked (Universal Pictures)

Best Motion Picture – Animated

Flow (Sideshow/Janus Films)
Inside Out 2 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Memoir of a Snail (IFC Films)
Moana 2 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)
The Wild Robot (Universal Pictures)

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Alien: Romulus (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Deadpool & Wolverine (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)
Inside Out 2 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Twisters (Universal Pictures)
Wicked (Universal Pictures)
The Wild Robot (Universal Pictures)

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

All We Imagine as Light (Sideshow / Janus Films) – Usa / France / India
Emilia Pérez (Netflix) – France
The Girl With the Needle (Mubi) – Poland / Sweden / Denmark
I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics) – Brazil
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon) – Usa / Germany
Vermiglio (Sideshow / Janus Films) – Italy

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl)
Angelina Jolie (Maria)
Nicole Kidman (Babygirl)
Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door)
Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here)
Kate Winslet (Lee)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
Daniel Craig (Queer)
Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Amy Adams (Nightbitch)
Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)
Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)
Mikey Madison (Anora)
Demi Moore (The Substance)
Zendaya (Challengers)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)
Hugh Grant (Heretic)
Gabriel Labelle (Saturday Night)
Jesse Plemons (Kinds of Kindness)
Glen Powell (Hit Man)
Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Selena Gomez (Emilia Pérez)
Ariana Grande (Wicked)
Felicity Jones (The Brutalist)
Margaret Qualley (The Substance)
Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)
Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Yura Borisov (Anora)
Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)
Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)
Denzel Washington (Gladiator II)

Best Director – Motion Picture

Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
Sean Baker (Anora)
Edward Berger (Conclave)
Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine as Light)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
Sean Baker (Anora)
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold (The Brutalist)
Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)
Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
Peter Straughan (Conclave)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Volker Bertelmann (Conclave)
Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist)
Kris Bowers (The Wild Robot)
Clément Ducol, Camille (Emilia Pérez)
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (Challengers)
Hans Zimmer (Dune: Part Two)

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl; Music & Lyrics By: Andrew Wyatt, Miley Cyrus, Lykke Zachrisson
“Compress / Repress” – Challengers; Music & Lyrics By: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Luca Guadagnino
“El Mal” – Emilia Pérez; Music & Lyrics By: Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard
“Forbidden Road” – Better Man; Music & Lyrics By: Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek
“Kiss The Sky” – The Wild Robot; Music & Lyrics By: Delacey, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi
“Mi Camino” – Emilia Pérez; Music & Lyrics By: Clément Ducol, Camille

Best Television Series – Drama

The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
Shogun (FX/Hulu)
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Squid Game (Netflix)

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Abbott Elementary (ABC)
The Bear (FX/Hulu)
The Gentlemen (Netflix)
Hacks (HBO/Max)
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made For Television

Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
The Penguin (HBO/Max)
Ripley (Netflix)
True Detective: Night Country (HBO/Max)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Kathy Bates (Matlock)
Emma D’arcy (House of the Dragon)
Maya Erskine (Mr. & Mrs. Smith)
Keira Knightley (Black Doves)
Keri Russell (The Diplomat)
Anna Sawai (Shogun)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Donald Glover (Mr. & Mrs. Smith)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Presumed Innocent)
Gary Oldman (Slow Horses)
Eddie Redmayne (The Day of the Jackal)
Hiroyuki Sanada (Shogun)
Billy Bob Thornton (Landman)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This)
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary)
Ayo Edebiri (The Bear)
Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building)
Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along)
Jean Smart (Hacks)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This)
Ted Danson (A Man on the Inside)
Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building)
Jason Segel (Shrinking)
Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building)
Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer)
Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country)
Cristin Milioti (The Penguin)
Sofía Vergara (Griselda)
Naomi Watts  (Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans)
Kate Winslet (The Regime)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Colin Farrell (The Penguin)
Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer)
Kevin Kline (Disclaimer)
Cooper Koch (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story)
Ewan McGregor (A Gentleman in Moscow)
Andrew Scott (Ripley)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Dakota Fanning (Ripley)
Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer)
Allison Janney (The Diplomat)
Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

Tadanobu Asano (Shogun)
Javier Bardem (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story)
Harrison Ford (Shrinking)
Jack Lowden (Slow Horses)
Diego Luna (La Máquina)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear)

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television

Jamie Foxx (Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was)
Nikki Glaser (Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die)
Seth Meyers (Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking)
Adam Sandler (Adam Sandler: Love You)
Ali Wong (Ali Wong: Single Lady)
Ramy Youssef (Ramy Youssef: More Feelings)

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For more on the Golden Globes nominations, jury and more, please visit their website.

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