It was not a great day for the Irish at the Golden Globes film nominations. Saoirse Ronan, who was competitive in best supporting actress for Blitz and in best drama actress for The Outrun, was mentioned in neither race. Paul Mescal, who seemed to have a 50/50 chance in best drama actor for Gladiator II, was not among the six nominees there.
Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap looked to be in the running for non-English language film – being largely in Irish – but missed out both there and in best original song where Sick in the Head could have scored. The folk behind the fictionalised biopic of the titular rap group will, however, feel bolstered by their seven wins at the British Independent Film Awards on Sunday night.
There was good news for domestic talent in the television section. Andrew Scott and Colin Farrell compete against each other villainously in the race for best actor in a TV movie or limited series. Scott is up as the amoral, scheming title character in Netflix’s Ripley. Farrell competes for his unrecognisable turn as a Gotham City gangster in HBO’s The Penguin.
The big winner in the film section was Jacques Audiard’s musical Emilia Pérez. Winner of two prizes on its premiere at Cannes in May, the film, concerning a Mexican drug boss who undergoes gender transition, has been seen as “divisive” on release. But so far awards bodies love it. Following its best picture win at the European Film Awards on Saturday night, it topped the Globes nominations with 10 mentions. Brady Corbet’s stunning The Brutalist, a three-hour-plus epic concerning an architect in postwar America, is in second place with seven. Edward Berger’s Conclave, adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel concerning shenanigans during a papal election, follows up with five. Also registering multiple nominations were Sean Baker’s riotous screwball comedy Anora and hit musical Wicked.
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Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II looks to be the biggest underperformer. Denzel Washington is up for best supporting actor, but the epic’s only other nomination was in the puzzling, newish category titled “best cinematic and box office achievement”. In the race’s second year, few seem clear what the criteria are. Announcing the nominations before the release of Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, sure to be one of 2024′s most successful movies, renders the award doubly baffling.
[ Golden Globes 2025: full list of nominationsOpens in new window ]
There were few other enormous surprises. Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, story of Donald Trump’s early days, co-produced by Irish company Tailored Films, did well enough with Sebastian Stan, who plays the current president elect, and Jeremy Strong, oily as lawyer Roy Cohn, landing in, respectively, best drama actor and best supporting actor. The film has failed to win an audience in the US, but has done better outside that country.
Pamela Anderson, former star of Baywatch, confirmed a notable comeback with her mildly surprising mention in best drama actress for playing an ageing Las Vegas performer in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl. That may have come at the expense of Marianne Jean-Baptiste, heart-rending as a depressed Londoner in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths. That race will surely go the way of Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s Maria.
The Golden Globes, first held in 1944, have long served as the opening shot, following a pre-Christmas phoney war, in an award season that stretches to the Oscar ceremony in early spring. Their reliability as predictors to the ceremony that matters has varied over the years. But having two sets of races in picture and lead performer – broken up between drama and comedy/musical – helps the chances of a repeat.
Last year, with Oppenheimer on a roll, best picture, director and all four acting winners with the Oscars had already triumphed at the earlier ceremony. This year it looks as if the season could be more volatile. At time of writing few races seem sewn up. The Brutalist or Conclave could easily win drama at the Globes. Wicked and Emilia Pérez, at a lighthearted affair, probably have a slight edge over Palme d’Or winner Anora in best comedy or musical. The Brutalist, Conclave, Anora and Wicked all feel like plausible best picture winners at the Academy Awards (Emilia Pérez would cause some controversy).
Ronan looked to have a good chance of two Oscar nominations. But The Outrun, tale of a young woman detoxing in the Orkneys, has so far struggled to convert its fine reviews into awards attention. Steve McQueen’s Blitz, one of the year’s most anticipated films, has been received politely rather than enthusiastically. The Globes completely blanked his drama of London in the second World War. Ronan, a favourite with the Academy, could still creep in at one of those Oscar races. Mescal looks less likely in best actor.
The team at Kneecap should not be too downhearted by their failure to land. Colm Bairéad’s An Cailín Ciúin was snubbed at the less adventurous Globes two years ago and went on to secure a nomination in best international picture. The film still seems certain to be on the initial shortlist of 15 – later carved down to five nominations – announced by the Academy on January 17th.
A boozier, more informal affair than the Academy, The Globes, originally hosted by a mysterious body called the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), ran into trouble in 2021 after it was revealed there were no black voters. A boycott followed and Tom Cruise returned his three Globes in solidarity. In the summer of 2023 the HFPA was reimagined as the Golden Globe Foundation and all intellectual property was acquired by Dick Clark Productions. The voting body now constitutes over 300 entertainment journalist from a diverse array of backgrounds.
The 82nd annual Golden Globes, hosted by Nikki Glaser (the first woman to do the job alone), take place on January 5th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Oscar nominations follow on January 17th.
The 2025 Golden Globes nominees list, with results as they happened:
FILM
Best Drama
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
September 5
Best Drama Actor
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig, Queer
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best Drama Actress
Angelina Jolie, Maria
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Tilda Swinton, The Room Next Door
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
Kate Winslet, Lee
Best Comedy/Musical
Anora
Challengers
Emilia Pérez
A Real Pain
The Substance
Wicked
Best Comedy/Musical Actor
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 Comedy/Musical Actress
Amy Adams, Nightbitch
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Zendaya, Challengers
Best Supporting Actor
Denzel Washington, Gladiator II
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Yura Borisov, Anora
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Best Supporting Actress
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Margaret Qualley, The Substance
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Best Director
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Edward Berger, Conclave
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine as Light
Best Screenplay
Emilia Pérez
Anora
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
The Substance
Conclave
Best Original Score
The Brutalist
Conclave
The Wild Robot
Emilia Pérez
Challengers
Dune: Part Two
Best Original Song
The Last Showgirl – Beautiful That Way
Challengers – Compress/Repress
Emilia Pérez – El Mal
Better Man – Forbidden Road
The Wild Robot – Kiss the Sky
Emilia Pérez – Mi Camino
Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Moana 2
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best Film In a Language Other Than English
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez
The Girl With the Needle
I’m Still Here
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Vermiglio
Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
Alien: Romulus
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Deadpool & Wolverine
Gladiator 2
Inside Out 2
Twisters
Wicked
The Wild Robot
TELEVISION
Best Comedy Series
Hacks
Abbott Elementary
Only Murders in the Building
Nobody Wants This
The Gentlemen
The Bear
Best TV Comedy Actor
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 TV Comedy Actress
Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along
Jean Smart, Hacks
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Best Drama Series
The Day of the Jackal
The Diplomat
Mr and Mrs Smith
Shōgun
Slow Horses
Squid Game
Best TV Drama Actor
Donald Glover, Mr and Mrs Smith
Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Eddie Redmayne, The Day of the Jackal
Hiroyuki Sanada, Shōgun
Billy Bob Thornton, Landman
Best TV Drama Actress
Kathy Bates, Matlock
Emma D’Arcy, House of the Dragon
Maya Erskine, Mr and Mrs Smith
Keira Knightley, Black Doves
Anna Sawai, Shōgun
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Best TV Movie/Limited Series
Baby Reindeer
Disclaimer
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
The Penguin
Ripley
True Detective: Night Country
Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor
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 TV Movie/Limited Series Actress
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 TV Supporting Actor
Tadanobu Asano, Shōgun
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 TV Supporting Actress
Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer
Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Dakota Fanning, Ripley
Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Kali Reis, True Detective: Night Country
Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television
Jamie Foxx, What Had Happened Was
Nikki Glaser, Someday You’ll Die
Seth Meyers, Dad Man Walking
Adam Sandler, Love You
Ali Wong, Single Lady
Ramy Youssef, More Feelings
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