- The Golden Globes kicks off award season tonight
- Emilia Pérez is the most nominated film
- Shogun, The Bear and Baby Reindeer could win big in TV
The Golden Globes takes place tonight, potentially setting the tone for the awards season to come.
Read more: The 2025 Golden Globes presenters
There’ll be lots of A-listers with busy calendars in the next couple of months in the lead-up to the Oscars on March 2. On the way, more prizes will be handed out at the Grammys, the BAFTAs, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and more.
However, The Golden Globes is the first chance that big names in the film and TV worlds have to take home some trophies. It’s also a chance to boost their profiles to voters at the BAFTAs and Oscars. The nominees for both of those haven’t yet been decided, so it’s still all to play for.
With separate categories for drama and comedy, there are more chances to win awards than at other ceremonies. So, who could win big tonight?
Which films could win Golden Globes?
The Best Motion Picture – Drama category is especially stacked. Vying for the prize are The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Nickel Boys and September 5. As it stands, The Brutalist is currently the bookies’ favourite to win.
The Musical or Comedy category, meanwhile, has Anora, Challengers, Emilia Pérez, A Real Pain, The Substance and Wicked nominated. Emilia Pérez has been nominated for more awards than any other film, but Wicked’s huge critical and commercial success might just help it win. Indeed, musicals often do well in this category.
The Substance has also done hugely well for itself, as has Challengers. Really, it could be anyone’s game.
Which leading actors could win?
When it comes to Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, the field is undoubtedly strong. The nominees are Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).
It may well be a toss-up between Chalamet’s acclaimed performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown and Adrien Brody’s star turn as a Jewish-Hungarian architect in The Brutalist.
There’s a similar two-horse race occurring in the female actor category. The stars competing are Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl), Angelina Jolie (Maria), Nicole Kidman (Babygirl), Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door), Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) and Kate Winslet (Lee).
However, the consensus is the award will go to either Kidman or Jolie. Both have been treated well by Globes voters and both have been acclaimed for their recent projects, though Kidman’s comes with slightly more notoriety.
As for the musical/comedy categories, the men who could take an award home include Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain), Hugh Grant (Heretic), Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night), Jesse Plemons (Kinds of Kindness), Glen Powell (Hit Man) and Sebastian Stan (A Different Man).
Glen Powell’s having a stellar time of things at the moment, so could well be in the running to win. Plemans and Stan, however, also put in some great performances. It’s still a fairly open race.
Among the women, there are several potential winners. Cynthia Erivo could take it for her star turn in Wicked, as could Zendaya for Challengers and Demi Moore for The Substance. Comparatively, Mikey Madison isn’t quite as well known but has made herself into a real dark horse. Amy Adams (Nightbitch) and Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez) round out the nominees.
What about the supporting actors?
In the men’s category, it seems like Kieran Culkin is the obvious winner for his portrayal of a grieving man on a trip to Poland with his cousin in A Real Pain. He’s up against Yura Borisov (Anora), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice) and Denzel Washington (Gladiator II).
Ariana Grande pleasantly surprised critics with her performance as Glinda in Wicked. As such, she could win Best Supporting Actress. To do so, she’ll have to beat fellow pop star Selena Gomez (Emilia Pérez) as well as Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), Margaret Qualley (The Substance), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave) and Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez).
Which TV shows could win?
Competing in the drama category are The Day of the Jackal, The Diplomat, Mr & Mrs Smith, Shōgun, Slow Horses and Squid Game. The critically adored Shōgun seems like an especially likely winner, but the TV remake of Mr & Mrs Smith has also ben a resounding success. Meanwhile, Slow Horses has also been eagerly received by viewers and critics alike.
In the musical/comedy category, The Bear’s had success in the past. However, its third season received mixed reviews and so might not repeat that this year. The well-loved Hacks could edge in front, therefore, while Nobody Wants This has also potentially got a chance. Then again, popularity doesn’t always translate to Globes success.
Meanwhile, the frontrunner for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made For Television is easily Baby Reindeer. A victory would hardly be surprising given the praise for its story, acting and willingness to explore rarely-touched topics from stalking to the experience of being a male rape survivor.
Disclaimer, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, The Penguin, Ripley and True Detective: Night Country are also in contention.
Which TV actors could win?
Looking at the nominees for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama, Eddie Redmayne is a big contender for his performance in The Day Of The Jackal. However, Hiroyuki Sanada’s acclaimed performance as a feudal lord in Shōgun and may still take the award.
The rest of their category includes Donald Glover (Mr & Mrs. Smith), Jake Gyllenhaal (Presumed Innocent), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses) and Billy Bob Thornton (Landman)
Shōgun could net itself another award in the women’s category too. Anna Sawai stands a chance of beating numerous household names for the prize, including Kathy Bates (Matlock) and Keira Knightley (Black Doves). Emma D’Arcy (House of the Dragon) and Maya Erskine (Mr & Mrs Smith) have also received nods, as has Keri Russell (The Diplomat).
The Bear might not have as strong a year, but Jeremy Allan White still received praise for his performance as mercurial chef Carmy. Consequently, he could still clinch the Golden Globe in the men’s musical/comedy category. He’ll have to beat Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This), Ted Danson (A Man on the Inside), Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building), Jason Segel (Shrinking) and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building).
Three of the actresses up for the women’s award have won it before – Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) and Jean Smart (Hacks). If any of them take it again, it’s likely to be Smart. Kirsten Bell could also potentially get ahead for her performance as a sex and relationships podcaster in Nobody Wants This. Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) is also nominated, as is Selena Gomez for Only Murders In The Building.
Elsewhere, Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer) seems the clear winner in the limited series/anthology/motion picture for television category. If anyone’s going to beat him, however, it could be Colin Farrell for his outing in the similarly animal-named The Penguin. Also nominated are Kevin Kline (Disclaimer), Cooper Koch (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), Ewan McGregor (A Gentleman in Moscow) and Andrew Scott (Ripley).
The female category, meanwhile, has tight competition. Though many found True Detective: Night Country rather baffling, Jodie Foster is likely a frontrunner for this award. Cristin Milioti, however, delivered a very strong performance in The Penguin. The rest of the field includes Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer), Sofía Vergara (Griselda) Kate Winslet (The Regime) and Naomi Watts (Feud: Capote vs the Swans).
