The nominations for the 83rd Annual Golden Globes were announced this morning, bringing with them plenty of surprises, as the Globes reliably do. The organization is known for unpredictable curveballs and nominations, which before were seemingly driven more by celebrity than merit, but it has shifted significantly since the HFPA was restructured into the Golden Globe Foundation. Now, the surprises come in a different form: a newfound emphasis on international and arthouse cinema. Of the twelve films nominated across the Best Picture – Drama and Best Picture – Musical or Comedy categories, five are foreign-language productions, marking a huge leap forward for global cinema representation compared to just a few years ago.
While One Battle After Another has been dominating with wins this season, it has generally trailed Warner Bros.’ other major contender, Sinners, in overall nominations. That wasn’t the case at the Globes, where One Battle After Another led the field with an impressive nine nominations. After several years of tight races in Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), this year, it looks like the clear favorite to win. Its strongest competition may be Marty Supreme, which underperformed in nominations, likely a symptom of its very late release. The film earned only three nods: Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor for Timothée Chalamet. It missed key categories including Director, Score, and Supporting Actress. With this underperformance, it’s uncertain whether Chalamet’s expected awards sweep will begin at the Globes, or if the organization will disrupt the narrative in favor of someone like Leonardo DiCaprio, or even Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon. The film itself was a surprising nominee in the Musical or Comedy category, appearing alongside Richard Linklater’s other film this year, Nouvelle Vague. Both nominations were extremely unexpected, especially the latter, which scored no other nominations, a very rare occurrence. The presence of Blue Moon here suggests it may exceed expectations this awards season. Meanwhile, Hawke’s strong narrative could position him to upset both DiCaprio and Chalamet, not just here, but also at the Oscars.
Also nominated was Bugonia, which has been performing well with precursors. Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons each earned nominations in their categories. Rounding out the Musical or Comedy race is Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, whose Oscar hopes depended heavily on its performance here. It secured three nominations: Best Motion Picture, International Film, and Best Actor for Lee Byung-hung, keeping it firmly in the race and proving that NEON is capable of juggling multiple awards contenders. The most surprising omission in this category was Wicked: For Good, which has been gradually losing steam since its release. Despite showing signs of life with an impressive five nominations, including two in Best Original Song, it shockingly fell short of a nomination for the top prize. The Testament of Ann Lee was another notable snub, managing only a single nomination: Best Actress for Amanda Seyfried.
NEON had an outstanding showing this year, with all of its contenders earning at least one nomination. In the Best Motion Picture – Drama category, half of the nominees were NEON titles: Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, and The Secret Agent. The former led the drama field with eight nominations, performing strongly across the board. There had been concern that it might miss Best Director or fail to land both Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas in Supporting Actress, but it hit every category it could. It now might be the frontrunner over Sinners, which earned seven nominations. Still performing well, it notably missed Best Supporting Actress for Wunmi Mosaku, who had seemed like a solid fixture in the race. It Was Just an Accident also excelled with four nominations, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best International Film. The Secret Agent secured three, including International Film and Best Actor for Wagner Moura.
The final spot in the Drama lineup went to Frankenstein, which significantly overperformed, breaking into Best Director for Guillermo del Toro over Josh Safdie, and earning acting nominations for Oscar Isaac in Best Drama Actor and Jacob Elordi in Best Supporting Actor. The major snub in the Drama category was Train Dreams, which had been performing exceptionally well until now. It still managed two nominations: Best Actor in a Drama for Joel Edgerton and Best Original Song. Avatar: Fire & Ash also failed to make the Drama lineup, despite scoring an Original Song nomination.
Outside of the Best Picture races, one of the biggest surprises was how well Oliver Laxe’s Sirat performed. The film not only secured a Best International Feature nomination but also landed an unexpected nod for Best Score, thanks to its distinctive EDM-driven soundtrack. Hans Zimmer also earned a surprise nomination in Best Score for F1, further signaling the film’s growing awards-season presence. The Smashing Machine showed encouraging momentum with acting nominations for both Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere also showed signs of life, with Jeremy Allen White earning a Best Actor nomination, while After the Hunt picked up a Best Actress nomination for Julia Roberts. Sorry, Baby ended up switching categories, as many had expected Eva Victor to compete in Comedy, but she ultimately landed a Best Actress nomination in the Drama field. In the animated category, the Golden Globes surprised many by nominating Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, an anime film that requires viewers to be familiar with the popular series for full context.
Overall, these nominations reflect a voting body increasingly open to international and arthouse cinema while still embracing big-name stars. The 83rd Annual Golden Globes will be held on January 11, 2026.
Stay tuned to keithlovesmovies for the latest Awards Season news and analysis, leading up to the 98th Academy Awards on March 15th, 2026.
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