Have the Golden Globe Nominations Shifted the Oscar Race?

by Jacqueline A. O'Neill · December 12, 2024

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Have the Golden Globe Nominations Shifted the Oscar Race?

With just over one month until Oscar-nomination voting begins, every day counts—as do the nominations of every other voting body. I’m Rebecca Ford, and on this week’s Little Gold Men, the team takes a deep dive into Monday’s Golden Globe nominations to see how they might be shifting the Oscar race.

What’s important to remember is that the Golden Globes and the Oscars don’t have overlap when it comes to their voters—but if a film does well at the Globes, or a performer gets an unexpected nomination there, that can put the spotlight back on them. For example, the Netflix musical crime drama Emilia Pérez amassed 10 nominations at the Globes—the most of any film this year—and also set a record for the most nominations earned by a musical or comedy film in the history of those awards. That’s the sort of headline that Academy voters might notice. “If there was anyone who’s an Academy voter who was dragging their heels about seeing Emilia Pérez, now it’s like, Well, now I really do have to see it,” explains Richard Lawson on the podcast.

So the Globe noms were a big win for Emilia Pérez. The other big winners of the day were a pair of directors: Coralie Fargeat, who helmed The Substance, and Payal Kapadia, the filmmaker behind All We Imagine as Light. Each landed a nomination for best director, which is shaping up to be a very competitive race. Neither is considered a lock for an Oscar nomination, but their notable Globe inclusions get them back on voters’ radars.

The Globes, known over the years for making unexpected choices and favoring big-name stars, still remained consistent in that way by including a few names that hadn’t been considered contenders in the Oscar race up until this point, including Pamela Anderson for The Last Showgirl and Kate Winslet for Lee. They remain long shots to land Oscar acting nominations, but their Globe noms add a little bit of hope.

The good news for films that didn’t perform as expected—like Sing Sing—is that the lack of a Globe nomination doesn’t mean your Oscar hopes are dashed. More dramatic films make the Oscars’ best-picture list than can make the Globes’ six slots. To hear more about all of the Globes’ odd choices, exciting surprises, and interesting snubs, take a listen above.