Sunday’s latest edition of Golden Globe Awards should give us a better idea of where this year’s biggest contenders stand going into Jan. 17’s Oscar nominations.
While the Globes are far less predictive than you might expect, the right speech from the right winner can snowball into success at the Academy Awards a couple of months later.
We’ve gone through all the film categories and sized up who might walk away with the globe-topped gold statue once the ceremony gets underway on CBS at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night.
Let’s go through the categories and guess who the winners might be!
Some NSFW language to follow.
- The Brutalist
- A Complete Unknown
- Conclave
- Dune: Part Two
- Nickel Boys
- September 5
Winner: Conclave
The Best Picture Oscar doesn’t have an established frontrunner right now, but it may well be Conclave. A win here would add some fuel to that fire.
- Anora
- Challengers
- Emilia Pérez
- A Real Pain
- The Substance
- Wicked
Winner: Emilia Pérez
The film’s 10 nominations should make it a force during this year’s Globes ceremony. A win here feels all but certain.
- Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
- Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
- Daniel Craig – Queer
- Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
- Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
- Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
Winner: Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
We’ll guess the Globes will lean into the Chalamet of it all and award him like they did Austin Butler in the same category for Elvis two years ago. The Oscar feels like it will come down to Chalamet, Fiennes and Brody.
- 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
Winner: Angelina Jolie – Maria
Don’t discount a Kidman win here, but Jolie is the clear frontrunner here.
- 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
Winner: Hugh Grant – Heretic
While Eisenberg and Stan feel very possible, the thought of Grant confusingly and cattily accepting this musical or comedy award for a horror film is just too irresistible to deny. Plus, the Globes still haven’t proven they are over their love of awarding big stars just yet.
- Amy Adams – Nightbitch
- Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
- Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
- Mikey Madison – Anora
- Demi Moore – The Substance
- Zendaya – Challengers
Winner: Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
This is the category where genuinely anything could happen, but I’ll guess Gascón will ride her film’s wave of momentum and win. Emilia Pérez is clearly strong with the Globes this year.
- 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
Winner: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Culkin will probably win here, as his performance is beloved in A Real Pain and may still be soaking in the goodwill for his run on Succession.
- Selena Gomez – Emilia Pérez
- Ariana Grande – Wicked
- Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
- Margaret Qualley – The Substance
- Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
- Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Winner: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Saldaña should win this category and repeat here at the Oscars in March, but Grande looms as a potential spoiler.