The 2025 Golden Globe nominations were announced on Monday, December 9, and, as usual, there were several snubs and surprises. Given that the Globes are often an indicator of which direction Academy Awards voters might lean toward, they’re always watched closely, and though there are significantly more categories than the film-only Oscars, someone is inevitably left out.
But first, who made the cut? Emilia Pérez, the Spanish-language musical melodrama from celebrated French director Jacques Audiard, led the pack with ten nominations—the most of any single project. Those nominations included nods for its three leading ladies—Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofía Gascón (who makes history as the first out trans performer to be nominated in the film acting category)—as well as best screenplay and original score. It also set a record, beating out Barbie and Cabaret, with nine nominations each, as the most nominated Musical/Comedy film in the history of the category.
Brady Corbet’s A24 prestige drama The Brutalist, which has been impressing audiences since premiering at the Venice Film Festival, was next with seven nominations total, including for leads Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. Meanwhile, the Vatican drama Conclave received six, with Ralph Fiennes scoring a Best Actor nod (his co-star, Stanley Tucci, was notably left out).
It was a good year for female filmmakers (remember when Natalie Portman zinged the voting body for overlooking them entirely?), with Payal Kapadia and Coralie Fargeat being recognized for All We Imagine As Light and The Substance, respectively. Pop stans also have some skin in the game this year, with Ariana Grande’s Wicked nod and Miley Cyrus earning a nomination for Best Original Song for co-writing The Last Showgirl’s “Beautiful That Way.”
Elsewhere, expected contenders included Sean Baker’s Anora, which has been favorably received by both critics and audiences all season, Luca Gaudagnino’s Challengers, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, and the box office smash Wicked. In television, The Bear continued its awards domination, with nods for much of its lead cast—Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Liza Cólon-Zayas. Other hits from the year, including Hacks, Abbott Elementary, Baby Reindeer, The Penguin, and Shōgun were among the expected nominees. Only Murders in the Building was celebrated by the Globes, including for Selena Gomez (making her a double nominee), but this season’s guest star, Meryl Streep, didn’t receive a nomination (not that she needs it).
The Golden Globes will air on January 5, 2025 at 8:00PM EST on CBS and Paramount+. Comedian Nikki Glaser will host the ceremony, where EGOT-winner Viola Davis will be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. See below for the biggest snubs and surprises:
Snub: Denis Villeneuve
Though he was nominated for directing the first of his three Dune films in 2021, giving Zendaya more screen time and having Timotheé Chalamet ride a sandworm weren’t enough to clinch a best director nod for Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two.
Snub: Saoirse Ronan
Ronan has seemed poised to sweep awards season this year, with leading roles in The Outrun, a moving drama about alcoholism recovery, and Steve McQueen’s WWII drama Blitz. But the millennial Irish actress wasn’t nominated for either project, putting her Oscars prospects in jeopardy.
Snub: Jon M. Chu
Though his sweeping musical Wicked (part one, mind you) is both a box office and a cultural sensation, Jon M. Chu was snubbed in the Best Director category. It’ll be a familiar feeling for Chu, who was also overlooked by the Globes for his 2018 hit Crazy Rich Asians (which was nominated for Best Picture).
Surprise: Selena Gomez
Gomez received dual nominations for her work in Emilia Pérez and Only Murders in the Building. Small or silver, the screen is clearly where she belongs.
Snub: Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Jean-Baptiste, who received a Globes, BAFTA and Oscar nod for her performance in 1996’s Secrets & Lies, was thought to be a shoo-in for her role in this year’s Hard Truths. (She’s won critics awards in nearly every other race this season). But the Globes completely snubbed the acclaimed 57-year-old English actress.
Surprise: Kate Winslet
Winslet was another double-nominee—for her roles in historical drama Lee and HBO’s The Regime. It’s the latter that’s surprising, as the series came and went without much fanfare.
Snub: Danielle Deadwyler
After being snubbed by the Globes for her performance in 2022’s Till, Deadwyler has once again been overlooked by the same voters for her critically-lauded role in the film adapation of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.
Surprise: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Like last year’s Dahmer, Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story installment about the infamous Menendez brothers’ murders of their abusive parents sparked a wave of controversy, including harsh criticism from all involved in the actual events. Still, the Netflix hit racked up nominations for Best Limited Series, Anthology or Motion Picture Made for Television, and acting nods for Cooper Koch and Javier Bardem.
Snub: Sing Sing
The innovative, Colman Domingo-starring A24 drama Sing Sing—which included several formerly incarcerated, first-time actors in its story about the life-giving power of the arts—was mostly snubbed by the conservative-leaning Globes (never forget that in 2021, it was revealed the voting body didn’t have a single Black member, though that’s reportedly been remedied). Disappointing, if not totally surprising.
Snub: Lady Gaga
Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising, given how poorly Joker: Folie à Deux performed with both audiences and critics, but it’s still notable that Gaga was shut out of the Globes. She clearly put her all into playing comic-book villain Harley Quinn, even releasing a 13-track album tied to the character.
Surprise: Sebastian Stan
When it was reported that Stan was excluded from Variety’s Actors on Actors series because none of the other two dozen participants wanted to be associated with The Apprentice (which tells the story of Donald Trump’s early rise), it seemed like the actor’s work might be poisonous to awards voters under Trump’s second term. Not so at the Globes, though—Stan was recognized for both The Apprentice and his role in drama A Different Man.
Surprise: The Substance
Campy body horror isn’t typically the genre one associates with prestigious film awards, but Fargeat’s The Substance—which has been a huge hit with audiences and meme-makers everywhere—received several Globes nods. Its stars, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, were both recognized, and the film also received nods for Best Comedy/Musical, Screenplay and Director.
Surprise: Pamela Anderson
After making a pop culture comeback last year with a documentary, memoir, and headline-making shift from her signature done-up ’90s bombshell look to going completely makeup-free, Anderson has struck gold again with her role in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl. Anderson leads the film, whose cast also includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, and Dave Bautista as a delusional yet determined Las Vegas dancer who must finally face the results of the compromises she has made. She’s already collected a handful of critics awards for the role, but the Best Actress Globes nod is a big deal.
