Golden Globes 2025 Nominees Announced, 5 Films Lead the Nominations

NOMINEES for the 82nd Golden Globes are now unveiled, with 5 films—Emilia Perez, The Brutalist, Anora, The Substance, and Wicked—leading with most nominations. 

The announcement came through a live broadcast on December 09, 2024, while the awarding ceremony is scheduled to take place on January 06 of the next year.  

Emerging on top is Emilia Perez, a musical crime film written and directed by Jacques Audiard, and which stars big names such as Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez. It tells the story of Rita (Saldana), as she is hired by the leader of a criminal organization (Karla Sofia Gascon). The film’s nominations came as no surprise as it also won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival. 

Emilia Perez received 10 nominations in the following categories:

• Best Picture for Musical/Comedy
• Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Karla Sofia Gascon
• Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Selena Gomez
• Best Director in a Motion Picture – Jacques Audiard
• Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture – Jacques Audiard
• Best Picture in Non-English Language Category
• Best Original Song – Motion Picture
• Best Original Score

Next on the list is The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet and headlined by the 2003 Oscar Best Actor Adrien Brody. Just like in The Pianist which earned him his Oscar, Brody once again returned to historical drama in the postwar film The Brutalist as a visionary architect who left Europe for America to rebuild his life. There, he met the opulent industrialist who recognized his talent. 

The Brutalist earned 6 nominations:

• Best Picture for Drama
• Best Actor for Drama – Adrien Brody
• Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Guy Pearce
• Best Director in a Motion Picture – Brady Corbet
• Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture – Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
• Best Original Score

Anora, a fan favorite and the winner of the highly coveted Palm d’Or in the 2024 Cannes Film Festival,  also made the cut with 5 nominations. Directed by Sean Baker and starring Mikey Madison, it tells the story of Anora (Madison), a sex worker who gets her chance at a Cinderella story upon marrying the wealthy son of the Russian oligarch. Conflict began when the news reached Russia and the man’s parents set out to New York to get their marriage annulled. 

Anora garnered 5 nominations:

• Best Picture in Musical/Comedy
• Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Musical/Comedy – Mikey Madison
• Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Yura Borizov
• Best Director in a Motion Picture – Sean Baker
• Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture – Sean Baker

In the same range as Anora is The Substance, the only film in this list directed by a female director— Coralie Fargeat. The film stars Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley in this horror masterpiece that set social media abuzz upon its release. It centers on the issue of show business’ ageism and misogyny toward women as the former TV star Elizabeth Sparkle (Moore) lost her job due to her advancing age. 

The Substance Nominations:

• Best Picture for Musical/Comedy
• Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Musical/Comedy – Demi Moore
• Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Margaret Qualley
• Best Director in a Motion Picture – Coralie Fargeat
• Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture – Coralie Fargeat

Last on the list is another fan favorite— the screen adaptation of the musical Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, and also featuring big names like Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Serving as a prequel to Wizard of Oz, it tackles the story of Elphaba and her friendship with Glinda as their relationship reaches a crossroad. 

Wicked received 3 nominations:

• Best Picture for Musical/Comedy
• Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Musical/Comedy – Cynthia Erivo
• Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Ariana Grande

Another highlight from the announcement is Sebastian Stan’s double nomination for best performance by a male actor for his roles in Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man and the controversial Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump biopic, The Apprentice. 

Below is the full list of nominees in Motion Pictures category:

Best Motion Picture – Drama

• The Brutalist
• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Nickel Boys
• September 5

Best Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy

• Anora
• Challengers
• Emilia Perez
• A Real Pain
• The Substance
• Wicked

Best Motion Picture – Animated

• Flow
• Inside Out 2
• Memoir of a Snail
• Moana 2
• Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
• The Wild Robot

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

• Alien: Romulus
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• Gladiator II
• Inside Out 2
• Twisters
• Wicked
• The Wild Robot

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

• All We Imagine as Light
• Emilia Perez
• The Girl with the Needle
• I’m Still Here
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig
• Vermiglio

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

• Angelina Jolie – Maria
• Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
• Kate Winslet – Lee
• Nicole Kidman – Babygirl
• Tilda Swinton – The Room Next Door
• The Last Show Girl – Pamela Anderson

Best Performance by a Male Actor in Motion Picture – Drama

• Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
• Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
• Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
• Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
• Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
• Daniel Craig – Queer

Best Performance by a Female Actor in Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy

• Karla Sofia Gascon – Emilia Perez
• Zendaya – Challengers
• Amy Adams – Nightbitch
• Demi Moore – The Substance
• Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
• Mikey Madison – Anora

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy

• Jesse Plemons – Kinds of Kindness
• Glen Powell – Hitman
• Sebastian Stan – A Different Man
• Gabrielle Labelle – Saturday Night
• Hugh Grant – Heretic
• Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

• Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez
• Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
• Selena Gomez – Emilia Perez
• Ariana Grande – Wicked
• Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
• Margaret Qualley – The Substance

Best Performance by a Male Actor in Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

• Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
• Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
• Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
• Kierkan Culkin – A Real Pain
• Yuri Borisov – Anora
• Denzel Washington – The Gladiator II

Best Director for Motion Picture

• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
• Jacques Audiard – Emilia Perez
• Payal Kapadia – All We Imagine As Light
• Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
• Edward Berger – Conclave
• Sean Baker – Anora

Best Screenplay for Motion Picture

• Peter Straughan – The Conclave
• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
• Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
• Sean Baker – Anora
• Jacques Audiard – Emilia Perez
• Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Best Original Score for Motion Picture

• Volker Beltermann – Conclave
• Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
• Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
• Clement Ducol, Camille – Emilia Perez
• Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – Challengers
• Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two

Best Original Song in Motion Pictures

• Mi Camino – Emilia Perez
• El Mal – Emilia Perez
• Kiss the Sky – The Wild Robot
• Compress/Repress – Challengers
• Beautiful That Way – The Last Showgirl
• Forbidden Road – Better Man

• The Gentlemen
• Nobody Wants This
• Abbott Elementary
• Only Murders in the Building

• Kathy Bates – Matlock
• Emma D’Arcy – House of the Dragon
• Maya Erskine – Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Voting for the Golden Globes will end on January 01, 2025 while the award show on January 06 will be aired on CBS.