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Following the Critics Choice Awards, the awards season pushes forward as the 83rd Golden Globes will take place Sunday, Jan. 11, airing on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 p.m. EST. The awards will honor the best of television and film of 2025 and, for the first time, will have an awards category for Best Podcast.
It’s safe to say that 2025 was an excellent year for movies and television. While we firmly believe in our predictions, we want to honor all nominees for the awards. Due to the sheer number of nominations, and the fact that the Oscars are only a few short months away, we will only be providing predictions and commentary for the film categories.
Any title that has been bolded represents what we think will win; any title that has been italicized represents what we think should win.
Best Motion Picture — Drama
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“It Was Just an Accident”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” swept us off our feet with its stunning direction, cinematography, acting, score, and compelling screenplay. With its popularity and permanent mark on pop culture, we believe that “Sinners” should and will win the award. Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” is poignant and one of the most beautiful films of the decade, and thus deserves an honorable mention, but it doesn’t have the emotional complexity that makes “Sinners” arguably the best film of the year.
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
“Blue Moon”
“Marty Supreme”
“Bugonia”
“No Other Choice”
“One Battle After Another”
“Nouvelle Vague”
“One Battle After Another” was a commercial and critical success, carried by the excellent directorial work of Paul Thomas Anderson and riveting performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor. It seems almost undeniable that the film will dominate the Globes, and we can almost definitively say it will win this category. Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” however, is one of the most eccentric, unorthodox films of the year in yet another collaboration between the director and two-time Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone.
Best Motion Picture — Animated
“Arco”
“Elio”
“KPop Demon Hunters”
“Zootopia 2”
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle”
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
Despite the fact that it is easily our least favorite film in this category, it’s practically set in stone that “KPop Demon Hunters” will take this award home. Whether it comes to Netflix streams or the Billboard charts, the film and its cult fanbase have dominated pop culture over the last seven months. On the other hand, “Zootopia 2” is a classy, thoughtful, and tasteful sequel, something that has become all too rare over the past few years, and is easily the strongest nominee.
Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language
“It Was Just an Accident” (France)
“No Other Choice” (South Korea)
“The Secret Agent” (Brazil)
“Sentimental Value” (Norway)
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Tunisia)
“Sirāt” (Spain)
The Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language category has been around in some name or form since the 7th Golden Globes in 1949. A Norwegian film has never won. We believe that will all change this year as “Sentimental Value,” the second most nominated film at the Globes with eight nods, will take home the gold. Brazil’s “The Secret Agent,” which won the award at the recent Critics Choice Awards, also has a strong chance of winning. We also enjoyed South Korea’s “No Other Choice,” a thriller black-comedy by the powerhouse Korean director Park Chan-wook, packed with action and emotion.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Joel Edgerton, “Train Dreams”
Oscar Isaac, “Frankenstein”
Dwayne Johnson, “The Smashing Machine”
Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”
Jeremy Allen White, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”
This is, shockingly, Michael B. Jordan’s first Golden Globe nomination, despite already taking home two Critics Choice Awards throughout his career. His dual performance as the Smoke-Stack Twins in “Sinners” was undeniably his career-defining performance and is more than worthy of a win in this category.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Die My Love”
Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
Julia Roberts, “After the Hunt”
Tessa Thompson, “Hedda”
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
Jessie Buckley is the shining star in one of the most daring, imaginative, and bold films of 2025: “Hamnet.” As Anne Hathaway (no, not that Anne Hathaway), the wife of William Shakespeare, who is played by Paul Mescal in the film, Buckley delivers a quietly devastating performance that represents the depth and complexity of women’s lives, especially during the 1500s, when the film is set.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Timotheé Chalamet – “Marty Supreme”
George Clooney, “Jay Kelly”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Lee Byung-hun, “No Other Choice”
Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia”
It breaks our hearts to admit that Timotheé Chalamet’s performance may have been the singular highlight of “Marty Supreme,” easily one of the most overrated films that came out in 2025. We, however, admire the superstar Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest performance in “One Battle After Another” more as he embodies a revolutionary and, more importantly, a single father navigating the complexities of his relationship with his daughter.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked: For Good”
Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”
Amanda Seyfried, “The Testament Of Ann Lee”
Emma Stone, “Bugonia”
Ross Byrne, despite debuting in the film industry in 1994 and performing in well over 50 movies since, which have grossed over $3.8 billion at the worldwide box office, has largely been overlooked by critics and award shows throughout her iconic, illustrious career. Her performance as Linda, a psychotherapist and mother, brilliantly portrays a beaten and battered woman pushed to her emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual limits. While we would be pleased with a Byrne win, Emma Stone was too incredible in the dark-comedy film “Bugonia” to ignore. Although Stone’s performance was stronger in our opinion, Byrne deserves to be recognized for her 31 years of work in Hollywood.
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
Paul Mescal, “Hamnet”
Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
Adam Sandler, “Jay Kelly”
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”
With the success of “One Battle After Another,” it is hard to bet against the stacked cast, including the brilliant Benicio del Toro, in any major category. However, we do believe that Jacob Elordi’s performance in “Frankenstein” was heartbreaking, fantastic, and a clear highlight of the tremendous film. He said so much with so few words. It is time actors in the horror genre got their flowers.
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Emily Blunt, “The Smashing Machine”
Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
While we are all for the horror genre getting its flowers, Amy Madigan’s performance in “Weapons” is simply not worthy of winning such a prestigious award. She lacks the emotional complexity and commandeering presence that the other nominees in this category, especially Ariana Grande in “Wicked: For Good,” possess. However, following her win at the Critics Choice Awards, predicting anyone but Madigan seems senseless.
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – “One Battle After Another”
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Guillermo del Toro, “Frankenstein”
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just An Accident”
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”
We might just be a bit biased towards del Toro — not to be parasocial, but he’s like our nice old grandfather. Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which we had already raved about in our review here, is another brilliant addition to his extensive filmography and deserves that Golden Globe. We wouldn’t be surprised, though, if Paul Thomas Anderson took this award home. “One Battle After Another” was amazingly directed, and he is anticipated by many to sweep this category at every major awards show this season.
Best Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just An Accident”
Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell, “Hamnet”
Despite our numerous criticisms of the script of “One Battle After Another” and its portrayal of certain characters, the screenplay was cohesive throughout the entire film, and undeniably worthy of an award. It has already won Best Adapted Screenplay in the Critics Choice Award, making it hard to bet against. Our conflicting feelings largely come from the Golden Globes choosing to merge Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay, categories that are separate at the Critics Choice Awards and the Academy Awards. When it comes to Best Original Screenplay, “Sinners” is the obvious pick. With memorable characters and witty yet natural dialogue, “Sinners” should take the globe home; unfortunately, we don’t believe it can take down the behemoth magnum opus of Paul Thomas Anderson.
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, “Frankenstein”
Ludwig Göransson, “Sinners”
Jonny Greenwood, “One Battle After Another”
Kangding Ray, “Sirāt”
Max Richter, “Hamnet”
Hans Zimmer, “F1”
Since the movie is so heavily centered around music, it should be no surprise that we expect and would love “Sinners” to take it home. With funky beats and powerful vocals, the official soundtrack has been integrated into our personal playlists.
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“F1”
“KPop Demon Hunters”
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”
“Sinners”
“Weapons”
“Wicked: For Good”
“Zootopia 2”
Defying gravity is hard as it is — though Elphaba made it look much easier — but defying one of the highest-grossing franchises of all-time is even harder. Although we loved “Wicked: For Good,” James Cameron’s third installment of the “Avatar” franchise has already reached more than a billion dollars at the box office; it seems obvious who will take the award home.
Best Original Song
“Dream As One” from “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“The Girl In The Bubble” from “Wicked: For Good”
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters”
“I Lied To You” from “Sinners”
“No Place Like Home” from “Wicked: For Good”
“Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams”
We believe that “KPop Demon Hunters” will make the Golden Globes even more “Golden,” by easily winning this award. The KPop hit might just be this generation’s “Let It Go,” as it has spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and is still comfortably in the top 10, almost seven months after the film’s release. “I Lied To You” from “Sinners” is our favorite song in this category, but it does not stand a chance against the cult-like following of one of the biggest films of 2025.