On Jan. 11, 2026, celebrities gathered in Beverly Hills, California for one of the hottest nights of the year: The Golden Globes. Unlike some years where the Globes have thrown major curve balls, this year’s awards didn’t shock audiences so much as confirm what most of the audience already knew.
The Golden Globes aren’t a perfect predictor for the Oscars, and their role as one of the first few major televised award shows means their winners can often help confirm which films and performances are major contenders heading into final Academy Voting. Globe success can boost a film’s visibility during Oscar voting, create more momentum for campaigns and also preface industry agreement pretty early on. While the Oscars are voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decides on the Golden Globes, meaning that the outcomes don’t always match. The Globe’s smaller and more intimate voting base will sometimes favor crowd-pleasers or international work that the Academy might overlook.
Jessie Buckley took home the award for Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture, for her role in Hamnet. Timothee Chalamet also won for the Best Actor in the same category, for his role in Marty Supreme. Both of these artists also walked away with these awards at the 2026 Critics Choice awards a few weeks ago, which boosts their Oscar prospects very significantly. This is an early indication from the season so far that points to similar Oscar wins and heat.
Hamnet shocked with it’s Best Drama Motion Picture win, while Jessie Buckley’s win for her performance in the film was expected. Directed by Chloe Zhao, this quiet and literary film isn’t a flashy crowd-pleaser. The Globes tend to favor “big” star-driven films, mostly seen as showy and not subdued. Going into the night, Hamnet was admired but not widely predicted to win any of the top categories, especially against the more conventional awards contenders. Even with the win, Globe success does not guarantee Oscar success, and films like Hamnet often face steeper challenges with the Academy’s larger voting body.
One Battle After Another also made waves, with nine nominations and sweeping four wins. It’s no shocker to the film community that it won Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. With Teyana Taylor winning the Best Supporting Actress in any Motion Picture, Paul Thomas Anderson’s film is sure to be a frontrunner at this year’s Oscar Awards.
For better or worse, this year’s Golden Globes proved that sometimes the most revealing twist is realizing that, maybe, there wasn’t really one at all. As this years awards season moves further, the field is already getting narrower, signaling which films and performances are likely to dominate the big night in March.
