2026 Golden Globes Nominations Predictions

With the 83rd annual Golden Globe nominations arriving on Monday, December 8th, awards season finally starts to take shape. This year feels unusually unpredictable. Several major contenders screened late, others arrived with polarizing reactions, and some of the most aggressively campaigned films of the season are suddenly on shakier footing than expected. The Globes tend to chart their own course anyway (especially recently), but this season’s mix of splashy musicals, big-budget epics, and intimate dramas makes the field even messier.

A few narratives have already begun to define the race. Wicked: For Good, despite being everywhere on the campaign trail, hasn’t performed nearly as strongly with critics as the studio hoped. Cynthia Erivo missing the Critics Choice lineup threw a real curveball, raising the possibility that this sequel could follow the same pattern as The Color Purple (2023): big campaign with decent reception and underperformance awards-wise.

Meanwhile, Avatar: Fire and Ash remains one of the biggest question marks of the season. Its late screenings have not worked in its favor, and the film’s surprising miss at Critics Choice suggests it could easily underperform again at the Globes. And then there’s The Testament of Ann Lee, Mona Fastvold’s musical epic that landed with sharply divided reactions. Amanda Seyfried looks safe, but beyond that, the film could land anywhere from multiple major nominations to just slipping in with Actress and Song.

Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice is another title to watch closely. If the film lands Picture (Comedy/Musical) or Actor alongside International Feature, it instantly becomes a more substantial player in the broader race.

On the acting side, the stakes are getting high. If high-profile names like Jeremy Allen White, Dwayne Johnson, or George Clooney miss their categories, the damage to their Oscar prospects will be noticeable. And then you have the films expected to dominate: One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Sinners, Sentimental Value, and Marty Supreme, all of which seem poised for strong showings across the board. 

Below are my full predictions 

(Order is Alphabetical)

Best Motion Picture – Drama

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
  
• Frankenstein
  
• Hamnet
  
• It Was Just an Accident
  
• Sentimental Value
  
• Sinners
  

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Bugonia
  
• Jay Kelly
  
• Marty Supreme
  
• One Battle After Another
  
• Song Sung Blue
  
• Wicked: For Good
  

Best Actor – Drama

• Will Arnett – Is This Thing On?
  
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Anemone
  
• Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
  
• Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine
  
• Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
  
• Jeremy Allen White – Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
  

Best Actor – Musical or Comedy

• Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
  
• George Clooney – Jay Kelly
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
  
• Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
  
• Hugh Jackman – Song Sung Blue
  
• Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
  

Best Actress – Drama

• Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
  
• Jodie Foster – A Private Life
  
• Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
  
• Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
  
• Julia Roberts – After the Hunt
  
• Sydney Sweeney – Christy
  

Best Actress – 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
  

Best Supporting Actor

• Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
  
• Paul Mescal – Hamnet
  
• Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
  
• Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
  
• Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
  
• Jeremy Strong – Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
  

Best Supporting Actress

• Emily Blunt – The Smashing Machine
  
• Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
  
• Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
  
• Jennifer Lopez – Kiss of the Spider Woman
  
• Gwyneth Paltrow – Marty Supreme
  
• Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
  

Best Director

• Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
  
• Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
  
• Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
  
• Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
  
• Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
  
• Ryan Coogler – Sinners
  

Best Screenplay

• Hamnet
  
• Jay Kelly
  
• Marty Supreme
  
• One Battle After Another
  
• Sentimental Value
  
• Sinners
  

Best Original Score

• F1
  
• Frankenstein
  
• Hamnet
  
• Marty Supreme
  
• One Battle After Another
  
• Sinners
  

Best Animated Feature

• Arco
  
• K-Pop Demon Hunters
  
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
  
• Ne Zha 2
  
• Scarlet
  
• Zootopia 2
  

Best International Feature

• It Was Just an Accident
  
• No Other Choice
  
• The Voice of Hind Rajab
  
• The Secret Agent
  
• Sentimental Value
  
• Sound of Falling
  

Best Original Song

• “Dream As One” – Avatar: Fire and Ash
  
• “Girl in the Bubble” – Wicked: For Good
  
• “Golden” – K-Pop Demon Hunters
  
• “I Lied to You” – Sinners
  
• “Just Keep Watching” – F1
  
• “No Place Like Home” – Wicked: For Good

You can watch the 2026 Golden Globes announcement live on Monday at 8:15 a.m. ET on CBSNews.com or stream it on the CBS News YouTube and TikTok channels. The 2026 Golden Globes, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, will air on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and will be available to stream on Paramount+.