'One Battle After Another' leads Golden Globe nominations

Close on its heels was Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” a Norwegian family drama about a filmmaking family. The Neon release’s eight nominations included nods for four of its actors: Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.

The Globe nominations, a tattered but persistent rite in Hollywood, are coming on the heels of the a potentially seismic shift in entertainment. On Friday, Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion. If approved, the deal would reshape Hollywood and put one of its most storied movie studios in the hands of the streaming giant.

Both companies are prominent in this year's awards season. Along with “One Battle After Another,” Warner Bros. has “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler's acclaimed vampire hit. It was nominated for seven awards by the Globes, including box office achievement, best actor for Michael B. Jordan and Coogler for best director.

Netflix's contenders include Noah Baumbach's “Jay Kelly” (which landed nods for George Clooney and Adam Sandler), Guillermo del Toro's “Frankenstein” (five nominations) and the streaming smash hit, “KPop Demon Hunters.” Arguably the most-watched movie of the year, the three nominations for “KPop Demon Hunters” included one for cinematic and box office achievement — an oddity for Netflix, which typically gives its films only small, limited theatrical runs but found a No. 1 box office weekend in singalong screenings for the animated film.

The two studios led all others in nominations across film and television on Monday. Netflix landed 35 nominations, boosted by its expansive film slate and television nominees like the British limited series “Adolescence” (five nominations). Warner Bros. had 31 nominations, including 15 from HBO Max for series such as “The White Lotus,” the lead TV nominee with six.

The proposed deal for Warner Bros. has stoked concern throughout the industry that Netflix might devote one of the most theatrical-focused studios to streaming. The leading trade group for exhibitors has called the deal “an unprecedented threat.” On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the market share created by the merger “could be a problem,” and Paramount said Monday it was mounting a hostile bid for Warner Bros.

Yet the studio that triumphed on the movie side of the Globe nominations was Neon. The indie specialty film company has emerged as a dominant force in international releases, winning a string of Palme d'Or awards at the Cannes Film Festival. It earned 21 nominations Monday, including five of the six international film nominees.

That included four nominations for Jafar Panahi's “It Was Just an Accident,” the acclaimed Iranian revenge drama. Panahi has often been imprisoned, put under house arrest or prohibited from leaving Iran by the Islamic Republic regime. Earlier this month, while traveling outside of Iran with the film, he was sentenced to a year in prison and a new two-year travel ban.

As the Globes continue to transition out of their scandal-plagued past, there's one notable change this year. For the first time, the Globes are giving a best podcast trophy. The inaugural nominees are “Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “SmartLess” and NPR's “Up First.”

After a series of controversies for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that previously put on the ceremony, the Globes were sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly's Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media. A new, larger voting body of more than 300 people now vote on the awards, which moved from NBC to CBS on a shorter, less expensive deal.

Nikki Glaser is returning as host to the Jan. 11 Globes, airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. This past January, Glaser won good reviews for her first time emceeing the ceremony. Ratings were essentially unchanged, slightly dipping to 9.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen, from 9.4 million in 2024.

Helen Mirren will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award in a separate prime-time special airing Jan. 8. Sarah Jessica Parker will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award.