‘One Battle After Another’ leads Golden Globe nominations

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another scored a leading nine nominations to the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on Monday, adding to the Oscar favourite’s momentum and handing Warner Bros. a victory amid Netflix’s acquisition deal.

In nominations announced from Beverly Hills, California, One Battle After Another landed nods for its cast — Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn and Chase Infiniti — and for Anderson’s screenplay and direction. It’s also competing in the Globes’ category for comedy and musicals.

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 a potentially seismic shift in entertainment. On Friday, Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for US$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. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has pledged a theatrical commitment to many Warner releases, but 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.

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 January 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 January 8. Sarah Jessica Parker will be honoured with the Carol Burnett Award.