Golden Globes 2026 Nominations: Complete List, Biggest Surprises, and What It Means for Oscar Race

BREAKING: The 83rd Golden Globes nominations dropped this morning, and the 2026 awards race just got REAL.

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another is running away with it — 9 nominations, including Best Picture. But the story isn't just PTA's dominance. We've got international films breaking through, Marlon Wayans announcing nominations (not just earning them), and Wicked: For Good getting completely shut out of Best Picture after being the presumed frontrunner.

Here's everything you need to know about the Golden Globe nominations 2026.

The Big Winners: Films That Dominated the Nominations

One Battle After Another Leads with 9 Nominations

Paul Thomas Anderson's action thriller swept the nominations with:

• Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
• Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
• Best Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson)
• Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro)
• Best Supporting Actress (Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor)
• Best Original Score (Jonny Greenwood)

This loosely adapts Thomas Pynchon's Vineland into a nearly 3-hour screwball action epic about an ex-revolutionary forced back into his old life. Critics are calling it PTA's most entertaining film yet, and with a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's the clear Oscar frontrunner.

Where to watch: Currently streaming on Max, available on digital platforms

Sentimental Value: The Norwegian Dark Horse (8 Nominations)

Joachim Trier's intimate family drama earned a record 8 Golden Globe nominations — the most ever for a Norwegian film. With four acting nominations alone (Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), this quiet character study is becoming impossible to ignore.

The film follows sisters reuniting with their estranged director father, and it's getting buzz as this year's international breakout that could challenge for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Sinners Scores Big (7 Nominations)

Ryan Coogler's Jim Crow-era vampire thriller pulled in 7 nods, including:

• Best Motion Picture – Drama
• Best Director (Ryan Coogler)
• Best Screenplay (Ryan Coogler)
• Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan — his FIRST Globe nomination)
• Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
• Best Original Song ("I Lied to You")
• Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson)

Sinners brought in nearly $400 million at the box office and became a cultural moment. Jordan plays dual roles as the Smokestack twins, and he's calling it "the hardest thing I've ever done."

Streaming on Max

Golden Globes 2026: TV Domination

The White Lotus Season 3 Leads TV with 6 Nominations

Mike White's Thailand-set satire swept the TV categories:

• Best Drama Series
• Supporting Actress: Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Aimee Lou Wood
• Supporting Actor: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs

After getting snubbed at the Critics' Choice Awards last week, the Globes voters clearly couldn't resist the show's blend of dark comedy and social commentary.

Other Major TV Players:

• Adolescence (Netflix): 5 nominations, dominating Limited Series
• Only Murders in the Building (Hulu): 4 nominations — Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short ALL nominated
• Severance Season 2 (Apple TV+): 4 nominations, including Drama Series

The Biggest Snubs and Surprises

Major Snubs:

Wicked: For Good — This is WILD. After the first Wicked dominated last year, the sequel got relegated to "Box Office Achievement" instead of Best Picture. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande got acting noms, but director Jon M. Chu was completely shut out.

Hailee Steinfeld — Despite her powerful turn in Sinners, she was overlooked while her co-stars got recognised.

Avatar: Fire and Ash — Only nominated for Box Office Achievement and Original Song. For a James Cameron film, that's brutal.

Biggest Surprises:

Julia Roberts in After the Hunt — The film flopped critically and commercially, yet Roberts landed a Drama Actress nomination. Classic Globes star power.

Dwayne Johnson — His first Golden Globe nomination EVER for The Smashing Machine. A serious drama role that's positioning him for his first Oscar run.

Marlon Wayans announced the nominations — The same Marlon Wayans who's been grinding in comedy for decades finally gets his Golden Globes moment. Not as a nominee this year, but as co-host of the announcement with Skye P. Marshall.

What This Means for the 2026 Oscars

The Golden Globes split Best Picture into Drama and Musical/Comedy, which makes reading the tea leaves tricky. But here's what matters:

Best Director is your Oscar bellwether. The six nominees are:

1. Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
2. Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
3. Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein)
4. Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident)
5. Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)
6. Chloé Zhao (Hamnet)

Three international films in that mix (Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, No Other Choice) signal the Academy might follow suit. If Sentimental Value wins here, it becomes a serious Best Picture threat at the Oscars.

Michael B. Jordan vs. Leonardo DiCaprio in Best Actor will be fascinating. This is Jordan's breakthrough nomination, while DiCaprio is seeking his second Oscar after The Revenant.

The Wicked: For Good snub suggests voters have sequel fatigue. That's bad news for its Oscar chances.

First-Time Nominees Making History

27 performers earned their first Golden Globe nomination, including:

• Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
• Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine)
• Paul Mescal (Hamnet)
• Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another)
• Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus)
• Bill Maher (Stand-Up Comedy category)

Cynthia Erivo made history as the first Black woman with multiple lead actress nominations in Musical/Comedy.

New Category Alert: Best Podcast

For the first time ever, the Golden Globes are recognising podcasts. The inaugural nominees:

• Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard
• Call Her Daddy
• Good Hang With Amy Poehler
• The Mel Robbins Podcast
• Smartless
• Up First (NPR)

No Joe Rogan. No Ben Shapiro. The Globes went mainstream and safe with this lineup.

How to Watch the 2026 Golden Globes

Date: Sunday, January 11, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT
Where to Watch: CBS (live broadcast) and Paramount+ (streaming)
Host: Nikki Glaser (returning for her second year)

Before the Globes: Check out "Golden Eve" on Thursday, January 8 at 8 PM ET on CBS. This special will honour Cecil B. DeMille Award winner Helen Mirren and Carol Burnett Award winner Sarah Jessica Parker.

Full List of 2026 Golden Globe Nominees

FILM - BEST MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)

• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• It Was Just an Accident
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners

FILM - BEST MOTION PICTURE (MUSICAL OR COMEDY)

• Blue Moon
• Bugonia
• Marty Supreme
• No Other Choice
• Nouvelle Vague
• One Battle After Another

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)

BEST ACTOR – DRAMA

• Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine)
• Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
• Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly)
• Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)
• James McAvoy (The Secret Agent)
• Paul Mescal (Hamnet)

BEST ACTOR – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

• Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)
• Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)
• Glen Powell (Hit Man)
• Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)
• Ralph Fiennes (Nouvelle Vague)

BEST ACTRESS – 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)

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

TV - BEST DRAMA SERIES

• The Diplomat
• The Pitt
• Pluribus
• Severance
• Slow Horses
• The White Lotus

TV - BEST COMEDY SERIES

• Abbott Elementary
• The Bear
• Hacks
• Nobody Wants This
• Only Murders in the Building
• The Studio

TV - BEST LIMITED SERIES

• Adolescence
• All Her Fault
• The Beast in Me
• Black Mirror
• Dying for Sex
• The Girlfriend

Why These Golden Globe Nominations Matter

Look, I've been covering awards season for years, and the Globes are always a mixed bag. They love stars, they love parties, and they don't always align with the Oscars.

BUT — the Director and Screenplay categories are historically strong predictors. If Anderson, Coogler, or Trier win Director here, they're your Oscar frontrunners.

The international film surge is REAL. Sentimental Value getting 8 nominations means Neon (the distributor) is running a masterclass campaign. They could sweep International Feature AND get a Best Picture nomination.

And Sinners pulling $400M at the box office while getting 7 nominations? That's the kind of commercial + critical success that wins Oscars.

My Predictions for Who Wins

Best Picture (Drama): Sinners — It's got the box office, the cultural impact, and Coogler's first Director nomination
Best Picture (Comedy): One Battle After Another — Too much momentum to stop
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — His 12th Globe nomination. He's due.
Best Actor (Drama): Michael B. Jordan — First nomination + dual role performance = win
Best Actor (Comedy): Leonardo DiCaprio — He's Leo.
TV Drama: The White Lotus — Six nominations speak for themselves
TV Comedy: Only Murders in the Building — All three stars nominated = sweep potential

The Bottom Line

The 2026 Golden Globes nominations set up a wild awards season. One Battle After Another is the film to beat, Sentimental Value is the international dark horse, and Sinners is the populist choice that could shock everyone.

Wicked: For Good getting snubbed is the storyline nobody saw coming, and it fundamentally changes the Musical/Comedy race.

On TV, The White Lotus proves Mike White is untouchable, and Adolescence is the limited series freight train heading straight for Emmy domination next year.

Mark your calendars: January 11, 2026. This is going to be one hell of a show.

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What do you think? Drop your predictions in the comments. Who gets snubbed at the Oscars based on these Golden Globes nominations?