One Battle After Another and Adolescence have led this year’s Golden Globes with four wins apiece.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s counterculture epic took home best comedy or musical film. It also earned him best director and screenplay, marking his first-ever Golden Globe wins.
“I love doing what I do so this is just fun,” Anderson said in his second speech before paying tribute to the late Adam Somner, who was an assistant director on the film before his death in November 2024.
Teyana Taylor was also named best female supporting actor for her role in the film, beating out Amy Madigan and Ariana Grande. In a tearful speech, she devoted her award “to my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight”, adding: “We belong in every room we walk into. Our voices matter and our dreams deserve space.”
Smash hit Netflix drama Adolescence continued its awards sweep picking up four Globes, including best limited series. In his acceptance speech, writer Jack Thorne said the show is not meant to criticise young people but rather “the filth and the debris we have laid in their path”.
Stephen Graham was named best actor in a limited series winning out against Jude Law and Paul Giamatti, while Owen Cooper followed up his historic Emmy win with another award for supporting actor. He said that standing on the Golden Globes stage “does not feel real whatsoever”. Erin Doherty also won for supporting female actor.
The largely fictionalised Shakespeare drama Hamnet won for best drama film and best lead actress in a drama for Jessie Buckley. Steven Spielberg, who produced the film alongside Sam Mendes, accepted the award and said that Chloé Zhao was the only film-maker who could have made the movie.
In her speech, Buckley, whose competition included Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence, said: “This is a real, real honour, I love what I do and I love being a part of this industry.”
Ryan Coogler’s period horror blockbuster Sinners won awards for original score and for cinematic and box office achievement. “I just wanna thank the audience for showing up,” Coogler said in his speech.
Timothée Chalamet was named best lead male actor in a comedy for ping-pong caper Marty Supreme, beating out Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney. It was his first Golden Globe win and he spoke about how losing his previous four awards made this moment “that much sweeter”. He is now the youngest winner in this category.
Brazilian period thriller The Secret Agent also took home two awards: for best film not in the English language and for star Wagner Moura who won best lead actor in a drama. Beating Michael B Jordan and Dwayne Johnson, he became the first Brazilian winner in the category. “This is a very important time and moment to be making films,” director Kleber Mendonça Filho said in his speech.
Rose Byrne was named best lead female actor in a comedy for playing a mother spiralling in anxiety-inducting indie If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. She beat out Emma Stone and Cynthia Erivo for the win and thanked voters for rewarding a small film that she joked was made for $8.50.
Stellan Skarsgård beat Jacob Elordi and Benicio del Toro to win male supporting actor for Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value. He joked that he was surprised to win as he’s too old. “Cinema should be seen in cinemas,” he said at the end of a speech about the importance of the theatrical experience.
While bigger movie bets like Train Dreams, Frankenstein and Jay Kelly missed out on wins, Netflix picked up two awards for its massively successful summer hit KPop: Demon Hunters. The film, now the most-watched ever on the platform, won for animated feature and original song for Golden. The adventure was originally made by Sony but released on Netflix through a first-look rights deal.
It was a big year for new television shows with freshman seasons of The Pitt, The Studio and Pluribus all winning awards.
Hospital drama The Pitt was named best drama series, up against Severance, Slow Horses and The Diplomat. Noah Wyle was also named best actor in a drama beating out Gary Oldman and Mark Ruffalo and he used his speech to thank healthcare workers.
Apple’s new industry comedy The Studio also won for best comedy series with its star and creator Seth Rogen winning best male actor in a comedy series beating out Martin Short and Steve Martin.
Rhea Seehorn won best female actor in a drama series for the first season of Apple’s much-watched hit Pluribus. She thanked show creator Vince Gilligan for “the role of a lifetime”.
Jean Smart won best female actor in a musical or comedy TV series for the third time for her performance in HBO hit Hacks. “What can I say, I’m a greedy bitch,” she joked in her speech. She wore a “Be Good” pin on her outfit to show support for an ACLU-endorsed campaign against the use of ICE violence in the US.
Mark Ruffalo and Wanda Sykes were also among the names seen with “ICE OUT” pins to protest against the death of Renee Good, an unarmed woman killed in Minneapolis.
“The only thing that matters to him is his own morality, but the guy is a convicted felon or convicted rapist,” Ruffalo said of Donald Trump on the red carpet. “He’s a paedophile. He’s the worst human being. If we’re relying on this guy’s morality for the most powerful country in the world, then we’re all in a lot of trouble.”
Other winners included Michelle Williams for her role in the limited series Dying for Sex and Ricky Gervais for performance in standup comedy on television. Gervais was not in attendance so host Wanda Sykes jokingly accepted the award and devoted the win to “God and the trans community” on his behalf.
Host Nikki Glaser returned for the second year in a row, jokingly calling the Globes “without a doubt the most important thing that’s happening in the world right now”. With the ceremony airing on CBS, she made jokes about Bari Weiss’s new role at CBS News, calling it “America’s newest place to see BS news”. She also took aim at the lack of film and TV production in Los Angeles, the redaction of the Epstein files, Leonardo DiCaprio’s tendency to date younger women and Sean Penn’s evolution into a “sexy leather handbag”.
The night also saw the first-ever Globe for best podcast which was announced after a skit poking fun at podcasts, with Glaser playing Nicole Kidman in the viral AMC advert. The winner was Good Hang with Amy Poehler beating out Call Her Daddy and SmartLess. “I don’t know about award shows but when they get it right,” she joked.
Nominated shows and films that left the night empty-handed include Frankenstein, Nobody Wants This, The Diplomat, Wicked: For Good, Jay Kelly, The Bear, Abbott Elementary, Only Murder in the Building and Bugonia.
Last year saw major winners including Demi Moore, Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez and Shōgun.
This year’s Oscar nominations are announced on 22 January with the ceremony scheduled to take place on 15 March.
