Oscars 2020: Final Golden Globe Nomination Predictions

As quickly as the season started, we’re now in the thick of it with the industry voters sounding off on their nominations, and the Hollywood Foreign Press are one of the big ones. Nominations for the 77th Golden Globes will be announced on the morning of Monday, December 9th, so set your alarms. We haven’t had too many updates on category switches since last time, so we’ll jump right in with nominations in 14 categories.

 

Best Original Song

Predictions:
“I’m Standing with You” from Breakthrough
“Beautiful Ghosts” from Cats
“Into the Unknown” from Frozen II
“Spirit” from The Lion King
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from Rocketman

This category is always a crapshoot at the Globes, since the voters tend to go toward famous artists and legends, but not always. So I figure Elton John, Beyoncé, Diane Warren, and Taylor Swift aren’t bad bets. I honestly think Frozen II is the only guarantee, and that may go for the Oscars as well.

A few other songs that could make the list are “One Little Soldier” from Bombshell, “Don’t Call Me Angel” from Charlie’s Angels, and “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” from Toy Story 4, but I think they’ll save the Randy Newman nomination for the score category.

 

Best Original Score

Predictions:
1917
Harriet
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story

I had to go with Globe tradition here by picking one oddball that likely won’t hang around the rest of the season, Harriet in this case for score. A few past examples include A Quiet Place, Steve Jobs, and Birdman. After that, I’m sticking with more of the expected picks, like Joker, Marriage Story, etc.

A few other scores that could make it in are Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Jojo Rabbit, Ford v Ferrari, Richard Jewell, The Aeronauts, and The Irishman.

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Predictions:
Les Misérables
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Queen of Hearts
The Farewell

Just a reminder that The Farewell will not be up for Best Motion Picture: Comedy/Musical, This will be its equivalent to Best Film. I think these five are pretty solid, but like these other tech categories at the Globes, you never can be sure.

A few other films that might make the list are The Whistlers, Monos, Those Who Remained, and Out Stealing Horses..

 

Best Animated Feature

Predictions:
Abominable
Frozen II
How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World
Toy Story 4
Weathering with You

The Globes lineup usually favors more of the domestic fare than foreign, but one or two usually make it. These five seem to be the consensus, so I won’t stray too far. Missing Link, Klaus, and I Lost My Body are about the only three I see making an upset.

 

Best Screenplay

Predictions:
Bombshell
Jojo Rabbit
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Irishman

Remembering that the HFPA loves movies about the press (The Post received six nominations two years ago), I think Bombshell will be one of the longshots that come through in this category.

The other four films should be pretty airtight in this category, but I would say Parasite, Little Women, The Two Popes, The Farwell, and Uncut Gems are a few films that will be vying for attention.

 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Predictions:
Annette Bening – The Report
Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson – Jojo Rabbit
Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers
Margot Robbie – Bombshell

This is becoming a little bit of a tougher category to predict. I think Bening may struggle here a bit, but seeing as her film has a journalism feel, and again the Globes love that, I think she will be included. She also has seven film and one television nominations in her corner to back her up, so this could be nomination number nine.

Johansson is also a favorite with the Globes, and could easily be nominated twice on Monday for her work this year. She already has four nominations to her name, and I suspect Jojo Rabbit will go over well with the HFPA, leading to number five.

The other three are more solid, and should appear just about everywhere this year. A few other names that could pop up are Zhao Shuzhen (The Farewell), Florence Pugh (Little Women), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite is My Name) and Meryl Streep (The Laundromat).

 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Predictions:
Alan Alda – Marriage Story
Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Al Pacino – The Irishman
Joe Pesci – The Irishman

This is a pretty legendary group here, and the Globes do like to nominate the people they’ve loved before. If you do the math, these five men have been nominated a total of 53 times across film and television (that’s included some producing roles for Pitt). That’s pretty astonishing, and I don’t think the Globes would pass up the opportunity to make that total 58.

As it stands, Alda is a bit of a long shot, and Pesci could be bumped if the Globes prefer his co-star, so a few other names that could make it are Anthony Hopkins for The Two Popes, Song Kang-ho for Parasite, Shia LaBeouf for Honey Boy, Sterling K. Brown for Waves, Willem Dafoe for The Lighthouse, John Lithgow for Bombshell, and Taika Waititi for Jojo Rabbit.

 

Best Actress: Comedy/Musical

Predictions:
Awkwafina – The Farewell
Cate Blanchett – Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Kaitlyn Dever – Booksmart
Emma Thompson – Late Night
Constance Wu – Hustlers

Awkwafina and Wu feel like the only two sure things here, leaving a lot of wiggle room. Ana de Armas is the heart and sole of Knives Out, and if that movie goes over really well with the voters, she could easily be nominated. Beanie Feldstein, arguably, outshines her co-star in Booksmart, so she could also replace one of my picks.

I would also look out for possible double-nom Charlize Theron for her comedic work in Long Shot, who, funny enough, may not be such a long shot herself in this category.

 

Best Actor: Comedy/Musical

Predictions:
Daniel Craig – Knives Out
Bryan Cranston – The Upside
Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Taron Egerton – Rocketman
Eddie Murphy – Dolemite is My Name

For those of you wondering where Adam Sandler is on this list, bad news: the Globes re-classified Uncut Gems as a drama, so there’s a chance he’s running up a brick wall in that category.

In the meantime, Craig and Egerton are looking to be first time nominees on Monday, and I think there’s enough support for their films to make it. I again look back to the storied history of Bryan Cranston to fill that Sandler spot, and I think his eight previous nominations help him a lot.

A few other names that could pop up are Shia LaBeouf for

The Peanut Butter Falcon, Roman Griffith David for Jojo Rabbit (but remember kid actors are not often passed over at the Globes), Himesh Patel for Yesterday, and Will Smith for Aladdin.

 

Best Actress: Drama

Predictions:
Cynthia Erivo – Harriet
Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan – Little Women
Charlize Theron – Bombshell
Renee Zellweger – Judy

While I have previously been touting Helen Mirren in this category for The Good Liar, I recognize she will likely be nominated on the TV side for her work in the limited series Catherine the Great. That frees up a spot for Cynthia Erivo, who I think will be on their radar, especially if the score is nominated.

It’s also worth noting that Lupita Nyong’o was really helped by her recent win for Best Actress at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, so if she strikes again here Monday, that may be a sign she’s up for her second nomination at the Oscars as well. Alfre Woodard also stands a decent shot for Clemency, and I wouldn’t pass it by the Globes to nominate Julianne Moore for a tenth time for Gloria Bell.

 

Best Actor: Drama

Predictions:
Christian Bale – Ford v Ferrari
Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory
Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Robert De Niro – The Irishman
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

Sorry, Sandman, there may not be any more room at the inn. Though I will say that if Sandler is nominated over someone like De Niro or Bale, watch out for him to clear a path to his first Oscar nomination. I’ll also say it’s possible that the voters end with a sixth nomination due to a tie, that way everyone goes home happy.

A few other actors who may be selected in this stacked category are Jonathan Pryce for The Two Popes, Paul Walter Houser for Richard Jewell, and George McKay for 1917.

 

Best Director

Predictions:
Noah Baumbach – Marriage Story
Bong Joon Ho – Parasite
Sam Mendes – 1917
Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
Taika Waititi – Jojo Rabbit

Yes, I had to let go of Jay Roach in this category, but I still feel there’s a chance he receives some love, depending on how well Bombshell goes over with the voters. Tarantino is another beloved director with the Globes, being nominated in this category three times earlier, so he may be a no-brainer that I’m passing up.

As we’ve discussed previously, this is a stacked category, so watch out for Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Pedro Almodovar (Pain and Glory), James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) and Clint Eastwood (Richard Jewell) as well.

 

Best Motion Picture: Comedy/Musical

Predictions:
Dolemite is My Name
Hustlers
Jojo Rabbit
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Rocketman

I’ve changed my tune on a couple of my earlier picks, and I’m still not 100% certain this is the lineup. Knives Out, Cats and Booksmart will also be up for the top prize, so don’t bet the farm on these five.

 

Best Motion Picture: Drama

Predictions:
1917
Bombshell
Little Women
Marriage Story
The Irishman

While there’s been some talk of all the male-dominated films this year, I think two female led films being nominated will be a nice change of pace. You could also argue since Johansson is first-billed for Marriage Story, that would make it three.

That being said, a few other male-led films do have a lot of excitement around them, like Ford v Ferrari, Joker, The Two Popes, Richard Jewell, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Again, I would not be shocked if this category ended up with six nominees so one of these five other contenders (most likely Ford v Ferrari, though) makes the list.

Once again, nominations are out this Monday, December 9th. The awards ceremony will be held Sunday, January 5th.