Golden Globe predictions 2025: Expect a strong night for Emilia Pérez

Sunday's latest edition of Golden Globe Awards should give us a better idea of where this year's biggest contenders stand going into Jan. 17's Oscar nominations.

While the Globes are far less predictive than you might expect, the right speech from the right winner can snowball into success at the Academy Awards a couple of months later.

We've gone through all the film categories and sized up who might walk away with the globe-topped gold statue once the ceremony gets underway on CBS at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night.

Let's go through the categories and guess who the winners might be!

Some NSFW language to follow.

Best Motion Picture (Drama)

• The Brutalist

• A Complete Unknown

• Conclave

• Dune: Part Two

• Nickel Boys

• September 5

Winner: Conclave

The Best Picture Oscar doesn't have an established frontrunner right now, but it may well be Conclave. A win here would add some fuel to that fire.

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

• Anora

• Challengers

• Emilia Pérez

• A Real Pain

• The Substance

• Wicked

Winner: Emilia Pérez

The film's 10 nominations should make it a force during this year's Globes ceremony. A win here feels all but certain.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

• Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

• Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

• Daniel Craig – Queer

• Colman Domingo – Sing Sing

• Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

• Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice

Winner: Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown 

We'll guess the Globes will lean into the Chalamet of it all and award him like they did Austin Butler in the same category for Elvis two years ago. The Oscar feels like it will come down to Chalamet, Fiennes and Brody.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

• Pamela Anderson – The Last Showgirl

• Angelina Jolie – Maria

• Nicole Kidman – Babygirl

• Tilda Swinton – The Room Next Door

• Fernanda Torres – I'm Still Here

• Kate Winslet – Lee

Winner: Angelina Jolie – Maria

Don't discount a Kidman win here, but Jolie is the clear frontrunner here.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

• Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

• Hugh Grant – Heretic

• Gabriel LaBelle – Saturday Night

• Jesse Plemons – Kinds of Kindness

• Glen Powell – Hit Man

• Sebastian Stan – A Different Man

Winner: Hugh Grant – Heretic 

While Eisenberg and Stan feel very possible, the thought of Grant confusingly and cattily accepting this musical or comedy award for a horror film is just too irresistible to deny. Plus, the Globes still haven't proven they are over their love of awarding big stars just yet.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

• Amy Adams – Nightbitch

• Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

• Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez

• Mikey Madison – Anora

• Demi Moore – The Substance

• Zendaya – Challengers

Winner: Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez 

This is the category where genuinely anything could happen, but I'll guess Gascón will ride her film's wave of momentum and win. Emilia Pérezis clearly strong with the Globes this year.

Best Supporting Actor

• Yura Borisov – Anora

• Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

• Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown

• Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

• Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice

• Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

Winner: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain 

Culkin will probably win here, as his performance is beloved in A Real Pain and may still be soaking in the goodwill for his run on Succession.

Best Supporting Actress

• Selena Gomez – Emilia Pérez

• Ariana Grande – Wicked

• Felicity Jones – The Brutalist

• Margaret Qualley – The Substance

• Isabella Rossellini – Conclave

• Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez

Winner: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez 

Saldaña should win this category and repeat here at the Oscars in March, but Grande looms as a potential spoiler.

Best Director

• Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez

• Sean Baker – Anora

• Edward Berger – Conclave

• Brady Corbet – The Brutalist

• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

• Payal Kapadia – All We Imagine as Light

Winner: Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez continues its streak of wins for Audiard, a respected auteur whose film the Golden Globes voters clearly resonated with last year.

Best Screenplay

• Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez

• Sean Baker – Anora

• Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist

• Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

• Peter Straughan – Conclave

Winner: Sean Baker – Anora

My guess is Emilia Pérez's only loss in a category it's nominated in is here, where Baker's lauded work on Anora gets the win. It's the Oscar frontrunner for Best Original Screenplay right now.

Other Film Predictions

Best Original Score: Clément Ducol and Camille – Emilia Pérez

Best Original Song: "El Mal" (Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard) – Emilia Pérez

Best Animated Film: The Wild Robot

Best Non-English Language Film: Emilia Pérez

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Wicked

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Golden Globe predictions 2025: Expect a strong night for Emilia Pérez