Golden Globes 2025 predictions: who I think will win

The 2025 awards season kicks off with the Golden Globes this Sunday, January 5, at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on CBS. Often referred to as Hollywood’s biggest party, the stars of 2024’s biggest movies and TV shows will mingle, toast to their success and a few of them will take home trophies. In regards to the latter, I’m planting my flag on who I think will be the big winners of the night with my official Golden Globe 2025 predictions right here.

Below you’ll find my picks for all 27 categories at this year’s Golden Globes across both movies and TV. The Globes have a history of being a bit harder to predict as they are made up of primarily international journalists, and after a recent shakeup among the voting body many are still trying to get a feel for any tendencies they have. But, at the end of the day this is just a fun exercise on how I think the night may go.

Check out all of my picks directly below, as well as a brief description of why I made each pick. Feel free to share your thoughts on my selections and who you think will (or should) win on Sunday night in the comments below.

Golden Globe 2025 movie predictions

Best Actress — Comedy: Mikey Madison, Anora

In a stacked category (Demi Moore and Cynthia Erivo loom large as threats), I’m going with Mikey Madison for Anora. She’s been the breakout star on the awards circuit this year for her acclaimed performance as a sex worker whose impulsive marriage to the son of a Russian oligarch quickly becomes extremely complicated. I think she continues that run here.

Best Actor — Comedy: Sebastian Stan, A Different Man

While Sebastian Stan’s movies have been a little less seen this year by the general public, critics and awards bodies have been signaling it out as the best year of his career. While Jesse Eisenberg is his big competition in my opinion, I think Stan takes the Globe here for A Different Man.

Best Actress — Drama: Angelina Jolie, Maria

While it would be cool to see Pamela Anderson take home a trophy for her comeback role in The Last Showgirl or a real wild card like Fernanda Torres for the international movie I’m Still Here, Angelina Jolie is magnificent as Maria Callas in Maria and deserves her laurels for her first on-screen performance since 2021.

Best Actor — Drama: Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

Like Best Actress — Comedy, Best Actor — Drama is a category where I could see just about anyone winning. However, I was blown away by Timothée Chalamet’s performance as Boy Dylan in A Complete Unknown and think the voting body of the Globes will have been as well, opting to anoint the young star with his first ever major award win.

Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez

This one could come down to two musical performances — Ariana Grande in Wicked and Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez. I’m going with Saldana though, who sings, dances and brings an emotional heft to the movie musical that deserves recognition. Though to be honest, I would not be mad if Isabella Rossellini pulled the upset for Conclave.

Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Most of the other acting categories still feel a bit unsettled this year, but Kieran Culkin is quickly becoming the runaway favorite from here to the Oscars. I think that's cemented with a Globes.

Best Original Score: The Brutalist

One of the only “below-the-line” categories the Globes recognizes, I’m going with the movie that has received a lot of the praise for its work there, The Brutalist. Though with work from Hans Zimmer (Dune: Part Two), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Challengers), Kris Bowers (The Wild Robot) and more, this is the one I’m least confident in.

Best Original Song: 'Kiss the Sky,' The Wild Robot

Despite Emilia Perez having two chances at the award, I’m going with The Wild Robot’s powerful anthem, which was wonderfully performed by Maren Morris in the movie.

Best Screenplay: Sean Baker, Anora

Sean Baker has been an indie favorite for many years now, but Anora is his most widely acclaimed and successful movie, and a big part of that is his excellent writing. I see Coarlie Fargeat’s The Substance and Jesse Eisenberg’s script for A Real Pain as the big challengers, but I think Anora takes the prize here.

Best Director: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist

The Brutalist is an incredible accomplishment — a decade-spanning story that at its heart is an intimate story about a man’s struggle to find the American dream after immigrating to the country as a refugee from World War Two, yet it feels as big as the likes of Dune or Gladiator 2. That is a credit to Brady Corbet’s direction, which I think will be rewarded at the Globes.

Cinematic Box Office Achievement: Wicked

Only the second year that this award has been handed out, it’s hard to know how the Globes will go. Last year they gave the prize to 2023’s biggest movie at the box office, Barbie. If that’s the bar, then Inside Out 2 should win. But instead, I think they’ll be more open to what merits a win, and in this case give it to the movie that became the biggest phenomenon of the year, Wicked.

Best Motion Picture — Animated: The Wild Robot

While the Globes could go for the acclaimed international animated movie Flow, The Wild Robot received three other nominations outside of this category (most of any animated movie), which lends me to believe there is wide support for it, enough to snag the win.

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language: Emilia Perez

Similarly, Emilia Perez was the most nominated movie this year by the Globes, so I think it is walking away with one of the Best Motion Picture prizes. I’m going with Non-English Language in this case.

Best Motion Picture — Comedy: Anora & Best Motion Picture — Drama: The Brutalist

Ultimately, I think the night will belong to Anora and The Brutalist, as both movies earn the big prizes of the evening and tie for the most Globe wins among movies with three apiece, cementing their places as two of the favorites for the rest of the awards calendar.

Golden Globe 2025 TV predictions

Best Actress — Comedy: Jean Smart, Hacks

I was tempted to pick Kristen Bell here, but Jean Smart is so consistently brilliant and hilarious in Hacks season 3 that even with the Globes’ tendency to want to recognize some of the newer shows and performers, they can’t deny recognizing Smart once again.

Best Actor — Comedy: Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This

Where Bell came up short, I think Adam Brody will win the Golden Globe for Best Actor — Comedy. As one half of a new favorite TV couple in Nobody Wants This, Brody gave arguably the best performance of his career.

Best Actress — Drama: Anna Sawai, Shogun

Clear some more space on your trophy case Anna Sawai, after winning the Emmy for Shogun, the Globes should follow as her performance as Mariko is undeniably brilliant. If there’s an upset looming though, it could be from Kathy Bates for Matlock.

Best Actor — Drama: Hiroyuki Sanada, Shogun

I think it’s going to be a good night for Shogun, with Hiroyuki Sanada’s brilliant and noble performance as the calculating Toranaga in the epic period drama closing out the two Drama acting prizes for the show.

Best Actress — Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie: Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country

The Golden Globes have shown their love for Jodie Foster in the past, including giving her the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her career’s work. But now I expect they’ll recognize her great work on TV in True Detective: Night Country.

Best Actor — Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie: Colin Farrell, The Penguin

Not picking Richard Gadd for Baby Reindeer here does scare me a bit, but like Foster, the Globes have a thing for Colin Farrell (he’s a two-time winner) and his performance in The Penguin is widely lauded and awards-worthy.

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer

Baby Reindeer gets its trophy here for Jessica Gunning’s buzzy performance, repeating her win from the Emmys and many other voting bodies.

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Here’s my upset pick of the night. The likeliest picks are either Ebon-Moss Bachrach for The Bear season 3 or Tadanobu Asano continuing Shogun’s big night, but I’m predicting that Javier Bardem wins for Netflix’s buzzy show about the Menendez brothers.

Best TV Stand-Up Comedy Performance: Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was

Nikki Glasser is hosting the Globes and nominated in this category. If she won she would join Sandra Oh in winning a Globe the same night she hosted. But I think the Globes go for the emotional pick and recognize Jamie Foxx, who returned to stand up to help explain what his scary medical situation in 2023 was all about.

Best Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie: Baby Reindeer

It was a good year for this category (I haven’t mentioned Disclaimer and Ripley, but they round out this category with Baby Reindeer, Monsters, The Penguin and True Detective). Ultimately, I’m going with Baby Reindeer to win big.

Best TV Series — Comedy: Nobody Wants This

The Globes take the opportunity to become the first awards show to hand its top prize to Nobody Wants This, naming it the best comedy of the year.

Best TV Series — Drama: Shogun

Shogun wins because it was the biggest, most talked about and all around best drama on TV this year.