The Biggest Snubs and Surprises From the 2024 Golden Globes Nominations

The embattled Golden Globes awards are returning to broadcast on January 7th after a rocky few years. In June, the long-secretive Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which invented the awards in 1944, was dissolved and reorganized to be a larger, more diverse and more representative voting body—and now the nominations for the 81st ceremony are in.

After a year drenched in pink, it shouldn’t be surprising that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie led the way with nine nominations, followed by its box office rival, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, with eight. In the television categories, Succession had the most with nine, followed by The Bear and Only Murders in the Building with five each.

You won’t be surprised to see other popular titles at the top of the heap—Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon snagged seven nominations, as did Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things. Filling out the Best Motion Picture, Drama category are Maestro, The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall (the latter two of which both star Sandra Hüller, who is nominated for Best Actress for Anatomy.)

In either a clear bid to revamp its image, a natural result of the newly-formed voting body, or both, the Globes also have a nicely diverse lineup this year. Half of the screenplay contenders are women, and two women are nominees for best director (Gerwig for Barbie and Celine Song for Past Lives). The nominations also have some heavy star power this year, with big names in many of the big categories, which could draw in more viewers than usual, especially now that the strike is over.

As always, there were several snubs and a few surprises:

Snubs

The Color Purple

The Oprah Winfrey-backed musical, based on the Broadway version of the story (which itself is adapted from the 1985 Steven Spielberg film and 1982 Alice Walker book), was left out of the Best Film, Musical or Comedy category. Though its stars Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks nabbed acting nominations, the film itself was entirely snubbed.

Wonka and The Little Mermaid

Speaking of musicals, both Wonka and The Little Mermaid were also left out of the musical/comedy conversation. Is it a sign we’re finally sick of reboots? (Original films May December and Poor Things both made the cut). Wonka star Timothée Chalamet received a best actor nom for his role as the eccentric chocolatier, but the first Black Little Mermaid, Halle Bailey, didn’t.

The Abbott Elementary Supporting Cast

While the beloved network comedy about a Philadelphia middle school received a Best Series nod (and star and show creator Quinta Brunson is in the race for Best Actress), the stellar supporting cast were snubbed, including fan favorites Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James and Tyler James Williams. Though, the Globes consolidates supporting performances from Drama, Comed and Limited Series into one group, so it’s always a tough category to crack.

America Ferrera

With as massive a movie as Barbie was, you’d think America Ferrera would be getting her flowers for her starring role in the record-breaking film. Despite the film being the most-nominated at the Globes, and co-stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling getting nominations, Ferrera was sadly overlooked.

Adam Driver

Driver has been diligently on the awards circuit, promoting Michael Mann’s Ferrari in which he stars as Enzo Ferrari, the creator of the famous sports car, but he was left ouf the Globes conversation (his co-star, Penélope Cruz, was snubbed, too).

Zac Efron

Efron transformed himself for The Iron Claw, which tells the tragic true story of the Von Erich family wrestling dynasty, to overall positive reviews. But the former heartthrob was overlooked in every category, including best actor.

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon

Neither actress received a nod for The Morning Show, which is currently in its third season (both stars were nominated in the Globes’ Best Actress, Drama category after its first season). Though the series overall received a nod this year (as did supporting actor Billy Crudup), Aniston and Witherspoon’s combined star power wasn’t enough to dazzle the Globes voters.

Surprises

Taylor Swift

A surefire way to add buzz to any awards ceremony—and increase viewership—is to nominate Taylor Swift, and the Globes have done just that. Her Eras Tour concert film was nominated in a brand new category for blockbuster films, defined as those bringing in at least $100 million at the US box office and $150 million worldwide (the Oscars tried to instill a similar category in 2018 but overwhelming backlash from film purists led the Academy to drop the idea). If the Globes are lucky, Swift herself will show up to the ceremony.

Saltburn

More of a pleasant surprise than a shock, both Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike were nominated for their roles in Emerald Fennell’s sophomore feature. All of the performances in the black comedy were fun, and it’s nice to see the Globes recognizing standouts Keoghan and Pike.

Joaquin Phoenix

While the Globes did not have love for the Phoenix-starring epic Napoleon about the French military commander, they did enjoy the actor’s other three-hour performance in Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid. Though Aster is no stranger to awards buzz, Beau Is Afraid, the Hereditary director’s most personal and perhaps strangest film yet, was polarizing to audiences. Yet Phoenix was nominated for Best Actor, Comedy/Musical in an already crowded field.

The Golden Globes will be televised by CBS and streamed on Paramount+ at 8pmET.