Golden Globes 2025: The fresh Oscars frontrunners, surprise wins and all we imagine as snubs
Golden Globes 2025: India's All We Imagine As Light missed a globe, but there was plenty to cheer for at a surprisingly diverse and fun night.
The 82nd Golden Globe Awards on Monday morning delivered big time! From surprise wins to heartwarming speeches and many a laugh out loud moments, awards season kicked off in style. Sure, India's All We Imagine As Light missed the globe, but the film's journey has been pretty incredible so far and there's still hope for that Oscar nomination in a few weeks! (Also read: Golden Globes 2025 updates: No wins for India as All We Imagine As Light gets snubbed in both categories)
The Brutalist is a frontrunner
Golden Globes have now paved the way for The Brutalist, Brady Corbet's masterful drama on a Holocaust survivor arriving in America to reassemble his life. At the ceremony, the film achieved a frontrunner status ahead of the Oscars with three wins in major categories. Adrien Brody won for Best Actor: Drama, Brady Corbet for Best Director and the film also won Best Picture.
Brady's win also meant that Payal Kapadia lost out in the same category. Payal's chances were low, given the HFPA has rarely awarded a director for a non-English language feature. The only recent exception being in 2018 when Alfonso Cuarón won for Roma.
All We Imagine As Snub
All We Imagine As Light, inarguably the most awarded international feature film in the critics circle groups, missed out in its category too. France's Emilia Perez, the drug cartel musical drama by Jacques Audiard had a lot to sing and dance about, given it won the most awards- including Best Foreign Language film.
Since India's Oscar selection committee did not select All We Imagine As Light, it has no spot in the same category at the Oscars. Next stop? The Annual Critics Choice Awards, where the Mumbai-set drama is nominated in the Foreign Language Film category. The Critics Choice Awards will be held on January 13. Moreover, All We Imagine As Light also scored in three categories at the BAFTA longlists, so we will have to wait till January 18 to see if it can get in the top 5 slot when the nominations are announced.
The other big snub of the evening was for Sean Baker's Anora. The Palme d'Or winning drama had a strong momentum with 5 nominations, but was shut out from all of the categories at the ceremony. What does that speak for its Oscar chances? Time will tell.
The surprise wins
The Golden Globes went the predictable route with the Television categories, with The Bear and Shogun leading in the drama and comedy sections. The only welcome surprises came in with the acting wins. Colin Farrell won Best Actor for HBO’s spin-off to The Batman, The Penguin over Richard Gadd, who was considered the frontrunner in the category, given that he previously won the Emmy for the show. The other surprise came in with Japanese star Tadanobu Asano, who genuinely looked shocked after winning Best Supporting Actor for Shogun. At the Emmys, he had lost to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for The Bear. His acceptance speech was also the most adorable, where he introduced himself to the audience like a newcomer. “Maybe you don’t know me. I’m an actor from Japan, and my name is Tadanobu Asano!" he said, to loud cheers.
As for the film section, the biggest set of surprises came in the Best Actress categories, with Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres winning for The Substance and I'm Still Here respectively. Demi beat out competition from frontrunners Cynthia Erivo (Wicked) and Mikey Madison (Anora) in the musical/comedy category. It was a big boost for the actor, specially since hers was a horror film, a category that is rarely recognized for awards consideration.
Demi's win is more than just a win, it is a clear signal that horror films are here to stay. Her acceptance speech was also the night's most eloquent and memorable. She not only called out a producer's decades-old comment on her being a ‘popcorn actress’ but made sure to conclude on a note on acceptance. Her Oscar nomination is sealed.
As for Fernanda Torres, the terrific Brazilian actor who won for her performance in I'm Still Here, it was a full circle moment that happens only once in a lifetime. The actor's mother, Fernanda Montenegro, was nominated in the same category 25 years ago, for Central Station. Both Central Station and I'm Still Here are directed by Walter Salles. Fernanda's surprise win is a moment that enlivens the awards season discussions and ruffles up polished industry predictions. She beat out stiff competition from favourites like Nicole Kidman (Babygirl) and Angelina Jolie (Maria). “Of course I want to dedicate this to my mother. You have no idea. She was here 25 year ago and this is like a proof that art can endure through life,” she said in her speech.
These are the unpredictable and moments that make awards season all the more memorable and thrilling. The Golden Globe Awards concluded with a new set of frontrunners, several surprises and a lot more anticipation with the next set of awards leading up to the Oscars. As Moira Rose from 'Schitt's Creek' would say, the best season of the year is, “Awards!”
