Golden Globes 2026: Rose Byrne and Jacob Elordi lead the Australian charge at film and TV awards

The Golden Globes bill themselves as Hollywood’s booziest bash. This year, is anyone ready to party?

Political tension and industry-wide uncertainty are the prevailing moods heading into Sunday night’s 83rd Golden Globes. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros.

A celebratory mood might be even more elusive given that the wide majority of the performers and filmmakers congregating at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, oppose the policies of President Donald Trump.

Likely to be on the minds of many attendees: the recent US involvement in Venezuela and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But through their ups and downs, the Globes have always tried to put pomp over politics. Host Nikki Glaser has vowed as much.

“You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela,’” Glaser told The Associated Press earlier in the week, referring to her comedy-club warm-ups. “People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”

Glaser, a comic known for her roast appearances, has promised to go after A-listers in her second time hosting.

“We’re going to hit Leo,” Glaser said. “The icebergs are coming.”

Five Australians are nominated.

Jacob Elordi has two chances, nominated for supporting actor for Frankenstein and for his lead role in The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

But Rose Byrne is the Aussie most likely to win, considered a hot favourite for her lead role in a film musical/comedy for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

Sarah Snook is nominated for All Her Fault, Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams, and Aussie singer-songwriter Nick Cave has been nominated for best original song.

The Golden Globes kick off at 8am Perth time on Monday.

The overwhelming Oscar favourite “One Battle After Another” has a leading nine nominations. It’s competing in the Globes’ musical or comedy category, which means the drama side might be more competitive. There, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value are all in the mix.

But thus far, One Battle After Another has cleaned up just about everywhere. Much of Paul Thomas Anderson’s cast is nominated, including DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro.

If it and Sinners take home the two biggest prizes, it will be a banner night for Warner Bros. even as its future hangs in the balance. The studio has agreed to be acquired by Netflix in a deal worth $82.7 billion. Movie theatres have warned such a result would be “a direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theatres around the world.”

The merger awaits regulatory approval, while Paramount Skydance is still trying to convince Warner shareholders to accept its rival offer.

How might the top acting awards go?

After an audacious promotional tour for Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet is poised to win his first Globe in five nominations. In best actor, comedy or musical, he’ll have to beat DiCaprio, a three-time Globe winner, and Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).

Byrne is the top contender for best actress, comedy or musical, but has high-profile competition in the form of Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good), who won’t be attending due to her schedule in the West End production Dracula.

Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) is the clear front-runner in best actress, drama. In the star-studded best actor, drama, category, the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) may win over Michael B. Jordan (Sinners) and Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams).

In the supporting categories, Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård come in the favourites.

Who’ll give the most memorable speech?

The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals.

But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can really boost an Oscar campaign. Last year, that seemed to be the case for Demi Moore, who won for The Substance and gave the night’s most emotional speech. Mikey Madison (Anora), however, scored the upset win at the Oscars.

A few potentially good moments this year went instead in a Golden Eve ceremony earlier this week. There, the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett honorees, Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker, accepted their awards.

One to watch, if he wins, will be the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. His revenge drama It Was Just an Accident is up for four awards. Panahi has spent most of his career making films clandestinely, without approval of authorities, and was until recently banned from leaving the country. Last month, he was sentenced to a year in prison, which would be only his latest stint behind bars if Panahi returns home to serve it. This week, protests over Iran’s ailing economy have spread throughout the country in a new test to Iran’s leaders.

What to look for in the TV and new podcast categories.

The nominees are: Armchair Expert, Call Her Daddy, Good Hang With Amy Poehler, The Mel Robbins Podcast, SmartLess and Up First.

In TV, HBO Max’s The White Lotus — another potential big winner for Warner Bros. — leads with six nominations. Netflix’s Adolescence comes in with five nods.

But the most closely watched nominee might be The Studio. The first season of Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: “I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.”) The Studio is up for three awards, giving three chances for life to imitate art.