Golden Globes makes a comeback with arthouse wins and plenty of first-timers

“Emilia Perez” and “The Brutalist,” a pair of movies that sought to defy easy categorization, won top honors at this year’s Golden Globes. Despite a star-studded audience of nominees, most of this year’s winners hailed from smaller, less seen films.

First Look

Two wildly audacious films – Brady Corbet’s 215-minute postwar epic “The Brutalist” and Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language, genre-shifting trans musical “Emilia Perez” – won top honors at the 82nd Golden Globes on Jan 5.

The Globes, which are still finding their footing after years of scandal and makeover, scattered awards around to a number of films. But the awards group put its strongest support behind a pair of movies that sought to defy easy categorization.

“The Brutalist” was crowned best film, drama, putting one of 2024’s most ambitious films on course to be a major contender at the Academy Awards. The film, shot in VistaVision and released with an intermission, also won best director for Mr. Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody. In his acceptance speech, Mr. Corbet spoke about filmmakers needing approval on the final cut.

“I was told that this film was un-distributable,” said Mr. Corbet. “No one was asking for a three-and-half-hour film about a mid-century designer in 70mm. But it works.”

“Emilia Pérez” won best film, comedy or musical, elevating the Oscar chances of Netflix’s top contender. It also won best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña, best song (“El Mal”), and best non-English language film. Mr. Audiard, the French director, made way for Karla Sofía Gascón, the film’s transgender star who plays a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirming surgery, to speak on behalf of the film.

“The light always wins over darkness,” said Ms. Gascón, gesturing to her brightly orange dress. “You can maybe put us in jail. You can beat us up. But you never can take away our soul or existence or identity.”

“I am who I am. Not who you want.”

Demi Moore wins her first Globe

Though the Globes audience was particularly starry, including nominees Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Angelina Jolie, and Daniel Craig, most of the winners hailed from smaller, less-seen films.

That included some surprises. One was Demi Moore’s win for best actress in a comedy or musical. Her comeback performance in “The Substance,” about a Hollywood star who resorts to an experimental process to regain her youth, landed Ms. Moore her first Globe – a victory that came over the heavily favored Mikey Madison of “Anora.”

“I’m just in shock right now. I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first thing I’ve ever won as an actor,” said Ms. Moore, who was last nominated by the Globes for a film role in 1991 for “Ghost.” “Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress.”

Best actress, in a drama film, was an even bigger surprise. The Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres won for her performance in “I’m Still Here,” a based-on-a-true-story drama about a family living through the disappearance of political dissident Rubens Paiva in 1970s Rio de Janeiro. Ms. Torres dedicated the award to her mother, the great actor Fernanda Montenegro, who appears in “I’m Still Here,” too.

“She was here 25 years ago,” said Ms. Torres. “And this is like a proof that art can endure through life even through difficult moments.”

Best supporting actor in a musical or comedy went to Sebastian Stan for “A Different Man,” in which Mr. Stan plays a man with a deformed face who’s healed. Mr. Stan, who was also nominated for playing Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” noted that both films were hard to get made.

“These are tough subject matters but these films are real and they’re necessary,” said Mr. Stan. “But we can’t be afraid and look away.”

Nikki Glaser lightly roasts the Globes

Comedian Nikki Glaser kicked off the Globes, with a promise: “I’m not here to roast you.”

But Ms. Glaser, a stand-up whose breakthrough came in a withering roast of Tom Brady, made her way around the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 5, picking out plenty of targets in an opening monologue she had worked out extensively in comedy clubs beforehand.

While Ms. Glaser might not have reached Tina Fey and Amy Poehler levels of laughs, the monologue was a winner, and it showed a dramatic improvement over last year’s host, Jo Koy. Last year’s Globes, following a diversity and ethics scandal that led to the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were widely panned. But they delivered where it counted: Ratings rebounded to about 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen. CBS, who waded in after NBC dumped the Globes, signed up for five more years.

Hosting the Globes two weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Ms. Glaser reserved perhaps her most cutting line for the entire room of Hollywood stars.

“You could really do anything ... except tell the country who to vote for,” said Ms. Glaser. “But it’s OK, you’ll get ‘em next time ... if there is one. I’m scared.”

The Globes are now owned by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which acquired the award show from the now-defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. However, more than a dozen former HFPA members are currently seeking to have the sale to Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions rescinded.

A win for “Wicked”

Unlike last year’s Oscar race, when “Oppenheimer” rolled, this year’s season was more uncertain, with a field of contenders. Most of the movies that are seen as having a chance – “Conclave,” “Emilia Perez,” “The Brutalist,” “Wicked,” and “Anora” – came away with at least one award on Jan. 5. The exception was Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anora,” which went home empty-handed despite five nominations.

The Globes’ award for cinematic and box-office achievement went to Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” which has nearly collected $700 million in theaters. In a heavily arthouse Oscar field, “Wicked” is easily the biggest hit in the best picture mix. Accepting the award, Mr. Chu argued for “a radical act of optimism” in art.

Though few awards have been predictable this season, Kieran Culkin is emerging as the clear favorite for best supporting actor. Mr. Culkin won Jan. 5 for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” his second Globe in the past year following a win for the HBO series “Succession.” He called the Globes “basically the best date night that my wife and I ever have,” and then thanked her for “putting up what you call my mania.”

The papal thriller “Conclave” took best screenplay, for Peter Straughan’s script. “Flow,” the wordless Latvian animated parable about a cat in a flooded world, took best animated film, winning over studio blockbusters like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot.” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won best score for their thumping music for “Challengers.”

TV prizes

Most of the TV winners were oft-awarded series, including the Emmy champ “Shōgun.” It won four awards, including best drama series and acting wins for Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, and Tadanobu Asano. Other repeat winners were: “Hacks” (best comedy series, actress for Jean Smart), “The Bear” (Jeremy Allen White for best actor), and “Baby Reindeer” (best limited series).

Ali Wong won for best stand-up performance, Jodie Foster for “True Detective,” and Colin Farrell for his physical transformation in “The Penguin.”

“I guess it’s prosthetics from here on out,” Mr. Farrell said.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.