Golden Globe nominations 2026: ‘One Battle After Another’ tops films, ‘The White Lotus’ leads TV — full highlights and key snubs

Awards season snapped into focus today with the Golden Globe nominations 2026, delivering a field that blends festival darlings, franchise turns, and breakout television. The morning’s headline: Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another leads all films with nine nods, while The White Lotus heads the television pack with six.

Golden Globes 2026: the leaders at a glance

Most-nominated (film):

• One Battle After Another — 9

• Sentimental Value — 8

• Sinners — 7

Most-nominated (TV):

• The White Lotus — 6

• Adolescence — 5

• A tightly packed group trails with four apiece, including prestige dramas and returning comedies.

Ceremony date: Sunday, January 11, 2026 (live broadcast; global streaming details to be announced by local providers).

Best Motion Picture races: drama vs. musical/comedy

Best Motion Picture — Drama (shortlist highlights)

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Sentimental Value

• Sinners

• It Was Just an Accident

• The Secret Agent

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• One Battle After Another

• Bugonia

• Marty Supreme

• Blue Moon

• No Other Choice

• Nouvelle Vague

The split categories create two distinct lanes: a heavyweight drama slate rich with literary adaptations and political thrillers, and a musical/comedy lineup anchored by One Battle After Another, whose sharp tonal balancing act clearly resonated with voters.

Acting fields: marquee names and momentum plays

Film acting contenders (selected)

• Drama leads: Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Oscar Isaac; Jessie Buckley and Jennifer Lawrence headline the parallel actress field.

• Musical/comedy leads: Timothée Chalamet, George Clooney, Ethan Hawke, Lee Byung-hun, Jesse Plemons.

• Supporting standouts: Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Ariana Grande (original song/spotlight recognition on ballots).

Television acting contenders (selected)

• The White Lotus ensemble returns with multiple acting slots.

• Comedy fields feature familiar juggernauts from The Bear and Only Murders in the Building, alongside fresh turns from Chad Powers and The Studio.

• Limited/anthology categories spotlight Adolescence, All Her Fault, Black Mirror, The Beast in Me, Dying for Sex, and The Girlfriend.

Directors, screenplays, and craft: where the auteur energy landed

The Best Director grid reads like a tour of global filmmaking in 2025: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein), Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), and Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident). Screenplay nods largely mirror that slate, with Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie joining for Marty Supreme.

On the music side, Hans Zimmer and Max Richter are among the recognized composers, while the original-song lineup mixes pop powerhouses with auteur-driven entries, including animated and franchise titles.

Television picture: prestige returns and new limited-series heat

• Drama Series: The White Lotus, Severance, and The Diplomat anchor the field, signaling voter affinity for high-concept tension with character-first storytelling.

• Comedy Series: The Bear continues its awards momentum, with Only Murders in the Building and other returning titles making strong showings.

• Limited/Anthology: A competitive slate underscores the format’s dominance this cycle, with true-crime, near-future tech parables, and international adaptations all landing.

Notable snubs and surprises

• Snubs: Several high-profile performances missed the cut in fiercely crowded actor fields, including buzzy biopic turns that had looked safer a month ago. On TV, a handful of critically adored freshman series underperformed outside of writing or single acting mentions.

• Surprises: The breadth of love for Sentimental Value across acting and craft suggests real best-picture viability. International titles punched above their weight in drama, and a comedy dark horse or two converted into full-slate recognition.

What today’s Golden Globe nominations mean for the road to January

• For films: With One Battle After Another out front and multiple dramas clustered just behind, the next two weeks of critics’ prizes and guild longlists will shape frontrunner narratives. Watch whether Sinners or Frankenstein consolidates the challenger slot.

• For TV: The field reflects a reset year in prestige drama and a consolidation in comedy. Limited series remains the most fluid category; holiday-window viewing could meaningfully nudge final voting.

• For audiences: Expect rapid platform promos, cast circuit appearances, and soundtrack pushes—especially from contenders with original songs and scores that can travel beyond core fanbases.