2019 Golden Globe Winner Predictions

I have a bad feeling about this - that maybe, just maybe, Joaquin Phoenix isn’t the only Joker nominee emerging triumphant at the Golden Globes.

With a Best Director nom for Todd Phillips, it’s painfully plausible that Best Picture and Best Original Score wins also come to fruition. Hell, even Phillips himself could perhaps prevail, leading to a Joker sweep. My head says this remains an unlikely scenario - and that it is Parasite that actually makes the most significant splash on the big night - but I am feeling a tad queasy.

Joker fears aside, I suspect the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will be inclined to spread the love among this year’s awards season contenders. The Irishman, Marriage Story and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood should pick up a prize or two each but a commanding sweep from any of them seems like a stretch.

There are several legit barn burners in the acting races - Taron Egerton vs. Eddie Murphy is all but a coin flip, as is Scarlett Johansson vs. Renee Zellweger. And don’t you dare think anyone is a lock. Laura Dern and Brad Pitt, for instance, may be the front-runners in their respective categories but are hardly shoo-ins for victory. It’s plausible to imagine an upset like Margot Robbie or even, looking at the race in Best Screenplay, Anthony McCarten for The Two Popes.

All that said, here are my two cents on how the Globes will probably go down, from most to least likely to triumph…

Best Motion Picture - Drama

1. The Irishman

2. Joker

3. Marriage Story

4. 1917

5. The Two Popes

Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

2. Jojo Rabbit

3. Knives Out

4. Rocketman

5. Dolemite Is My Name

Best Director

1. Bong Joon-ho, Parasite

2. Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

3. Martin Scorsese, The Irishman

4. Todd Phillips, Joker

5. Sam Mendes, 1917

Best Screenplay

1. Bong Joon-ho, Parasite

2. Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

3. Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes

4. Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story

5. Steven Zaillian, The Irishman

Best Actress - Drama

1. Renee Zellweger, Judy

2. Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

3. Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

4. Charlize Theron, Bombshell

5. Cynthia Erivo, Harriet

Best Actor - Drama

1. Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

2. Adam Driver, Marriage Story

3. Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

4. Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

5. Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari

Best Actress - Musical/Comedy

1. Awkwafina, The Farewell

2. Ana de Armas, Knives Out

3. Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart

4. Emma Thompson, Late Night

5. Cate Blanchett, Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Best Actor - Musical/Comedy

1. Taron Egerton, Rocketman

2. Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name

3. Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

4. Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit

5. Daniel Craig, Knives Out

Best Supporting Actress

1. Laura Dern, Marriage Story

2. Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers

3. Margot Robbie, Bombshell

4. Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell

5. Annette Bening, The Report

Best Supporting Actor

1. Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

2. Joe Pesci, The Irishman

3. Al Pacino, The Irishman

4. Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes

5. Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Best Animated Feature

1. Frozen II

2. Missing Link

3. Toy Story 4

4. The Lion King

5. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Best Foreign Language Film

1. Parasite

2. The Farewell

3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire

4. Pain and Glory

5. Les Miserables

Best Original Score

1. Thomas Newman, 1917

2. Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker

3. Alexandre Desplat, Little Women

4. Randy Newman, Marriage Story

5. Daniel Pemberton, Motherless Brooklyn

Best Original Song

1. “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman

2. “Into the Unknown,” Frozen II

3. “Spirit,” The Lion King

4. “Stand Up,” Harriet

5. “Beautiful Ghosts,” Cats