After the 2026 Golden Globes, Count on International Oscar Love, from Stellan Skarsgård to ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

Remember, the Hollywood guilds — the DGA, PGA, and SAG — reflect mostly American voting bodies. That’s why the Golden Globes and BAFTAs provide a better signal of where the Oscar voters are heading. As final voting opens January 12 and ends January 16, the Globes wins were influential if not predictive.

To state the obvious: Motion Picture Comedy, Director, and Screenplay Globes winner “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) will not be stopped on the road to Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay wins. Magnetic Teyana Taylor has moved into the lead for Best Supporting Actress. “One Battle After Another” will compete for the most Oscar nominations on January 22 with Golden Globe Box Office and Cinematic Achievement winner “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) and “Frankenstein” (Netflix), which went home empty-handed.

Leonardo DiCaprio lost to “Marty Supreme” star Timothée Chalamet yet again, as he did at the Critics Choice Awards, and will again at the Actor Awards and the Oscars. Chalamet has cleaned up his act considerably since “Marty Supreme” opened, wearing dark suits and playing humble, and continues to shower his partner, Kylie Jenner, with kisses.

Irish Golden Globes Actress in a Drama winner Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet,” Focus) will win the Actor Award, BAFTA, and Oscar. And Buckley’s Irish costar Paul Mescal, who traveled across the pond twice in the last few weeks to attend the Critics Choice Awards and Globes as he continued acting in his Beatles movie, is a devoted promoter of her cause. (Comedy Actress winner, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” star Rose Byrne, should easily land an Oscar nomination.)

“Hamnet” took Drama because it did not face “One Battle After Another,” which competed in the Comedy/Musical category. “Sinners” may not have played as well with the international Globes voters.

Timothée Chalamet at the 2026 Golden Globe AwardsCourtesy of Kevork Djansezian / CBS

And international they are. The Globes voted for Swedish star Stellan Skarsgård for Supporting Actor for Norwegian Oscar entry “Sentimental Value.” He’ll land an Oscar nomination along with “One Battle After Another” stars Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, who could knock each other out again, Mescal, and Critics Choice surprise winner Jacob Elordi, who may push out hapless comedy star Adam Sandler. It’s not his year.

And making its mark again was the Globes’ sizable Brazilian voting bloc that gave Fernanda Torres a pivotal win last year for “I’m Still Here,” which pushed her and the movie to Actress and Picture Oscar nominations and an International Feature win after the fall of “Emilia Pérez.” They voted for “The Secret Agent” (Neon) for Best Foreign Language Film and for Cannes-winner Wagner Moura for Best Actor in a Drama (he was not competing with DiCaprio or Chalamet). He and his director, Kleber Mendonça Filho, have been living in Los Angeles for months, doing the rounds of Q&As and parties. (Norway, by the way, reps three voting members in the Globes per the awards body’s website; Brazil lists 38.)

These wins boost Moura’s chances for a Best Actor Oscar nomination. The locks are DiCaprio and Chalamet, with Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”), Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”), and Australian star Joel Edgerton (“Train Dreams”) vying for the remaining slots with Moura. All were on the party circuit this weekend. None grabbed as much attention as Globe presenters Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, though, the stars of HBO Canadian import “Heated Rivalry.” We will have to wait some time for the next episodes, Texan Storrie told me at Friday’s NBC Universal pre-party, where Elizabeth Banks was wooing him for her next project. CAA is fielding offers.

Netflix can rest easy that they will land at least two Oscar wins (if not more), as Animated Feature and Song Globe winner “KPop Demon Hunters” will continue its winning streak on Oscar night. At the Netflix after party, the “KPop” team hit the dance floor with “Golden.” Also rocking out Sunday night were Claire Danes (“The Beast in Me”), Robin Wright (“The Girlfriend”), the “Adolescence” crew, and Tessa Thompson (“Hedda”).

At Neon’s Sunset Tower party Friday night, CEO Tom Quinn assembled all five of his competing International Feature directors, including Jafar Panahi (“It Was Just an Accident”), Kleber Mendonça Filho (“Secret Agent”), Park Chan-wook (“No Other Choice”), Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value”), and Oliver Laxe (“Sirāt”). They are all popular contenders. We will know who lands an Oscar nomination on January 22.