Golden Globe nominees, SXSW, Austin standouts

It was a year when movies felt restless, urgent and deeply personal — shaped by politics, grief, memory and the simple pleasure of watching great actors do great work. As awards season ramps up, the Golden Globe nominations offer a useful snapshot of what resonated in 2025, from sprawling prestige dramas to ambitious genre films and Austin-connected projects that made their mark on the big screen.

The Golden Globes’ film field is led by Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” with nine nominations, followed closely by Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value.” Several of the year’s most talked-about movies landed major nominations, setting the stage for a Globes ceremony that reflects a wide, sometimes surprising, range of storytelling. Here’s a look back at the films that stood out most this year, and how they factor into the awards conversation.

Joachim Trier’s quietly devastating family drama is one of the year’s most finely observed films. Set against intimate domestic spaces and the Oslo skyline, the movie explores loneliness, abandonment and the emotional inheritance passed through generations. Trier’s precise visual language — every room, landscape and silence carefully considered — makes the film feel fleeting and precious, as if each moment might slip away too quickly. Renate Reinsve anchors the film with a performance defined by restraint, while the supporting cast, including Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård, deepens its emotional pull. The soundtrack, a Trier signature, lands with precision.

Golden Globe nominations include: Best Motion Picture – Drama; Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language; acting nominations for Reinsve, Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Skarsgård; Best Director; Best Screenplay.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s nearly three-hour epic never loses momentum. Political without being didactic, the film taps into contemporary anxieties around immigration, power and resistance, delivering tension, spectacle and emotional weight in equal measure. A standout car chase sequence is already the stuff of moviegoing legend. The ensemble cast is stacked, and Anderson’s direction balances urgency with empathy. It’s a big movie that still feels personal.

Golden Globe nominations include: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy; acting nominations for Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn; Best Director; Best Screenplay.

A meditation on grief and love, Hamnet uses nature and sound to powerful effect, pairing an evocative score with images that linger. Jessie Buckley delivers one of the strongest performances of her career, grounding the film’s emotional core and inviting viewers back to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” with a fresh perspective.

Golden Globe nominations include: Best Motion Picture – Drama; acting nominations for Buckley and Paul Mescal; Best Director (Chloé Zhao); Best Screenplay.

Guillermo del Toro’s take on Mary Shelley’s novel embraces the spirit rather than the letter of the book — and it works. This is a film built for the big screen, lush and tactile, with performances that give emotional dimension to a familiar story. Jacob Elordi brings fragile confusion to the creature, while Oscar Isaac plays a creator warped by grief. Mia Goth’s dual roles add another layer of unease.

Golden Globe nominations include: Best Motion Picture – Drama; acting nominations for Isaac and Elordi; Best Director.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest is comparatively restrained, but still unmistakably his. Set in a world where conspiracy theories threaten to overwhelm reality, the film feels timely without losing its surreal edge. Jesse Plemons leans into unhinged intensity, while Emma Stone counters with calculated control.

Golden Globe nominations include: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy; acting nominations for Stone and Plemons.

Richard Linklater’s black-and-white love letter to French New Wave cinema premiered in Austin with the air of an event — part film screening, part cinephile communion. Re-creating the making of Jean Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” the movie doubles as a meditation on artistic freedom and discipline. It’s meticulous, playful and deeply affectionate toward cinema itself.

Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Smart, fast and unexpectedly sharp, the animated sequel works for kids and adults alike. Pop culture references, a standout Shakira song and a plot that wrestles with power, propaganda and history make it one of the year’s most entertaining surprises.

Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture – Animated.

Zach Cregger cements his place in modern horror with a film that balances brutal gore, dark humor and genuine invention. With unforgettable set pieces and a terrifying supporting turn from Amy Madigan, “Weapons” already feels like a genre benchmark.

Golden Globe nomination: Supporting Actress for Madigan.

The documentary that turned skeptics into believers. Intimate without being definitive, it captures Buckley’s artistry, contradictions and emotional intensity through careful use of music and archival material. 

Ari Aster trades folk horror for a paranoid modern Western set during the early days of COVID-19. Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal face off in a story that mirrors political divides familiar to Texans, from conspiracy culture to battles over development and power. Uncomfortable, violent and unnervingly recognizable, it’s one of the year’s most provocative films.

• “Sinners”: A stylish, action-forward vampire film that centers Black history and culture, with a magnetic performance by Michael B. Jordan.
• “Bring Her Back”: A harrowing follow-up from the “Talk to Me” directors, pairing extreme horror with an unflinching look at grief.
• “Blue Moon”:Another strong outing from Linklater, with Ethan Hawke earning acclaim as lyricist Lorenz Hart.
• “Wicked: For Good”: A quieter, more reflective sequel that leans into political allegory and emotional consequence.
• “Die My Love”: Jennifer Lawrence delivers a raw portrayal of postpartum instability.

• “Selena y Los Dinos”: Premiering at the Paramount Theatre, the film drew an emotional, multi-generational crowd. The film uses never-before-seen family footage to trace Selena Quintanilla’s rise alongside the tight-knit family that shaped her career. It explores the tension of bicultural identity — American-born, Spanish-singing — and the sacrifices behind the mythology. The result reveals vulnerability, ambition and the cultural weight Selena carried for so many families across Texas and beyond. 
• “Holland”: Nicole Kidman appeared in Austin during the festival for the suburban psychological drama. The film leans into ambiguity, questioning perception, truth and the quiet violence of appearances. Gael García Bernal and Matthew Macfadyen co-star in a story that slowly unravels.
• “Idiotka”: One of SXSW’s loudest, messiest and most entertaining premieres. Anna Baryshnikov leads a chaotic ensemble that includes Camila Mendes, Julia Fox, Benito Skinner and Saweetie. The film blends satire, excess and immigrant ambition into something that feels both absurd and uncomfortably familiar. 

The 2026 Golden Globe Awards will air live Sunday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m. CT. The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+, with comedian Nikki Glaser returning as host. For Austin moviegoers, it’s a chance to see how many of the year’s most talked-about films — many first experienced at local theaters — fare on one of awards season’s biggest stages.