Netflix dominates Golden Globe nominations with strong showing for British stars

British talent enjoyed a strong showing in the nominations for the 78th Golden Globe Awards, which were dominated by Netflix.

Riz Ahmed, Carey Mulligan, Vanessa Kirby and Sir Anthony Hopkins were among the film nominees while Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones and stars of The Crown earned nods in the TV categories.

Emerald Fennell bagged a best director nomination for her debut Promising Young Woman, Gary Oldman was recognised for his leading role in Mank and Daniel Kaluuya received a nod for Judas And The Black Messiah.

Elsewhere, the late Chadwick Boseman earned a posthumous best actor nomination and A-listers Viola Davis, Frances McDormand and Glenn Close were all recognised.

Netflix’s Mank and The Trial Of The Chicago 7 are among the best drama picture nominees, alongside The Father, Nomadland and Promising Young Woman, which also bagged Fennell a nomination for the screenplay.

Best musical/comedy nominees include Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Hamilton, Palm Springs, The Prom and Music.

Sacha Baron Cohen was nominated for both drama and comedy. He is up for best supporting actor in a drama film for courtroom drama The Trial Of The Chicago 7 and best musical/comedy actor for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

He is up against James Corden in the latter category, who is nominated despite controversy surrounding his performance in The Prom. Some critics accused Corden, who is straight, of “gayface”.

Ahmed was recognised for his portrayal of a punk drummer battling hearing loss in Sound Of Metal, Mulligan for her leading role in revenge thriller Promising Young Woman and Kirby for playing a grieving mother in Pieces Of A Woman.

After securing her nomination, Mulligan said she was “incredibly grateful” to have starred in the film.

She added: “[Director] Emerald Fennell’s vision for Promising Young Woman was so unique and uncompromising.

“She is one of the most talented filmmakers I’ve ever worked with.”

Sir Anthony, 83, bagged a nomination for playing a dementia-stricken patriarch in The Father, which also earned Olivia Colman a supporting nod.

For best director, Fennell is up against David Fincher for Mank, Regina King for One Night In Miami, Aaron Sorkin for The Trial Of The Chicago 7 and Chloe Zhao for Nomadland.

That is the first time three female directors have been nominated at the Golden Globes.

Netflix earned 42 nominations across film and TV, far more than any other studio. The streaming giant has thrived during the pandemic thanks to its once-radical business model.

While its rivals have struggled to adapt to a world of closed cinemas, the California-based company has released blockbuster after blockbuster from its deep content reserves.

Netflix’s subscription numbers have surged during lockdown and in January it said it had more than 203 million global subscribers, far more than its nearest rival Disney+, which had about 87 million in December.

Netflix properties topped the nominations in both TV and film. Mank, Fincher’s black-and-white love letter to Old Hollywood, earned six nods while The Trial Of The Chicago 7 was second with five.

In TV, The Crown scored six, one more than acclaimed comedy Schitt’s Creek.

The Crown saw nods for Colman, who has finished her two-season stint as the Queen, while Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin were nominated for their portrayal of a marriage in crisis as the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Their co-stars Gillian Anderson and Helena Bonham Carter are included in the supporting categories.

The BBC’s Normal People is up for best limited TV series alongside Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit and Sir Steve McQueen’s Small Axe. Edgar-Jones was nominated for best actress in a limited series, however her co-star Paul Mescal missed out.

For best actor in a TV comedy, the nominees include Nicholas Hoult for The Great, Don Cheadle for Black Monday, Jason Sudeikis for Ted Lasso and Eugene Levy for Schitt’s Creek.

Lily Collins is nominated for Emily In Paris, John Boyega for Small Axe, Brendan Gleeson for playing Donald Trump in The Comey Rule, Hugh Grant for The Undoing, Dev Patel for The Personal History Of David Copperfield and Jodie Comer for Killing Eve.

Rosamund Pike was recognised for I Care A Lot while Anya Taylor-Joy is up for both The Queen’s Gambit and Emma. Disney’s Soul is among the nominees for best animated film.

Nominations were announced during a virtual ceremony hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker and Taraji P Henson.

The 78th Golden Globes on February 28 will be broadcast from New York and Los Angeles for the first time, with comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler splitting the bi-coastal hosting duties.

Fey will be live from the Rockefeller Centre in Manhattan, while Poehler will present from the ceremony’s usual home of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California.