The 5 biggest movie upsets at the 2018 Golden Globes

Sam Rockwell (Getty Images via NBC)
Sam Rockwell (Getty Images via NBC)

You should never be surprised that there are big surprises at the Golden Globes. The voting body of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is not very large — it’s roughly the same size as an NFL team roster. So no matter how many quote-unquote experts (like this guy) are making predictions, it’s always tough to get a read on what exactly the HFPA is thinking, and why or how or when. Then again, the unpredictability makes for a suspenseful, entertaining show. Here are the biggest movie shockers from the 75th Golden Globes:

5. In the Fade wins Best Foreign Film
Granted, the average American likely hasn’t heard of any of the five nominees for Best Foreign-Language Film. So trust us when we tell you very few expected Fatih Akin’s explosive German drama In the Fade to topple the likes of the Chilean transgender story A Fantastic Woman, the Angelina Jolie-directed Cambodian genocide drama First They Killed My Father, and the wackadoo Swedish satire The Square. It was. We swear.

4. “This Is Me” wins “Me”-off against “Remember Me” in Best Original Song
Movies rarely come as Golden Globesy as The Greatest Showman, a big, splashy musical with big splashy stars (Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, et al.) at an awards show that loves musicals so much that there are three “Musical or Comedy” movie categories despite the fact we only see one or two musicals released a year. Coco’s poignant ballad “Remember Me” felt like a heavy favorite, and remains so for the Oscars. But on this night, the “Me”-off in Best Original Song went to the poppy empowerment track “This Is Me,” crooned by Bearded Lady of the Year, Keala Settle.

Allison Janney
Allison Janney

3. Allison Janney edges Laurie Metcalf in Best Supporting Actress
Allison Janney’s wickedly funny, filthy-mouthed Bad Mom in I, Tonya isn’t your traditional “awards bait” part. While she has won a few trophies here and there, most of the early award-season hardware has gone to Lady Bird star Laurie Metcalf for her not-nearly-as-bad-but-still-sometimes-infuriating mom in Greta Gerwig’s beloved dramedy. Janney won big on Sunday, and she didn’t even have to send in the goons. Suddenly her Oscar chances feel a little more real.

2. Sam Rockwell tops Willem Dafoe (and Christopher Plummer) in Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe is looking like the early Oscar favorite for his touching, understated performance as an empathetic Everyman routinely crapped on by the residents of an extended-stay motel in The Florida Project. So pundits figured this one would go to either Dafoe or Christopher Plummer, given the HFPA’s clear appreciation for what he did in a matter of weeks on the now-famous All the Money in the World reshoots. But there was Sam Rockwell, whose bigoted-turned-simpatico cop owns the most surprising arc in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, coming out on top. Rockwell likely benefited from the HFPA’s overall love for the film, which leads us to…

1. The overall dominance of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
You may have heard, but this year is generally considered one of the most wide-open awards races in eons, with five or six films that could reasonably win Best Picture come March’s Oscars telecast (Get Out, Lady Bird, The Post, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards, and maybe even Dunkirk or Call Me by Your Name). The HFPA obviously has one clear-cut favorite, though, as they doled out Four Statuettes Inside the Beverly Hilton to Martin McDonagh’s Midwestern murder drama (Best Picture Drama, Best Actress Drama for Frances McDormand, Best Supporting Actor for Rockwell and Best Screenplay for McDonagh). Does its Globe domination give it a leg up at the Oscars? Not necessarily, but in such a tight year, any momentum helps.

Watch Oprah Winfrey’s stirring Golden Globes speech:

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