A late-night start for Britain as the Golden Globes set the pace for awards season

For UK film fans, the Golden Globes 2026 arrives in the small hours, with Hollywood’s first major prize-giving of the year starting around 1am on Monday morning. The ceremony, staged at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, is often treated as the opening bell for awards season, shaping the chatter that carries through to Oscar nomination week.

For British viewers, there is a catch. The show is not being broadcast live on UK television, which means anyone here wanting the moment-by-moment surprises will be relying on rolling coverage, social clips and the winners list as it updates.

The films shaping the conversation

This year’s Golden Globes film line-up suggests a race defined less by consensus than by range. At the top of the nominations table sits One Battle After Another, a politically charged drama about a former revolutionary whose daughter is abducted, which has drawn praise for its ambition and scale. The film’s prominence marks it as the early front-runner, though not an unchallenged one.

Close behind is Sentimental Value, a Norwegian drama that has quietly built momentum through strong festival play. Centred on two sisters reconnecting with their estranged father, a film director planning a return to work after their mother’s death, it reflects the Globes’ increasingly international outlook. Its emotional restraint and carefully observed performances have resonated with voters beyond the English-language mainstream.

Sinners, a genre-bending vampire drama set in 1930s Mississippi, occupies a different space altogether. It was one of the first awards contenders to arrive after last year’s Oscars and proved that box office success need not exclude critical credibility. Its presence here underlines the Globes’ longstanding openness to films that blur the line between popular cinema and awards fare.

British audiences will be watching Hamnet closely. The adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel explores the domestic grief that many scholars believe shaped William Shakespeare’s later writing. Led by Jessie Buckley, whose performance has been widely tipped as the strongest in the drama actress field, the film brings a literary sensibility to the season that feels distinct from Hollywood’s usual historical dramas.

Other contenders broaden the tonal palette further. Frankenstein offers a more intimate and emotionally driven take on Mary Shelley’s novel, shifting attention away from spectacle and towards the relationship between creator and creation. Meanwhile, Wicked: For Good closes the musical’s long-running origin story of Elphaba, a project whose scale and fan base make it difficult for awards bodies to ignore.

Then there is It Was Just an Accident, a kidnapping and revenge drama that won the top prize at Cannes. Its inclusion signals that the Globes are continuing to court films shaped by international festivals rather than studio release calendars. Marty Supreme, following a table tennis player trying to survive financially in 1950s New York, completes a field that moves confidently between the political, the personal and the playful.

If you want to scan the categories yourself, the full list is available via the official 2026 nominations page.

The UK angle: how to follow overnight

The time difference makes the Globes a familiar test of stamina for British audiences. Red carpet coverage begins earlier in the evening UK time, then the main ceremony runs into the early hours.

With no legal UK broadcast, the practical option is to follow verified updates and clips posted by the awards themselves, the host, and the films’ official accounts, then catch up with the acceptance speeches that travel fastest. It is not the same as a live broadcast, but it does mean the key moments still find their way into your breakfast scroll.

A new category that will split opinion

One change is guaranteed to spark debate: a new award for podcasts. It is a sign of where celebrity culture and “screen-adjacent” storytelling have drifted, and it will also raise an obvious question for film and television purists about what the Golden Globes is meant to be rewarding.

Even if you roll your eyes at the category, its arrival tells you something about the Globes’ ongoing attempt to keep the night relevant, especially to younger audiences who meet entertainment through clips, feeds and interviews long before they watch a film.

The familiar Globes advantage (and the familiar caveat)

Winning here does not guarantee an Oscar, and a snub does not kill a campaign. Yet the Globes still deliver something useful: momentum. A film that wins early can suddenly look “inevitable”, and an actor who gives a warm, lucid acceptance speech can be re-framed as the sensible choice for voters who have not yet caught up with every contender.

That is particularly true this year, when the awards calendar is tight and the Oscars are close enough that there is limited time for narratives to settle.

Nikki Glaser returns as host

Nikki Glaser is back to host the show, and the producers will be hoping she repeats last year’s trick: sharp jokes that land without turning the room sour. The Globes has always had a reputation for being looser than the Oscars, with celebrities more willing to laugh at themselves and fewer speeches written by committee.

It is also the kind of night where the host’s tone matters. A well-judged monologue can make the whole ceremony feel brisk and confident. A messy one can turn the evening into a long wait for the winners list.

What to watch for if you’re in Britain

If you are watching from London, Manchester or anywhere else in the UK and you do not fancy a 1am start, there are a few simple things worth checking in the morning.

• Best picture splits: the Globes divides drama from musical or comedy, which can flatter a wider range of films.
• Breakthrough performances: early awards often spotlight one actor who suddenly becomes unavoidable.
• International strength: the Globes’ taste here can foreshadow surprises later in the season.

By the time Britain wakes up, the shape of the season will be clearer. The Golden Globes 2026 may not crown the eventual Oscar winners, but it will almost certainly decide what everyone argues about next.

For more on the films, performances and cultural moments shaping London’s viewing habits, follow EyeOnLondon. If you stayed up for it, tell us what surprised you most.

[Image Credit | Getty Images]

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