Best 2018 Golden Globes nominated films

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 3

Best Picture - Musical/Comedy

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy (Hugh Jackman)

Best Original Song, Motion Picture ("THIS IS ME" — Music by: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul Lyrics by: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul)                

"The Greatest Showman" stars Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, along with Michelle Williams and former Disney stars Zac Efron and Zendaya, in an original movie musical. Efron and Zendaya's duet, "Rewrite the Stars," which is staged on a flying trapeze, is "sure to become a signature scene — and a signature karaoke duet, anywhere your outgoing friends can get their hands on a mic," says L.A. Times reporter Michael Ordona. Despite the high-flying spectacle, it's expected to have a mediocre opening at $11 million during the crowded holiday box office, with a domestic box office total of $75 million in its first eight weeks.                                

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 3

Best Actress, Motion Picture - Drama (Michelle Williams)

Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture (Christopher Plummer)

Best Director, Motion Picture (Ridley Scott)

Based on the terrifying true story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old Jean Paul Getty III, Ridley Scott's highly-anticipated thriller "All the Money in the World" hits theaters on Christmas Day, starring Michelle Williams and Christopher Plummer (replacing Kevin Spacey). Mark Wahlberg co-stars in a script by screenwriter David Scarfa adapted from John Pearson's book on Getty, Painfully Rich. Variety's Pete Hammond says, "you will be on the edge of your seat," and that it's "one of Plummer's best performances."

Stacker Score: 51.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Actress, Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Helen Mirren)

Veteran Italian director Paolo Virzi directs his first English-language film, "a mostly gentle movie with occasional moments of truth," says Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com. The 'Leisure Seeker' is the name Helen Mirren's character has given to the old Winnebago she and her husband (Donald Sutherland) -- suffering from Alzheimer's -- are taking on one last road trip. Critics thus far have found the film to be a bit too predictable in advance of its Jan. 2018 opening.

Stacker Score: 55.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Picture, Animated

DreamWorks Animation's "The Boss Baby" was a breakout hit this winter as Alec Baldwin channeled Frank Sinatra's big blue eyes and suave voice as a clever, suit-clad, briefcase-carrying infant. Lisa Kudrow and Steve Buscemi round out the cast of the comedy Variety called "blithe, fast-moving, and dazzlingly animated." It's currently tied at the box office with "Get Out" and "The Lego Batman Movie" with just over $175 million in domestic gross receipts.

Stacker Score: 60.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Drama (Denzel Washington)

In what the Washington Post's Ann Hornaday calls "the legal thriller [that] puts an aging social justice warrior front and center," Denzel Washington shines as Roman J. Israel, an idealistic defense attorney faced with a series of challenging events. Colin Farrell co-stars as the lawyer who recruits Israel to his firm. Critics are split on the "heavy-handedness" of the film overall, but unanimous on Washington's standout performance.

Stacker Score: 61.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Picture, Foreign Language

After a strong showing at the Cannes Film Festival, "In the Fade" was selected as a nominee for best picture in a foreign language at this year's Golden Globes. Diane Kruger stars in the German drama as a mother whose life falls apart suddenly when her husband and son are killed in a bomb attack in Hamburg. Her friends and family try to give her the support she needs, but it becomes painfully clear: she wants justice. The film is named after a song by the rock band "Queens of the Stone Age," whose lead singer, Josh Homme, wrote the film's score. The film opens in the U.S. in a limited release on Dec. 27.

Stacker Score: 63.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Actress, Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Judi Dench)

Directed by Stephen Frears ("Florence Foster Jenkins," "The Queen"), "Victoria and Abdul" tells the remarkable true story of Queen Elizabeth's decades-long friendship with her Indian attendant, Abdul Karim, which was largely unknown for a century until a hard-nosed journalist made the discovery in 2003. Critics have raved about Judi Dench's formidable portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, a role which she's played once before in "Mrs. Brown." She's earned the film's sole Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her performance.

Stacker Score: 64.5

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Picture, Animated

Best Original Song, Motion Picture ("HOME" — Music by: Nick Jonas, Justin Tranter, Nick Monson; Lyrics by: Nick Jonas, Justin Tranter)

Based on the beloved children's book, "Ferdinand" burst into theaters in mid-December with its titular Spanish bull voiced by John Cena, and a sidekick voiced by Kate McKinnon leaving audiences reeling with delight. The tale has been called "surprisingly relevant" -- as Ferdinand chooses peace over violence -- and Variety's Peter Debruge calls the film "sincere, likable, surprisingly funny, and overall true to its source material." "Ferdinand" will need to pick up some strength in the new year, though, to offset its reported $111 million production budget; it opened second at the box office behind "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" with $13 million in domestic gross receipts.                 

                                                                                 

Stacker Score: 66.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture (Hong Chau)

Director Alexander Payne's social satire, "Downsizing," ambitiously takes on big ideas associated with war, poverty, the environment, and injustice with an all-star cast, including Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig. Ten years in the making, it took the late Paramount Pictures chief Brad Grey to take a chance on the offbeat filmmaker and say: "I know it doesn't make sense on paper, but we're going to make it anyway." The surprise breakout star is undoubtedly Vietnamese-American Hong Chau, who earned the film's sole Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Critics have been split thus far on whether or not the film's themes will resonate with audiences in advance of its Dec. 22 wide release.

Stacker Score: 71.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Drama (Gary Oldman)

During the beginning of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Great Britain faced its 'darkest hour' as the threat of Nazi invasion loomed large over the newly-appointed Prime Minister, Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman). While Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" is focused on the battles that ensued on the beaches of France, Joe Wright's historical drama is squarely concerned with Churchill behind-the-scenes -- masterfully portrayed by Oldman -- serving up a more nuanced, vulnerable version of the legendary leader than audiences have seen before.

Stacker Score: 73.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Picture, Animated

In perhaps one of the most unique, artistic films of the year, "Loving Vincent" tells the story of painter Vincent Van Gogh, and probes the circumstances of his mysterious death in 1890. It is the first full-painted animated feature film, featuring 65,000 frames created as oil paintings on canvas -- the same technique Van Gogh himself used. A team of 125 painters worked with writer/directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman to bring the film to life with partial funding from a Kickstarter campaign. NY Times' A.O. Scott calls it a film that "turns van Gogh's work into an unusual kind of biopic."

Stacker Score: 76.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Actress, Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy (Emma Stone)

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy (Steve Carell)

It was one of the most-watched televised sports events of all time, and its effects are still sparking debates in bedrooms and boardrooms 44 years later: a legendary 1973 tennis match between women's world champion Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, the former men's champion — promoted as the "Battle of the Sexes." It came to represent much more than an on-court rivalry between two passionate athletes, and an estimated 90 million people tuned in to watch the spectacle. The film of the same name, starring Emma Stone as King and Steve Carell as Riggs, opened to widespread critical praise in theaters in the fall, earning Golden Globe nominations for both lead actors for their nuanced performances.

Stacker Score: 77.0

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Picture, Foreign Language

A favorite at the Cannes Film Festival, "The Square" is a suspenseful comedy-drama film by Swedish director Ruben Östland set in Stockholm. It follows a museum curator who finds himself in an existential crisis when his phone is stolen during a PR stunt for a new art installation. Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men") co-stars in the unusual work that has critics perplexed but ultimately pleased.

Stacker Score: 77.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Actress, Motion Picture - Drama (Jessica Chastain)

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (Aaron Sorkin)

Based on the compelling true story of Molly Bloom's 2014 book of the same name, "Molly's Game" is a female-driven film opening Christmas Day about the underground celebrity poker world over which Bloom once loomed large. Aaron Sorkin writes and directs Jessica Chastain in the title role, earning both of them Golden Globe nominations and widespread critical praise. "Chastain's Molly is notably the first front-and-center female protagonist that Sorkin, a pop poet of the male ego, has written," writes Vulture's Emily Yoshida, "[he] will get the Oscar push, but Bloom's story, which would be compelling even without all the juicy name-dropping and excess, is the reason why."

Stacker Score: 77.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Picture, Foreign Language

In a biographical, historical thriller directed and co-written by Angelina Jolie, "First They Killed My Father" shines a light on war-torn Cambodia through the eyes of a little girl in 1975. That girl is co-writer Loung Ung, who wrote about her family's experiences in a 2000 memoir of the same name. The film was snubbed when it failed to receive an entry for an Academy Award nomination, but it's up for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes. Critics are calling it Jolie's best work -- she has said she made the film for the people of Cambodia, and also for her 16-year-old Cambodian-born son, Maddox, who received an executive producer credit.  

Stacker Score: 80.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 3

Best Picture - Musical/Comedy

Best Actress, Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy (Margot Robbie)

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture (Allison Janney)

Based on seemingly unreal, but true events, "I, Tonya" is a dark comedy about Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) and her association with the brutal attack on fellow competitor Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. Allison Janney's classic performance as Harding's mother has been widely praised, as has Robbie's portrayal of one of the most infamous, but complicated villains in sports history. The film opens wide in January -- just before the Winter Olympic Games -- following mostly unanimous positive critical reviews.

Stacker Score: 81.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Picture, Animated

"The Breadwinner" is an animated film set in 2001 in Kabul under Taliban rule. Based on the bestselling YA novel by Deborah Ellis, and executive-produced by Angelina Jolie, it follows the empowering story of a young girl named Parvana, who must cut off her hair and disguise herself as a boy to become the breadwinner for her family after her father is wrongly imprisoned. She ends up embarking on a journey of newfound freedom and self-reliance in a quest to save her family. Given its sophisticated treatment of the subject matter, NY Times' Glenn Kenny writes that the film "is worth celebrating, in part because it is a work that in some ways qualifies as reportage."

Stacker Score: 83.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Original Song, Motion Picture ("MIGHTY RIVER" -- Music by: Raphael Saadiq; Lyrics by: Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq, Taura Stinson)         

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture (Mary J. Blige)

"Mudbound" is about two Mississippi families -- one black, one white -- and how they confront the brutal realities of prejudice, farming, and friendship in a divided World War II era. The critically-acclaimed historical drama is directed and co-written by Dee Rees, and features an ensemble cast led by Mary J. Blige (nominated for Golden Globes both as a supporting actress and for her lyrics in "Mighty River" for best original song) and Carey Mulligan. Shot on a tight 29-day schedule with an $11.5 million budget, the epic film debuted to a standing ovation at Sundance.

Stacker Score: 83.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (James Franco)

Critics and fans alike are loving James Franco's (who acts and directs) turn as filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in "The Disaster Artist." A movie-about-a-movie, the quirky comedy looks at "one of the worst film ever made" -- Wiseau's 2003 cult favorite "The Room." Franco's version, which co-stars Seth Rogen and Alison Brie, received a standing ovation at its South by Southwest film festival premiere, and has grossed $15 million worldwide in its first two weeks at the box office off of a reported $10 million budget. In a comedic nod to its source material, the studio recently mounted a billboard in Los Angeles that replicates the original "The Room" billboard that Wiseau kept up for five years after his film's debut.

Stacker Score: 84.0

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 6

Best Actress, Meryl Streep / Best Picture, Drama / Best Actor, Tom Hanks / Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (Liz Hannah, Josh Singer) / Best Director, Motion Picture, Steven Spielberg / Best Original Score, Motion Picture, John Williams

A government cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher, Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), and her venerable editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), to join forces in an unprecedented battle to protect the right to publish. Steven Spielberg directs an all-star cast based on a screenplay by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer ("Spotlight"), developed after Hannah read Graham's memoir about the real-life events that took place in 1971. The first time Hanks and Streep have joined together on-screen has critics buzzing with Oscar talk after the film received six Golden Globe nominations.

Stacker Score: 85.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Ansel Elgort)

In a stylish film choreographed entirely around great music from several decades, Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" stars Ansel Elgort ("The Fault in our Stars") as "Baby," a young getaway driver who finds himself on the run after a failed heist. The soundtrack is based on what Baby hears in his headphones, creating a personalized, action-packed cinematic experience. Kevin Spacey co-stars as the all-too-accurate evil crime boss, along with Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm as crazed bank robbers. The film is currently ranked No. 26 overall at this year's box office with more than $107 million in domestic gross receipts.

Stacker Score: 86.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Picture, Foreign Language

Premiering earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival -- and winning the Jury Prize for director Andrey Zvyagintsev -- the intense Russian drama "Loveless" is about a separated Moscow couple's search for their missing child. While focused on the personal crisis of the pair, Zvyagintsev "transforms this tale of a missing child into a grim portrait of Russia today," writes NY Times' Jeannette Catsoulis.

Stacker Score: 86.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy (Daniel Kaluuya)

Best Picture, Musical/Comedy

Jordan Peele's horror/social-satire "Get Out" was undoubtedly one of the break-out hits of 2017 with both audiences and critics alike. It's currently ranked No. 14 at the box office overall for the year with more than $175 million in domestic gross receipts and $254 million worldwide. In his directorial debut, Peele takes on race in a comedic horror flick about what happens when a young black is introduced to his white girlfriend's parents. Think "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" meets "The Stepford Wives," says Peele, of his inspirations.

Stacker Score: 87.0

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language

From Chile, produced in partnership with U.S.-based Participant Media, "A Fantastic Woman" is a dramatic film about a transgender singer who faces adversity after the sudden death of her boyfriend. Daniela Vega, who is trans, stars -- and says she's one of the first and only in her country to do so. Directed by Sebastián Lelio, the movie won the Silver Bear and Teddy awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, was recently selected as Chile's Oscar contender for foreign language film, and is up for Best Picture in the foreign language category at the Golden Globes.

Stacker Score: 87.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 7

Best Picture, Drama / Best Actress, Motion Picture - Drama (Sally Hawkins) / Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture (Octavia Spencer) / Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture (Richard Jenkins) / Best Director, Motion Picture (Guillermo Del Toro) / Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (Guillermo Del Toro, Vanessa Taylor) / Best Original Score, Motion Picture (Alexandre Desplat)

With the most Golden Globe nominations of any film this year, Guillermo Del Toro's "The Shape of Water" is expected to be a frontrunner throughout awards season. The fantasy-drama film features an all-star cast, including Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, and Richard Jenkins, and an original film score by Alexandre Desplat. It follows the story of a custodian (Hawkins) at a hidden government laboratory who, along with her co-worker (Spencer), discover a classified experiment in a water tank. The film has already collected several accolades on the film circuit and has critics calling it Del Toro's best since "Pan's Labyrinth."  

Stacker Score: 88.7

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 6

Best Picture, Drama/ Best Actress, Motion Picture - Drama (Frances McDormand) / Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture (Sam Rockwell) / Best Director, Motion Picture (Martin McDonagh) / Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (Martin McDonagh) / Best Original Score, Motion Picture (Carter Burwell)

 

Martin McDonagh's "Three Billboards" is likely to give "The Shape of Water" a run for its money come awards season with its own six Golden Globe nominations and widespread critical acclaim for Frances McDormand's brilliant performance (critics say she already has Best Actress locked up) and for the film overall. The movie, which co-stars Woody Harrelson, is a darkly comic drama about a mother who takes matters into her own hands as she desperately searches for her daughter's murderer. It's brought in $22 million overall at the domestic box office in the first two weeks of its wide release.

Stacker Score: 89.0

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Picture, Animated

Best Original Song, Motion Picture ("REMEMBER ME" — Music by: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez; Lyrics by: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez)

Disney/Pixar's "Coco" is about 12-year-old Miguel, an aspiring musician eager to prove what he's got despite his family's curious ban on music. The 3D-animated film follows his colorful journey into the "Land of Dead" in a fun, thoughtful narrative that has pleased audiences and critics alike. It opened No. 1 at the box office in November and has raked in nearly $500 million worldwide.

Stacker Score: 89.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 3

Best Picture, Drama

Best Director, Motion Picture (Christopher Nolan)

Best Original Score, Motion Picture (Hans Zimmer)

Christopher Nolan's sweeping war epic "Dunkirk" has brought in more than $525 million worldwide since it opened No. 1 at the box office in July. Shot in 70mm film, Nolan has insisted that his film is meant to be seen in the theater. "Dunkirk" stars Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Branagh as British soldiers caught up in the evacuation from the French beach during the early stages of the second world war, brought to life by a heart-pounding score by Hans Zimmer. 

Stacker Score: 89.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 1

Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture (Willem Dafoe)

Set on a stretch of highway just outside the imagined utopia of Disney World, writer-director Sean Baker's "The Florida Project" follows six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) in a moving look at childhood living moment-to-moment in a motel ironically named "The Magic Castle." Willem Dafoe, who earned the film's sole Golden Globe nomination for his supporting actor performance, co-stars as the motel manager in the comedy-drama that has scored high marks from critics. "Thanks to a handful of mesmerizing performances and Baker's deft directing, The Florida Project is a must-see work—and one of the year's best films," says The Atlantic's David Sims.

Stacker Score: 91.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 3

Best Picture, Drama

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Drama (Timothee Chalamet)                                           

Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture (Armie Hammer)                                

The Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones writes: "If the Luca Guadagnino movie 'Call Me By Your Name' wins an Academy Award, it will be in part because of that unspeakably tender scene wherein a father, a father with his own struggles and regrets, tries to tell his gay, 17-year-old son that he is not alone." The critically-acclaimed "Call Me By Your Name" is up for three Golden Globe nominations -- including Best Picture -- largely because of moments like this one where thoughtful dialogue and great acting by stars Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer join together to create an intense, affecting coming-of-age masterpiece. It's the third and final installment in Italian film director Luca Guadagnino's "Desire" trilogy, following "I Am Love" (2009) and "A Bigger Splash" (2015).

Stacker Score: 92.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 4

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy / Best Actress, Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Saoirse Ronan) / Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture (Laurie Metcalf) / Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (Greta Gerwig)

With four Golden Globe nominations and the first 100 percent rating ever on Rotten Tomatoes, "Lady Bird" has been the undisputed darling of November and December, earning the highest Stacker Score on our list along with "Phantom Thread." Written and directed by indie favorite Greta Gerwig in her directorial debut, the semi-autobiographical film burst onto the scene after rave reviews at the Telluride Film Festival. Gerwig finds both the humor and excruciating pain that comes with the the turbulent bond between a mother (Laurie Metcalf in a stunning performance) and her teenage daughter, Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan). Gerwig took years to thoughtfully complete the screenplay and considers it her love letter to her real-life home and setting for the film -- Sacramento, Calif.

Stacker Score: 92.3

Golden Globe Nomination(s): 2

Best Actor, Motion Picture - Drama (Daniel Day-Lewis)

Best Original Score, Motion Picture (Jonny Greenwood)

Tied with "Lady Bird" in overall Stacker Score for the No. 1 spot is Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread," starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Called one of the best films of 2017, the film takes on some of Anderson's favorite themes: obsession, morality, and love. Set in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is a renowned dressmaker whose well-structured life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman who becomes his muse and lover. Anderson re-teams for the fourth time with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood to score the chilling, seductive film, which opens Christmas Day.