Buoyed by interesting nominees and big-name winners, last year's Golden Globe Awards was a major success in the rebirth process for the once-disgraced awards body. The group formerly known as the HFPA will be looking to keep that ball rolling this year, although they'll have a tougher time finding the same level of notoriety amongst the contenders. This year's crop is much more independent-focused than in years past, which could lend the Globes more influence in this chaotic Oscar race.

With nominations set to be announced on Monday morning, here are my predictions on what names will be called in each category, complete with a full breakdown detailing the seemingly endless combinations.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

1. Conclave

2. The Brutalist

3. Dune: Part Two

4. Nickel Boys

5. Sing Sing

6. A Complete Unknown

   
   

Last year's nomination in this category for The Zone of Interest lends strength to the equally challenging and universally acclaimed Nickel Boys. Something like A Complete Unknown would have been a slam dunk under the previous Globes regime, which makes it a little vulnerable to being subbed out for more esoteric titles like Queer and Babygirl.

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

1. Anora

2. Emilia Pérez

3. Wicked

4. A Real Pain

5. Challengers

6. The Substance

   
   

The top three films are virtually guaranteed to receive Best Picture nominations at the Oscars, and A Real Pain has continually risen in its stock. That leaves Challengers, The Substance, Saturday Night, and Hit Man as the four likeliest titles jockeying for the final two slots. Challengers and The Substance have been two of the buzziest and most acclaimed films of the year, so it would be surprising for them to be left out.

Best Director

1. Sean Baker (Anora)

2. Jaques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)

3. Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)

4. Edward Berger (Conclave)

5. Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two)

6. Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)

   
   

The Directors branch at the Academy tends to favor more arthouse sensibilities as opposed to the Globes, which is why it wouldn't be a surprise for an Oscar contender such as RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys) snubbed for someone like Ridley Scott (Gladiator II). The Globes have also been kinder to female contenders, giving nominations to Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter) and Celine Song (Past Lives) when the Oscars didn't. Coralie Fargeat will be that nominee this year, with Denis Villeneuve representing the blockbusters.

Best Screenplay

1. Conclave

2. Anora

3. A Real Pain

4. The Brutalist

5. Sing Sing

6. Emilia Pérez

   
   

The funneling of both original and adapted screenplays into one category makes it impossible to have confident predictions. Deserving contenders will be left off this list come nomination morning, and there's rarely a correlating factor that gives us a clue about what this group likes. The best strategy is to replicate the nominees from the Best Director category, and then swap out 1-2 based on how writerly they are. The narratives behind Dune: Part Two and The Substance have been very director-focused, which is why bigger writing contenders like A Real Pain and Sing Sing will likely slide in.

Best Lead Actor - Drama

1. Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)

2. Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)

3. Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)

4. Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)

5. Daniel Craig (Queer)

6. Jharrel Jerome (Unstoppable)

   
   

It's pretty much all chalk within this category, with my currently predicted five for Best Lead Actor at the Oscars being represented here. It's already hard enough to fill out five slots, so adding another one doesn't help the guessing game. Sebastian Stan is hurt by the poison that surrounds The Apprentice, and Paul Mescal didn't have that many positive notices for Gladiator II. I'm going to reach a little bit and give the edge to Jharrel Jerome for Unstoppable, a very physical performance from a crowd-pleasing film that has been campaigning nonstop since its TIFF premiere.

Best Lead Actress - Drama

1. Nicole Kidman (Babygirl)

2. Angelina Jolie (Maria)

3. Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)

4. Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun)

5. Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here)

6. Kate Winslet (Lee)

   
   

This category is surprisingly thinner among Oscar contenders than in most years, which is a testament to the increased competition within the Comedy/Musical category. Last year's nomination for Alma Pöysti showed that the Globes will consider a foreign-language performance that isn't firmly in the Oscar race like Sandra Hüller was, which bodes well for Fernanda Torres in I'm Still Here. I can't decide between Tilda Swinton or Julianne Moore for The Room Next Door, so I'll leave both of them out. Kate Winslet in Lee would have been a lock years ago, and I think there's still enough of that voting body left for her to nab the final slot.

Best Lead Actor - Musical or Comedy

1. Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)

2. Glen Powell (Hit Man)

3. Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice)

4. Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)

5. Hugh Grant (Heretic)

6. Jesse Plemons (Kinds of Kindness)

   
   

Jesse Eisenberg and Glen Powell sit comfortably at the top competing to win the trophy. Michael Keaton as the uber-successful and iconic character in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feels like a safe bet, as does Hugh Grant in Heretic and Sebastian Stan in A Different Man after idiosyncratic nominees like Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) and Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario) last year. That vibe leads me to pick Cannes Best Actor winner Jesse Plemons (Kinds of Kindness) for the final slot over more conventional contenders like Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool & Wolverine).

Best Lead Actress - Musical or Comedy

1. Mikey Madison (Anora)

2. Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)

3. Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)

4. Demi Moore (The Substance)

5. Zendaya (Challengers)

6. June Squibb (Thelma)

   
   

This is pretty much a repeat of the Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical category, sans A Real Pain for obvious reasons. I've got June Squibb nabbing that last slot in a surprise upset over eight-time nominee (and two-time winner) Amy Adams. It's not the smartest move on paper, but the buzz for Nightbitch and Adams' performance has been nonexistent, at least in comparison to her previous work. That might not matter for someone so beloved as her, but I think Squibb is much more deserved and makes for a better narrative.

Best Supporting Actor

1. Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

2. Denzel Washington (Gladiator II)

3. Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)

4. Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)

5. Stanley Tucci (Conclave)

6. Yura Borisov (Anora)

   
   

Two of the best narratives this year have been the rise of previously unknown performers Clarence Maclin and Yura Borisov. Maclin has been firmly in the Oscar conversation for months, while Borisov has seen a quick rise over the past few weeks. That might be too short of a window to get him in here, especially with an established player like Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown) right on his tail.

Best Supporting Actress

1. Zoë Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)

2. Ariana Grande (Wicked)

3. Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)

4. Felicity Jones (The Brutalist)

5. Margaret Qualley (The Substance)

6. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Nickel Boys)

   
   

I'm feeling pretty confident in the first five slots. The final slot could easily go to Selena Gomez for Emilia Pérez. She's been loved by the television side of this group, being nominated for the previous two seasons of Only Murders In The Building, which will likely continue with the fourth season. There's the possibility of Saoirse Ronan fulfilling the promise of a double nomination morning with Blitz, although that film has faltered at every step so far. I have confidence behind my choice for Nickel Boys in Best Motion Picture - Drama, so I'll reverse engineer my way into predicting Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

Best Foreign Language Film

1. Emilia Pérez (France)

2. All We Imagine as Light (India)

3. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Iran)

4. I'm Still Here (Brazil)

5. The Girl with the Needle (Denmark)

6. The Count of Monte Cristo (France)

   
   

The Globes have far fewer restrictions on this category as opposed to the Oscars, which is why we could get two nominees from France despite Emilia Pérez being the official submission. There's bound to be an outlier choice within the final two slots, so I'm hoping my roll of the dice will generate at least one correct guess.

Best Animated Feature Film

1. The Wild Robot

2. Inside Out 2

3. Memoir of a Snail

4. Flow

5. Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

6. Moana 2

   
   

I'm going with the currently predicted lineup at the Oscars, with Moana 2 following the same trajectory as Wish last year of being a namecheck nominee. The former has slightly better reviews and a vastly better box performance than the latter, so that's a good enough reason to crawl in.

Best Original Score

1. Conclave

2. The Brutalist

3. Dune: Part Two

4. Emilia Pérez

5. Challengers

6. The Wild Robot

   
   

This category is stacked with heavy hitters across the Drama and Comedy/Musical categories. The outlier amongst the group is The Wild Robot, which shouldn't have any problems considering the Globes nominated two animated films (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron) in this category last year.

Best Original Song

1. El Mal (Emilia Pérez)

2. Mi Camino (Emilia Pérez)

3. Kiss the Sky (The Wild Robot)

4. I Always Wanted a Brother (Mufasa: The Lion King)

5. Piece by Piece (Piece by Piece)

6. Never Too Late (Elton John)

   
   

I'd consider it a success if I get 3/6 correct in this category. Some wild picks were made last year with "Peaches" and “Addicted to Romance," both of which featured big stars behind their campaigns. I'm going to run with that theme in my nominees this year, predicting people such as Elton John, Pharrell, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. They'll be joined by two of the popular numbers from Emilia Pérez.

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

1. Inside Out 2

2. Deadpool & Wolverine

3. Wicked

4. Dune: Part Two

5. Moana 2

6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

7. Despicable Me 4

8. It Ends with Us

   
   

Introduced as the "Barbenheimer" last year, this category serves as a last resort for the Globes to feature movies that the casual audience will recognize. That means I'm working my way down the domestic box office charts, including the films that got at least decent reviews. I don't have much respect for this category, so I won't have any pride in how many I get right or wrong.