2020 Golden Globe Movie Snubs and Surprises: Little Women, Robert De Niro and More Nomination Shockers

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association revealed the nominees for the 2020 Golden Globe Awards on Monday. Learn more about the nomination shockers here

By Elyse Dupre Dec 09, 2019 2:09 PMTags
Watch: 2020 Golden Globe Film Nominations - Drama

It's almost time for the 2020 Golden Globe Awards.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association revealed the nominees on Monday. Tim Allen, Dakota Fanning and Susan Kelechi Watson announced a few of the contenders at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. Golden Globe ambassadors Paris Brosnan and Dylan Brosnan were also there along with HFPA president Lorenzo Soria and executive producer and executive VP of television at dick clark productions Barry Adelman.

Some of the nominations were expected. Marriage Story, for instance, secured the most nods in the film categories with a grand total of six. Others, however, were unexpected. 

For instance, many critics were surprised to see that there were no female directors in the Best Directors category. People expected Greta Gerwig to earn a nomination for Little Women. In addition, some felt like Robert de Niro was snubbed in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) category for his role in Netflix's The Irishman and were surprised to see Christian Bale make the cut. Still, these weren't the only shockers this year.

To see a few more snubs and surprises, check out the gallery below.

Surprise: The Joker

People expected The Joker to do well. They just didn't know how well. However, it's tied for third place for most film nominations of the night along with The Two Popes with four nods each. The movie is up for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Original Score. Todd Phillips is also in the running for Best Director of a Motion Picture and Joaquin Phoenix is up for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama). However, some were surprised to see it did not receive a shout-out in the Best Screenplay category.

Surprise: Annette Bening

Not many fans expected to see the 61-year-old actress receive a nomination in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture category. However, she earned a nod for her role in The Report. Some expected to see Zhao Shuzhen from The Farewell or Florence Pugh from Little Women on the list.

Snub: Robert De Niro

Many critics assumed Robert De Niro would be a shoo-in for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) category for his role in The Irishman. However, Christian Bale surprised many when he secured a spot instead for his role in Ford v. Ferrari

Surprise: Cate Blanchett

Many critics were surprised to see the 50-year-old actress receive a nod for her role as Bernadette Fox in Where'd You Go, Bernadette?. Some were expecting to see Constance Wu from Hustlers or Kaitlyn Dever from Booksmart on the list.

Snub: Female Directors

All of the nominees in the Best Director category were men. Many fans believed that Greta Gerwig should have made the list for Little Women. The film was also left off the Best Motion Picture (Drama) list. In fact, the movie earned only two nominations. It's up for Best Original Song and Saoirse Ronan, who plays Jo March, is in the running for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama).

Surprise: The Lion King

Disney's animated films often make the Golden Globes' list. So fans weren't surprised to see Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2 as contenders in the Best Animated Feature category. However, many movie lovers were pleasantly surprised to see that the live-action remake of The Lion King made the cut, too.

Surprise: Motherless Brooklyn

The movie—which features Edward NortonAlec Baldwin, Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw—shocked many music lovers when it made the Best Original Score list. Daniel Pemberton received the nod. Some suspected that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker or Jojo Rabbit could take the spot instead.

The 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards take place Jan. 5, 2020.