By Sebastien Vuagnat, with Susan Stumme in Washington

"Emilia Perez" -- Jacques Audiard's surreal narco-thriller musical about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to life as a woman -- led the Golden Globes nominations on Monday with 10, as the race to the Oscars heats up.

The genre-defying film stars transgender actress Karla Sofia Gascon as the title character, along with actress-singer Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana in supporting roles.

All three are up for prizes for the Golden Globes, set for January 5, which are widely seen as a bellwether for the Academy Awards.

"The Brutalist," starring Oscar winner Adrien Brody as a Hungarian Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and emigrates to the United States, came in second with seven nominations, followed by papal drama "Conclave" with six nods.

Smash hit "Wicked," the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, earned four nominations, including for pop sensation Ariana Grande as the bubbly pink-clad Glinda and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba.

"Emilia Perez" -- which is almost entirely in Spanish -- started its march towards Hollywood awards glory in Cannes, where it won the Jury Prize at the Cannes film festival.

Audiard told AFP in October that he was "terrified" about the upcoming Oscars campaign for his film, which is streaming on Netflix after debuting in theaters.

"Mass success is something very unsettling -- it's not real life," said the French director, who earned a nomination in his category.

Other nods for "Emilia Perez" include two entries for best original song, best score, best non-English language film, best screenplay, and best comedy or musical film.

It will compete for top comedy-musical honors with "Wicked," Cannes darling "Anora," tennis love-triangle film "Challengers," Jesse Eisenberg's "A Real Pain," and body horror film "The Substance" starring Demi Moore.

Ahead of the nominations, Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis suggested organizers should save the last three categories of the night for comedy-musical honors, especially lead actress, which he called "the bloodbath category."

Erivo, Gascon and "Anora" star Mikey Madison will battle for the lead actress prize with perennial awards favorite Amy Adams ("Nightbitch"), Moore and "Challengers" star Zendaya.

'Great barometer'

The Golden Globes offer separate awards for dramas and comedies/musicals -- widening the field of stars who will walk the red carpet.

On the drama side, "The Brutalist" is something of a comeback for Brody, who won his Oscar in 2003 for "The Pianist," another Holocaust-related film.

"Conclave" is a fictionalized account of high-stakes Holy See horse-trading, depicting how the death of a pope sends the church's various factions into battle for its future. It is based on a novel by Robert Harris.

"Conclave" star Ralph Fiennes earned a nomination, as did director Edward Berger.

"The Brutalist" and "Conclave" will compete for best drama honors with Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," "Dune: Part Two," "Nickel Boys," and "September 5," a look at the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis from the media perspective.

The Globes are in year two of a revamp, following a Los Angeles Times expose in 2021 that showed that the awards' voting body -- the Hollywood Foreign Press Association -- had no Black members.

Now under new ownership, and with the HFPA disbanded, organizers are hoping to capitalize on a ratings bump registered last January, and perhaps even burnish the gala's status as a predictor of Oscars success.

Davis says the Globes "are a really great barometer to gauge out what the international voters are liking" ahead of the Academy Award nominations, due on January 17 -- shortly after the Globes gala.

International voting members of the Academy, whose numbers are on the rise, have had a "remarkable impact on nominations and winners in the last few years," Davis said.

The Globes also honor the best in television, with comedy "The Bear" earning five nominations, and historical epic "Shogun" and comedy "Only Murders in the Building" tied at four.

Comedian Nikki Glaser will host the January 5 gala in Beverly Hills.

Here are the nominees in key categories for the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, which will be handed out on January 5. Surreal musical "Emilia Perez" led all contenders with 10 nods, followed by "The Brutalist" at seven and "Conclave" at six.

FILM

Best film, drama

"The Brutalist"

"A Complete Unknown"

"Conclave"

"Dune: Part Two"

"Nickel Boys"

"September 5"

Best film, musical or comedy

"Anora"

"Challengers"

"Emilia Perez"

"A Real Pain"

"The Substance"

"Wicked"

Best actor, drama

Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"

Timothee Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"

Daniel Craig, "Queer"

Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"

Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"

Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"

Best actress, drama

Pamela Anderson, "The Last Showgirl"

Angelina Jolie, "Maria"

Nicole Kidman, "Babygirl"

Tilda Swinton, "The Room Next Door"

Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here"

Kate Winslet, "Lee"

Best actor, musical or comedy

Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"

Hugh Grant, "Heretic"

Gabriel LaBelle, "Saturday Night"

Jesse Plemons, "Kinds of Kindness"

Glen Powell, "Hit Man"

Sebastian Stan, "A Different Man"

Best actress, musical or comedy

Amy Adams, "Nightbitch"

Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"

Karla Sofia Gascon, "Emilia Perez"

Mikey Madison, "Anora"

Demi Moore, "The Substance"

Zendaya, "Challengers"

Best supporting actor

Yura Borisov, "Anora"

Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"

Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"

Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"

Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"

Denzel Washington, "Gladiator II"

Best supporting actress

Selena Gomez, "Emilia Perez"

Ariana Grande, "Wicked"

Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"

Margaret Qualley, "The Substance"

Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"

Zoe Saldana, "Emilia Perez"

Best director

Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Perez"

Sean Baker, "Anora"

Edward Berger, "Conclave"

Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist"

Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"

Payal Kapadia, "All We Imagine as Light"

Best non-English language film

"All We Imagine as Light"

"Emilia Perez"

"The Girl with the Needle"

"I'm Still Here"

"The Seed of the Sacred Fig"

"Vermiglio"

Best cinematic and box office achievement:

"Alien: Romulus"

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"

"Deadpool & Wolverine"

"Gladiator II"

"Inside Out 2"

"Twisters"

"Wicked"

"The Wild Robot"

Best animated feature

"Flow"

"Inside Out 2"

"Memoir of a Snail"

"Moana 2"

"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"

"The Wild Robot"

TELEVISION

Best drama series

"The Day of the Jackal"

"The Diplomat"

"Mr & Mrs Smith"

"Shogun"

"Slow Horses"

"Squid Game"

Best drama actor

Donald Glover, "Mr & Mrs Smith"

Jake Gyllenhaal, "Presumed Innocent"

Gary Oldman, "Slow Horses"

Eddie Redmayne, "The Day of the Jackal"

Hiroyuki Sanada, "Shogun"

Billy Bob Thornton, "Landman"

Best drama actress

Kathy Bates, "Matlock"

Emma D'Arcy, "House of the Dragon"

Maya Erskine, "Mr & Mrs Smith"

Keira Knightley, "Black Doves"

Keri Russell, "The Diplomat"

Anna Sawai, "Shogun"

Best musical or comedy series

"Abbott Elementary"

"The Bear"

"The Gentlemen"

"Hacks"

"Nobody Wants This"

"Only Murders in the Building"

Best musical or comedy actor

Adam Brody, "Nobody Wants This"

Ted Danson, "A Man on the Inside"

Steve Martin, "Only Murders in the Building"

Jason Segel, "Shrinking"

Martin Short, "Only Murders in the Building"

Jeremy Allen White, "The Bear"

Best musical or comedy actress

Kristen Bell, "Nobody Wants This"

Quinta Brunson, "Abbott Elementary"

Ayo Edebiri, "The Bear"

Selena Gomez, "Only Murders in the Building"

Kathryn Hahn, "Agatha All Along"

Jean Smart, "Hacks"

Best limited series or TV movie

"Baby Reindeer"

"Disclaimer"

"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story"

"The Penguin"

"Ripley"

"True Detective: Night Country"

Best limited series or TV movie actor

Colin Farrell, "The Penguin"

Richard Gadd, "Baby Reindeer"

Kevin Kline, "Disclaimer"

Cooper Koch, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story"

Ewan McGregor, "A Gentleman in Moscow"

Andrew Scott, "Ripley"

Best limited series or TV movie actress

Cate Blanchett, "Disclaimer"

Jodie Foster, "True Detective: Night Country"

Cristin Milioti, "The Penguin"

Sofia Vergara, "Griselda"

Naomi Watts, "Feud: Capote vs the Swans"

Kate Winslet, "The Regime"

Best performance in stand-up comedy on television:

Jamie Foxx, "Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was"

Nikki Glaser, "Nikki Glaser: Someday You'll Die"

Seth Meyers, "Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking"

Adam Sandler, "Adam Sandler: Love You"

Ali Wong, "Ali Wong: Single Lady"

Ramy Youssef, "Ramy Youssef: More Feelings"

FILMS WITH MOST NOMINATIONS

"Emilia Perez" - 10

"The Brutalist" - 7

"Conclave" - 6

"Anora" - 5

"The Substance" - 5

bur-sst/bfm

© Agence France-Presse