Hamnet just won big at the Golden Globes! On Sunday, Jan. 11, the film from director Chloé Zhao won Best Motion Picture Drama at the 2026 Golden Globes. George Clooney and Don Cheadle presented the award, complete with a mini Ocean's reunion, before producer Steven Spielberg took the stage to thank the team behind the film and to recognize the "exceptional" Chloé Zhao, calling her the "one filmmaker on the face of the planet who could tell this story."
During her speech, Zhao, 43, echoed a message that star Paul Mescal had shared with her earlier in the day. "Making Hamnet made me realize that the most important thing of being an artist is learning to be vulnerable enough to allow ourselves to be seen for who we are and not who we ought to be. And to give ourselves fully to the world," she said. "Even the parts of ourselves that we're ashamed of, that we're afraid of, that are imperfect, so that the people we speak to can also see themselves and fully accept themselves."
Zhao specifically paid tribute to fellow nominee Ryan Coogler, director of Sinners, and others who have shown "bravery" and "dedication" in their work over the years.
Other nominees in the category included Frankenstein, It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Sinners. Hamnet is the film adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel of the same name. The story depicts the life of the Shakespeare family as they grapple with the death of their son Hamnet, played by Jacobi Jupe. William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) cope with grief in ways that bring strife to their marriage. While Agnes unravels, Shakespeare resorts to writing Hamlet.
Directed by Nomadland Oscar winner Zhao, Hamnet received a total of six nominations at this year's Golden Globes, including Best Screenplay and Best Original Score. Buckley and Mescal, 29, were both considered for their performances, and Zhao was nominated for Best Director.
Another notable nominee was Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, a retelling of the classic novel written by Mary Shelley. Oscar Isaac portrays Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious inventor who brings life to a being made from the body parts of the dead. When Frankenstein discovers his Creature, played by Jacob Elordi, doesn't carry the intelligence he hoped for, he abandons him in a world unknown. Along with Isaac and Elordi, Frankenstein stars Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, and Charles Dance.
Frankenstein was also nominated for four other Golden Globes: Isaac for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, Elordi for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture, and del Toro for Best Director and Best Original Score.
It Was Just an Accident follows Vahid, a mechanic and former political prisoner, as he runs into Eghbal, a man who seeks his help after hitting a dog with his car and who so happens to be his torturer. A vengeful Vahid kidnaps Eghbal, who denies having been his tormentor, leaving Vahid in doubt. The thriller film was also nominated for Best Motion Picture Non-English Language, with its director Jafar Panahi considered for Best Director and Best Screenplay. It won the Palme d'Or award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The Secret Agent follows Armando, played by Wagner Moura, a former university researcher, as he's on the run from killers and goes into hiding under the alias Marcelo. Set in 1977 during Brazil's military dictatorship, the thriller details Armando and his son's efforts to escape the country in the midst of political turmoil. Moura was nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. The film, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho
