The Golden Globes brought back what has been missing from the show for years: fun.

First-time host Nikki Glaser delivered biting one-liners and wore a series of long sequined dresses. Presenters were extremely close to the camera. Bass-pumping rave music played and cheeky facts about actors popped up on the screen. (Who knew an octopus at the Vancouver Aquarium was named after Seth Rogen?)

The ceremony seemed designed for widespread appeal, but many of the awards went to highbrow films that weren’t commercial hits or television shows that had already been honored at previous Globes or last year’s Emmys.

“The Brutalist,” which had seven nominations, won best drama movie, best actor for Adrien Brody and best motion picture director for Brady Corbet. The three-and-a-half hour film is about a World War II refugee and architect struggling to build a brutalist structure in rural Pennsylvania.

The movie with the most nominations, “Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language film musical about a transgender drug-cartel kingpin, won best musical or comedy picture and best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña. The Netflix film had 10 nominations, the second highest number of nods in Golden Globes history.

Adriana Paz, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Zoe Saldana, winners of the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for “Emilia Perez,” pose at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

“Wicked,” one of biggest hits last year, grossing more than $450 million at the U.S. box office, earned four nominations, but only won in a category created for blockbusters: best cinematic and box office achievement.

Television acting awards on the comedy side mostly went to those who have already earned accolades. Jean Smart won her second Golden Globe for “Hacks,” which also won best comedy series. Jeremy Allen White won his third Globe for “The Bear.” But newcomer “Shōgun,” based in feudal Japan, won best drama TV series, best actor, best actress and best supporting actor.

“Welcome to the 82nd Golden Globes, Ozempic’s biggest night!,” is how Glaser started the show. She then said she wouldn’t roast the stars from the stage, a promise she quickly broke.

“How could I really?” she said. “You’re all so famous, so talented, so powerful, I mean you could really do anything—I mean except tell the country who to vote for.”

Here, highlights from the evening:

lliot Brody and Sylvia Plachy pose with Adrien Brody, winner of Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture

Nikki Glaser won over the stars

Glaser, a longtime comic, made history as the first woman to host the Golden Globes alone. The 40-year-old’s profile rose early last year after her roast of former NFL star Tom Brady for a Netflix special went viral.

She didn’t leave her roasting skills at home when facing Hollywood.

“‘Wicked,’ ‘Queer,’ ‘Nightbitch’—these are not just words Ben Affleck yells after he orgasms. These are some of the incredible movies nominated tonight,” she said.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was next to get the heat:

“‘The Bear,’ ‘The Penguin,’ ‘Baby Reindeer’—these are not just things found in RFK’s freezer. These are TV shows nominated tonight.”

The hosting job was turned down by many, Glaser told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. “It’s so terrifying,” she said.

Last year’s host, Jo Koy, had his jokes met with silence and a blank stare by pop superstar Taylor Swift. “Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago!,” Koy explained shortly after opening the show. “You want a perfect monologue?”

Glaser had more time to prepare, telling the Journal that she had hunkered down in her St. Louis home with 10 writers. In the weeks up to the Globes, Glaser said she had tested jokes at comedy clubs around the country.

Glaser was also a Golden Globe nominee, thanks to her HBO special, “Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die.” She lost to Ali Wong. “I’m first-time Golden Globe loser Nikki Glaser,” she joked after Wong’s win.

Nikki Glaser attends the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 5, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole

‘Emilia Pérez’ vs. ‘The Brutalist’

The Globes, considered the unofficial kickoff to the Hollywood award season that can foreshadow the Oscars, gave most of its film accolades to “Emilia Pérez” and “The Brutalist.” But if they’re nominated for Oscars, they’ll be competing against each other, since the Oscars doesn’t have separate categories for musicals or comedies.

“Emilia Pérez” won best musical or comedy, best non-English language film, best song and best supporting actress for Saldaña. The movie’s star, Karla Sofía Gascón, who made history as the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for the lead actress Golden Globe, lost to Demi Moore.

“The light always wins over darkness,” Gascón said as she accepted the best musical award for the movie. “You can put us in jail, you can beat us up, but you can never take away our soul.”

‘The Brutalist,” the best drama film winner, won three awards, including one to star Adrien Brody, his first Golden Globe win.

Demi Moore earned her first acting award

Demi Moore dropped her own fact during her acceptance speech: “This is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor.”

Moore won the best actress award in a motion picture musical or comedy for “The Substance,” about an aging celebrity who takes an experimental drug to create a younger version of herself.

Her last Golden Globe nominations were in 1997, for her work in the miniseries “If These Walls Could Talk.” In 1991, she was nominated for best actress in a comedy or musical for “Ghost.”

“Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress, and at that time I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have,” Moore said as she held up her award.

Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza and Ron Dyens pose with the award for Best Motion Picture – Animated for “Flow” at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Television awards went to veteran performers

Comedy TV acting winners were mostly a repeat. Smart won her second award for “Hacks,” and White, who didn’t show up to the ceremony, won his third consecutive Globe for playing a chef in “The Bear.”

Jodie Foster won best actress in a limited series for “True Detective: Night Country,” her fifth Golden Globe. “No, no, not again,” Sofía Vergara, who was nominated against Foster for her role as a drug trafficker in “Griselda,” could be heard shouting as Foster accepted her award. “Give me one.”

Newcomers on the drama side did get some shine. “Shōgun” won best drama TV series. The show’s stars Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada both won lead TV actor awards. Tadanobu Asano won for best supporting actor.

“Baby Reindeer,” the Netflix show about a comedian and his stalker, won a best television limited series award. Jessica Gunning, who played the stalker, won best supporting actress.

Jean Smart poses with the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy, for “Hacks” at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

The ceremony aimed for TV viewers with a new look

The Globes looked like an episode of VH1’s “Pop-Up Video,” the 1990s show where facts popped on screen as music videos played. When nominees were announced during the Globes, an arrow pointed to where the actors were sitting in the room. As winners walked to the stage, facts flashed on screen.

“Smart has never had a day job aside from acting,” it said as Smart collected her best comedy actress award for playing an aging comedian in “Hacks.” Smart met her husband on the set of “Designing Women,” according to another fact flash. “Demi Moore was born in Roswell, New Mexico, a town famously associated with alien conspiracy theories,” it said as Moore got out of her chair.

Jodie Foster poses with the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for True Detective: Night Country at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Other changes: presenters were really close to the camera, instead of center stage, with their backs to some of the audience. “This whole angled camera thing is very weird,” said actor Seth Rogen as he presented the award for best female actor in a limited series. “It’s inelegant, it’s strange. This whole half of the room can see my bald spot.”

Here is a complete list of winners:

Best Motion Picture—Drama

  • WINNER: “The Brutalist”
  • “Conclave” (Nominee)
  • “Dune: Part Two” (Nominee)
  • “A Complete Unknown” (Nominee)
  • “Nickel Boys” (Nominee)
  • “September 5” (Nominee)

Best Motion Picture—Musical Or Comedy

  • WINNER: “Emilia Pérez” 
  • “Anora” (Nominee)
  • “A Real Pain”(Nominee)
  • “Wicked” (Nominee)
  • “Challengers” (Nominee)
  • “The Substance” (Nominee)

Best Actress—Motion Picture Drama

  • WINNER: Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here” 
  • Angelina Jolie, “Maria” (Nominee)
  • Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl” (Nominee)
  • Tilda Swinton, “The Room Next Door” (Nominee)
  • Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl” (Nominee)
  • Kate Winslet, “Lee” (Nominee)

Best Actor—Motion Picture Drama

  • WINNER: Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
  • Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave” (Nominee)
  • Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing” (Nominee)
  • Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown” (Nominee)
  • Daniel Craig, “Queer” (Nominee)
  • Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice” (Nominee)

Best Actress—Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

  • WINNER: Demi Moore, “The Substance”
  • Mikey Madison, “Anora” (Nominee)
  • Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez” (Nominee)
  • Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked” (Nominee)
  • Zendaya, “Challengers” (Nominee)
  • Amy Adams, “Nightbitch” (Nominee)

Best Actor—Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

  • WINNER: Sebastian Stan, “A Different Man”
  • Jesse Plemons, “Kinds of Kindness” (Nominee)
  • Glen Powell, “Hit Man” (Nominee)
  • Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain” (Nominee)
  • Gabriel LaBelle, “Saturday Night” (Nominee)
  • Hugh Grant, “Heretic” (Nominee)

Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture

  • WINNER: Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
  • Ariana Grande, “Wicked” (Nominee)
  • Selena Gomez, “Emilia Pérez” (Nominee)
  • Margaret Qualley, “The Substance” (Nominee)
  • Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave” (Nominee)
  • Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist” (Nominee)

Best Supporting Actor—Motion Picture

  • WINNER: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
  • Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II” (Nominee)
  • Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist” (Nominee)
  • Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice” (Nominee)
  • Yura Borisov, “Anora” (Nominee)
  • Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown” (Nominee)

Best Director—Motion Picture

  • WINNER: Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
  • Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez” (Nominee)
  • Sean Baker, “Anora” (Nominee)
  • Edward Berger, “Conclave” (Nominee)
  • Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” (Nominee)
  • Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine as Light” (Nominee)

Best Screenplay—Motion Picture

  • WINNER: “Conclave,” Peter Straughan
  • “Anora,” Sean Baker
  • “The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
  • “Emilia Pérez,” Jacques Audiard
  • “A Real Pain,” Jesse Eisenberg
  • “The Substance,” Coralie Fargeat

Best Television Series—Drama

  • WINNER: “Shōgun”
  • “Squid Game” (Nominee)
  • “The Diplomat” (Nominee)
  • “Slow Horses” (Nominee)
  • “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (Nominee)
  • “The Day of the Jackal” (Nominee)

Best Television Series—Musical Or Comedy

  • WINNER: “Hacks”
  • “Abbott Elementary” (Nominee)
  • “Only Murders in the Building” (Nominee)
  • “Nobody Wants This” (Nominee)
  • “The Bear” (Nominee)
  • “The Gentlemen” (Nominee)

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television

  • WINNER: “Baby Reindeer”
  • “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” (Nominee)
  • “Disclaimer”(Nominee)
  • “The Penguin” (Nominee)
  • “True Detective: Night Country” (Nominee)
  • “Ripley” (Nominee)

Best Actress in a Television Series—Drama

  • WINNER: Anna Sawai, “Shōgun”
  • Keri Russell, “The Diplomat” (Nominee)
  • Kathy Bates, “Matlock” (Nominee)
  • Keira Knightley, “Black Doves” (Nominee)
  • Maya Erskine, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (Nominee)
  • Emma D’Arcy, “House of the Dragon” (Nominee)

Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, Or A Motion Picture Made For Television

  • WINNER: Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”
  • Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer” (Nominee)
  • Andrew Scott, “Ripley” (Nominee)
  • Kevin Kline, “Disclaimer” (Nominee)
  • Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” (Nominee)
  • Ewan McGregor, “A Gentleman in Moscow” (Nominee)

Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

  • WINNER: Jodie Foster, “True Detective: Night Country”
  • Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer” (Nominee)
  • Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin” (Nominee)
  • Sofia Vergara, “Griselda” (Nominee)
  • Naomi Watts, “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” (Nominee)
  • Kate Winslet, “The Regime” (Nominee)

Best Actress in a Television Series—Musical Or Comedy

  • WINNER: Jean Smart, “Hacks”
  • Kathryn Hahn, “Agatha All Along” (Nominee)
  • Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary” (Nominee)
  • Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building” (Nominee)
  • Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear” (Nominee)
  • Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This” (Nominee)

Best Actor in a Television Series—Musical Or Comedy

  • WINNER: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
  • Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building” (Nominee)
  • Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” (Nominee)
  • Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside” (Nominee)
  • Jason Segel, “Shrinking” (Nominee)
  • Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This” (Nominee)

Best Supporting Actress, Television

  • WINNER: Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”
  • Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear” (Nominee)
  • Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” (Nominee)
  • Kali Reis, “True Detective: Night Country” (Nominee)
  • Dakota Fanning,” Ripley” (Nominee)
  • Allison Janney, “The Diplomat” (Nominee)

Best Supporting Actor—Television

  • WINNER: Tadanobu Asano, “Shōgun”
  • Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” (Nominee)
  • Harrison Ford, “Shrinking” (Nominee)
  • Jack Lowden, “Slow Horses” (Nominee)
  • Diego Luna, “La Máquina” (Nominee)
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear” (Nominee)

Best Actor in a Television Series—Drama

  • WINNER: Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shōgun”
  • Donald Glover, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (Nominee)
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent” (Nominee)
  • Gary Olman, “Slow Horses” (Nominee)
  • Eddie Redmayne, “The Day of the Jackal” (Nominee)
  • Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman” (Nominee)

Best Score

  • WINNER: “Challengers,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
  • “The Brutalist,” Daniel Blumberg (Nominee)
  • “Emilia Pérez,” Clément Ducol, Camille (Nominee)
  • “Conclave,” Volker Bertelmann (Nominee)
  • “Dune: Part Two,” Hans Zimmer (Nominee)
  • “The Wild Robot,” Kris Bowers (Nominee)

Best Original Song—Motion Picture

  • WINNER: “El Mal,” “Emilia Pérez”
  • “Beautiful That Way,” “The Last Showgirl” (Nominee)
  • “Compress / Repress,” “Challengers” (Nominee)
  • “Forbidden Road,” “Better Man” (Nominee)
  • “Kiss The Sky,” “The Wild Robot” (Nominee)
  • “Mi Camino,” “Emilia Pérez” (Nominee)

Best Animated Motion Picture

  • WINNER: “Flow”
  • “Inside Out 2” (Nominee)
  • “Memoir of a Snail” (Nominee)
  • “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Nominee)
  • “Moana 2” (Nominee)
  • “The Wild Robot” (Nominee)

Cinematic Box Office Achievement

  • WINNER: “Wicked”
  • “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Nominee)
  • “Inside Out 2” (Nominee)
  • “Gladiator II” (Nominee)
  • “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Nominee)
  • “The Wild Robot” (Nominee)
  • “Alien: Romulus” (Nominee)
  • “Twisters” (Nominee)

Best Motion Picture—Non-English Language

  • WINNER: “Emilia Pérez”
  • “All We Imagine as Light” (Nominee)
  • “The Girl With The Needle” (Nominee)
  • “I’m Still Here” (Nominee)
  • “The Seed Of The Sacred Fig” (Nominee)
  • “Vermiglio” (Nominee)

Best Standup Comedy Performance

  • WINNER: Ali Wong, “Single Lady”
  • Jamie Foxx, “What Had Happened Was” (Nominee)
  • Adam Sandler, “Love You” (Nominee)
  • Nikki Glaser, “Someday You’ll Die” (Nominee)
  • Seth Meyers, “Dad Man Walking” (Nominee)
  • Ramy Youssef, “More Feelings” (Nominee)

Write to Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com

Write to Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com