Oscar Predictions 2016: Biggest Winners And Losers From The Golden Globes

Well, the Golden Globes were fun, but the awards season keeps rolling on. Now Hollywood is setting its sights down the road at the Academy Awards presentation Feb. 28 — those are the ones that actually matter, right? However, after the Globes were handed out Sunday, some actors and filmmakers are better positioned than others to walk away with the coveted Oscar statuettes.

Here’s a list of who gained momentum and who lost it at the Golden Globes Awards show:

Winners

Leonardo DiCaprio: It appears everyone wants DiCaprio to go home with an Oscar this year, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was no exception. The organization awarded the actor his third best actor Golden Globe Sunday (he previously won it for “The Aviator” and “The Wolf of Wall Street”), securing his position as the favorite to win his first (and long-overdue) Academy Award for “The Revenant.” It does not hurt that the film also won for best picture and best director at the Globes, ensuring the survival epic also will be a major player in the Oscars race.

Matt Damon: A lot of people took issue with the fact that Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” competed in the comedy and musical categories of of the Golden Globes competition. As a result, the movie won best picture-musical or comedy and its star won best actor in a musical or comedy. While his performance was impressive, Damon would likely not have had a realistic shot at winning in the drama-category equivalent this year against DiCaprio and other heavyweights such as Eddie Redmayne (“The Danish Girl”) and Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”). In terms of awards-season politics, however, the win at least lands Damon in the conversation for the Oscar, even though that may be a bit unwarranted.

“Steve Jobs”: Critics blamed Steve Jobs fatigue — another scripted film, “Jobs,” came out in 2013, and Alex Gibney's documentary was released in 2015 — for this Danny Boyle biopic’s poor reception at the box office. The lackluster reactions by audiences took a lot of wind out of the movie’s sails. However, with Kate Winslet upsetting Helen Mirren (“Trumbo”) to win best supporting actress and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin edging out Quentin Tarantino (“The Hateful Eight”) for best screenplay, “Steve Jobs” is again an Oscar contender.

Losers

“Spotlight”: The film was believed the be the front-runner in a relatively wide-open best picture race. After failing to pick up a single award at the Golden Globes, this may no longer be the case. Is the movie suffering as a result of its dark, uncomfortable subject matter?

“Carol”: The film came into the Golden Globes Sunday with more nominations than any other movie, but walked away empty-handed. That is a serious blow to its Oscar chances, especially those of leads Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, who were each nominated for best actress in a drama, but lost out to Brie Larson for “Room.”

Paul Dano: Dano was believed to be a lock for the best supporting actor Oscar as soon as fans and critics saw his performance as Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson in “Love & Mercy.” However, the comparable award at the Golden Globes went to Sylvester Stallone for the actor’s comeback performance as the iconic Rocky Balboa in “Creed.” The Oscars love a good story, and Stallone, who enjoyed a standing ovation by the crowd at the Golden Globes show (many of whom vote on the Academy Awards), may have the momentum to steal the award from under Dano’s nose.