UPDATE: Check out the full list of 2018 Golden Globes Winners!

Join us as we attempt to accurately predict which movies will - and discuss which movies should - take home Golden Globes in 2018. The ongoing movie awards race is as open right now as it is varied in its contestants. Among those films that have a real shot at taking home the biggest prizes of the season (culminating with Oscar night in March) are Guillermo del Toro's monster fairy tale romance The Shape of Water, Greta Gerwig's semi-autobiographical coming of age film Lady Bird, and Jordan Peele's liberal racism horror/thriller Get Out. At the same time, the latest historical dramas by decorated veterans Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott shouldn't be counted out either, especially when it comes to the Golden Globes.

Given the lack of a clear frontrunner in either the drama or musical/comedy categories heading into the 75th annual Golden Globes, it's all the more difficult to guess which movies, actors, and creatives will be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 2018. The HFPA also has a habit of nominating films anchored by big name stars that haven't otherwise gained much awards season traction (see this year's The Greatest Showman for example). This is yet another factor that makes it difficult to accurately predict which movies will go home with golden trophies on Golden Globes night - but there's no harm in trying, right?

Related: Golden Globes 2018 TV Predictions - Who Will & Should Win

As has become our tradition here at Screen Rant, we are going to take a shot at predicting which films will take home awards during the 2018 Golden Globes ceremony. At the same time, we will break down which movies, actors, and creatives should be recognized for their efforts by the HFPA, and touch on some of the ceremony's potential "upsets".

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Oliver and Elio in the garden in Call Me By Your Name

Nominees: Call Me By Your Name; Dunkirk; The Post; The Shape of Water; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Predicted Winner: Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name has both the European artistic sensibility and the credentials (directed by Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, written by the legend James Ivory) to appeal to the HFPA at large. It's also a terrific coming of age story and queer romance that's deserving of all the praise and adoration it's accumulated. A Golden Globe victory would be well earned.

Should Win: The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water has more in common with Call Me By Your Name than might seem obvious at a passing glance; both are LGBTQI-friendly celebrations of love and art at their core, surface differences aside. Shape of Water might actually have better luck at the Oscars, given how much of a love letter it is to old Hollywood - and the Academy frequently favors those.

Potential Upset: The Post

The Post is as politically relevant (if not more so) than most any other movie this awards season, and major organizations like the National Board of Review have already recognized Steven Spielberg's ode to the importance of journalism as being the best film of 2017. The HFPA may yet follow suit and favor Spielberg's tale of crusading news reporters over the competition.

Should've Been a Contender: Logan

Deadpool managed to land two Golden Globe nominations a year ago, but 2017's own critically acclaimed X-Men film Logan wasn't so lucky. James Mangold's soulful examination of the end of a violent man's life (a man who, yes, has adamantium claws) was deserving of a nod, if nothing else. The HFPA could've even classified Logan as a "comedy", if they felt the need.

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Nominees: The Disaster Artist; Get Out; The Greatest Showman; I, Tonya; Lady Bird

Predicted Winner: Lady Bird

Greta Gerwig truly found her voice as an artist on Lady Bird (her solo directorial debut), delivering a coming of age flick to remember in the process. Lady Bird is a partly autobiographical, introspective, and very funny examination of adolescence, making it The 400 Blows for a new generation. It's not at all difficult to envision the film winning in this category, for related reasons.

Should Win: Get Out

As terrific as Lady Bird is, Get Out has arguably had the bigger impact on the pop culture landscape. Jordan Peele's directorial debut has tapped into the zeitgeist in ways that few other genre movies (horror films especially) have managed to do of late, and a victory here would reflect that. Call it what you like (a "comedy", a social thriller), Get Out is a landmark achievement.

Potential Upset: The Disaster Artist

James Franco's The Disaster Artist has been a dark horse contender since it entered the awards season race, so a victory here would come as a surprise. Franco's efforts to lend some humanity to the mysterious figure responsible for the bizarre cult film The Room is an Ed Wood-style ode to misunderstood artists that might yet win the HFPA over. What a story that would be, Mark.

Should've Been a Contender: The Big Sick

Romantic comedies are in short supply in Hollywood nowadays. That makes it all the more disappointing that The Big Sick - one of the best rom-coms in a long while - didn't make the cut in this category. Michael Showalter's semi-fictionalized, yet earnest and touching take on Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon's love story might have more luck at the Academy Awards, fortunately.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Nominees: Jessica Chastain, Molly's Game; Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water; Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Meryl Streep, The Post; Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World

Predicted Winner: Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand is deserving of all the praise she's earned for her powerhouse performance as a mother who's been through hell and is done giving a hoot about what anyone else has to say in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The Oscar-winner has (surprisingly) never won a Golden Globe for acting before, but it's easy it envision that changing this year and fittingly so.

Should Win: Sally Hawkins

Subtly is the name of the game when it comes to Sally Hawkins' great performance in The Shape of Water. Hawkins expresses much through her body language and reactions as the film's mute protagonist, in turn providing the character with a rich personality without saying a word (in the movie's real world sequences, anyway). That alone is deserving of some awards recognition.

Potential Upset: Jessica Chastain

Even in a year where Frances McDormand and Meryl Streep delivered what many consider their best performances in awhile, Jessica Chastain has a real shot at taking home the gold for Molly's Game. Chastain excels at playing the film's complicated namesake and being the standout in an Aaron Sorkin scripted drama is nothing to sneeze at. Chastain may yet snag her second Golden Globe here, for related reasons.

Should've Been a Contender: Sophia Lillis, IT

The young cast members of IT were as essential to the Stephen King adaptation's success as anything else, and arguably none more so than Sophia Lillis as the abused, yet creative Beverly. It's a breakout performance for the young star and hopefully the start of a bright career. Maybe Jessica Chastain will get a nod for playing adult Bev in IT: Chapter 2, to make up for the snub?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Darkest Hour Gary Oldman

Nominees: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name; Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread; Tom Hanks, The Post; Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour; Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Predicted Winner: Gary Oldman

No leading performance by an actor has generated quite as much buzz this awards season as Gary Oldman's take on Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. The creative team behind Joe Wright's WWII drama was responsible for transforming Oldman in to the historical icon physically, but it's Oldman's acting chops that really bring this screen rendition of the Prime Minister to life so vividly.

Should Win: Gary Oldman

You can't go wrong with any of the nominees in this category. Timothée Chalamet made a splash in Call Me By Your Name, while Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and Daniel Day-Lewis all demonstrated that they are still at the top of their acting games. Still, it's Oldman's turn in Darkest Hour that should easily land him the Golden Globe and eventually (and deservedly) the Oscar.

Potential Upset: Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis' turn as egotistical dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread isn't generating the sort of buzz that his Oscar-winning performances in films like There Will Be Blood and Lincoln did. Nevertheless, it will (supposedly) mark his final performance on the big screen, so the HFPA could decide to commemorate the occasion by giving him the Globe instead of Oldman.

Should've Been a Contender: Hugh Jackman, Logan

It certainly didn't go unnoticed when the HFPA nominated Hugh Jackman for playing P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman (more on that later) over his gut-wrenching final turn as Wolverine in Logan. There's no reason the actor couldn't have been nominated for both of his 2017 film performances either, given how different yet impactful they are in their respective ways.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Lady Bird sitting in a doorway

Nominees: Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul; Helen Mirren, The Leisure Seeker; Margot Robbie, I, Tonya; Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird; Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes

Predicted Winner: Saoirse Ronan

Lady Bird's charm and reliability owes more than a passing debt to its star Saorise Ronan, who brings the film's impetuous and temperamental (in a typical teenage sense) namesake to life with yet another great performance. Ronan has been nominated for a Golden Globe twice already (for Atonement and Brooklyn), but third time could prove to be the charm for her at this year's ceremony.

Should Win: Saoirse Ronan

Ronan's larger body of work is already as varied as it impressive, ranging from a young assassin (Hanna) to everyday teenager caught in the afterlife (The Lovely Bones). Between her latest tour de force work in Lady Bird and her greater resume, this would be as fitting as year as any for Ronan to win - especially since, unlike most of her peers, the HFPA has yet to recognize her with a Golden Globe.

Potential Upset: Margot Robbie

Margot Robbie has quickly emerged as a dramatic heavyweight over the past few years, thanks to her own varied performances in films ranging from The Wolf of Wall Street to Suicide Squad. Robbie brings real humanity and wit to the role of Tonya Harding in Craig Gillespie's Martin Scorsese style biopic I, Tonya and it's certainly possible that the HFPA will recognize her for it.

Should've Been a Contender: Aubrey Plaza, Ingrid Goes West

Matt Spicer's dark comedy Ingrid Goes West is considered by some to be one of 2017's more underrated indie films, with a terrifically committed and troubled performance by Aubrey Plaza leading the way. 2017 was a great year for Plaza in general, between Ingrid Goes West and her roles in films like The Little Hours and the TV show Legion. She deserved to be recognized with at least a nomination here.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

James Franco reenacting the Mark scene in The Disaster Artist

Nominees: Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes; Ansel Elgort, Baby Driver; James Franco, The Disaster Artist; Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman; Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Predicted Winner: James Franco

James Franco could have easily channeled Tommy Wiseau for cheap laughs in The Disaster Artist and called it a day. Instead, the actor/filmmaker made the enigmatic Wiseau feel like a real person driven by their grand ambitions, yet riddled with insecurities and flaws of character. It's a performance that goes beyond impression to offer something much more substantial, instead.

Should Win: Daniel Kaluuya

This is another case where, as terrific as the more likely winner is, the subtler performance is also deserving of recognition. Daniel Kaluuya expresses so much emotion with his eyes and facial expressions in Get Out that most of the film's poster marketing focuses on his face alone. As important as the craftsmanship is to Get Out, Kaluuya gives the film its beating heart and soul.

Potential Upset: Hugh Jackman

The Greatest Showman might be the odd man out at the Golden Globes this year, but even the film's detractors seem to agree: Jackman's performance is so lively and infectious, the musical movie almost works in spite of everything else. If the HFPA isn't willing to even nominate Jackman for Logan, maybe they will make up for the snub by giving him the top prize here instead.

Should've Been a Contender: Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick

In addition to co-writing the big screen version of his own real life romance, Kumail Nanjiani grounds The Big Sick with his own multifaceted performance in the film. Kumail's turn here is another one of those that falls on the subtle side, as he quietly makes for just about the perfect modern version of the classic male lead in a Hollywood rom-com. Maybe he will be nominated for The Big Sick 2: Love Never Gets Sick?

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Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) speaks to her mom (Laurie Metcalf) in Lady Bird.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Nominees: Mary J Blige, Mudbound; Hong Chau, Downsizing; Allison Janney, I, Tonya; Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird; Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

Predicted Winner: Laurie Metcalf

Lady Bird is a mother/daughter story and would thus only work half as well if it wasn't for Laurie Metcalf's touching performance in the film. Metcalf brings as much subtly to the role of Christine/Lady Bird's mother as she does dramatic flair, presenting a perfect match for her headstrong onscreen daughter (Saoirse Ronan). A victory here for Metcalf might be predicable, but it's also quite well-deserved.

Should Win: Laurie Metcalf

Metcalf hasn't been nominated for a Golden Globe since her days on Roseanne in the mid-1990s, so she's arguably "owed" a win here as much as anyone else. Everyone in the running for this category this year did terrific work of their own, but Metcalf cemented her status as the front-runner for Lady Bird months ago and hasn't lost any momentum since then. Keeping that in mind...

Potential Upset: Allison Janney

Allison Janney is up for a Golden Globe this year, thanks to her own scene-stealing performance as a mother (albeit, a very different one than Lady Bird's) in I, Tonya. Janney has been nominated for a Golden Globe six times now, thanks primarily to her multiple nods for The West Wing. Could this be the year that the HFPA decides to finally recognize the great character actor for her work?

Should've Been a Contender: Betty Gabriel, Get Out

Betty Gabriel is another candidate who has been by and large overlooked throughout this awards season thus far. It's quite unfortunate, seeing as she manages to deliver a performance that reveals itself to be multilayered and yet over the top when necessary in Get Out, once you know what her character's big secret is. If nothing else, Gabriel gave us one of 2017's best and most telling memes.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project

Nominees: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project; Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name; Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water; Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World; Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Predicted Winner: Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe has already racked up multiple wins for her turn in The Florida Project and may yet wind up adding a Golden Globe to his trophy collection. Dafoe hasn't been nominated for a Globe since he made Shadow of the Vampire, but he's deserving of a win for his richly humane performance as a motel manager in Sean Baker's compassionate exploration of class and privilege.

Should Win: Richard Jenkins

Richard Jenkins was, for many, The Shape of Water's unexpected MVP, thanks to his performance as a closeted artist in the 1960s set fairy tale. Jenkins has never been nominated for a Golden Globe before this year either, which is all the more shocking considering how prolific a character actor he is. If nothing else, he very much deserves to have been nominated by the HFPA at last for his work here.

Potential Upset: Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer's performance as elderly J. Paul Getty is arguably the best part of All the Money in the World, which is all the more impressive when you remember that he wasn't even in the film until about two months ago. It's possible that the HFPA will go the whole nine yards in making a statement here and actually give the Golden Globe to Plummer, in addition to nominating him to begin with.

Should've Been a Contender: Ray Romano, The Big Sick

Not to sound like a broken record, but this is yet another category where The Big Sick should have been in the running. Ray Romano brings a welcome dose of humanity and levity to his role in the film, deftly navigating scenes of awkward comedy and poignant drama in the process. It's also a refreshingly non-showy role, yet still manages to pack an emotional punch.

Best Director - Motion Picture

Christopher Nolan and Harry Styles on Dunkirk set

Nominees: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water; Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk; Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World; Steven Spielberg, The Post

Predicted Winner: Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan's WWII epic Dunkirk is quite the impressive technical achievement and may well land the filmmaker his first Golden Globe victory. Dunkirk also feels like the sort of awards contender that will win lots of trophies for its technical aspects and direction, but miss out on most of the top prizes (see films like Life of Pi and Gravity for previous examples of this).

Should Win: Guillermo del Toro

The Shape of Water perfectly illustrates not only Guillermo del Toro's rich sense of mise en scène, but also his ability to evoke strong performance from his ensemble casts. While del Toro's film is neither as grand in scale nor as noticeably performance-driven as some of its competitors, its direction is naturally a key element of its success. A win for del Toro here feels more than fitting, in those respects.

Potential Upset: Ridley Scott

It's genuinely impressive how Ridley Scott was able to seamlessly integrate a significant chunk of reshot footage into All the Money in the World, but a few weeks before releasing the film in theaters. Scott has also never won a Golden Globe for directing before, despite two of his films (Gladiator and The Martian) having taken home Best Picture Globes in the past. Could this indeed be Scott's year for a win?

Should've Been a Contender: Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird

Greta Gerwig was one of several non-white and/or non-male directors (along with names like Jordan Peele, Dee Rees, and Patty Jenkins) who arguably deserved to land a Golden Globe nomination for their work this year. The story might change at the Academy Awards this year, but Gerwig certainly deserved to be in the running for Lady Bird here too.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Martin McDonagh directing Woody Harrelson in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Nominees: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water; Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird; Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post; Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Aaron Sorkin, Molly's Game

Predicted Winner: Martin McDonagh

Martin McDonagh is both a celebrated screenwriter and playwright overseas, making it all the easier to envision the HFPA giving him the Globe for his Three Billboards screenplay. The movie's acting and screenwriting have been its most widely celebrated aspects thus far this awards season, making it all the more plausible that it will take home the gold in this particular category.

Should Win: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor

The Shape of Water script by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor masterfully weaves a history lesson into the fabric of a dark fairy tale anchored by a subversive take on the "Beauty and the Beast" love story. As much as the film deserves to be celebrated for its production design and direction, Shape of Water gets much of its heart from its screen story too.

Potential Upset: Aaron Sorkin

It's never wise to count out an Aaron Sorkin screenplay during an awards show, much less one that dramatizes the life of a real person a la Molly's Game. Sorkin has won a pair of Golden Globes in the past for writing two other biographical dramas (The Social Network and Steve Jobs), and the idea of him winning a third time isn't out of the question at all.

Should've Been a Contender: Jordan Peele, Get Out

To be fair, the Best Screenplay category is extra competitive at this year's Golden Globes. Still, Jordan Peele's Get Out script is masterful in the way that it subtly lays the foundation for its eventual Twilight Zone-style twists and manages to deliver searing social commentary without ever feeling preachy. Maybe even more than his directing, Peele's writing here deserved recognition.

Best Motion Picture - Animated

Coco Movie Miguel Family Reunion

Nominees: The Boss Baby, The Breadwinner, Coco, Ferdinand, Loving Vincent

Predicted Winner: Coco

Pixar's Coco is a beautifully animated and touching exploration of family though a cultural lens that is typically neglected by mainstream Hollywood. It's also the studio's best work since their last proper awards season contender (2015's Inside Out) and features some of the year's catchiest tunes, as well as its most heartstring-tugging songs. A victory here would be well-earned by the film.

Should Win: Coco

As indicated earlier, Coco's authentic and rich portrayal of Mexican cultures and traditions is very much deserving of the acclaim that it's accumulated to date. Mainstream animated releases like Ferdinand and The Boss Baby are visually striking in their own ways and offer their fair share of heart to boot. Still, this particular Golden Globes category feels like Pixar's to lose this year.

Potential Upset: The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner is another visually striking and humane offering from The Secret of Kells director Nora Twomey and one that could (arguably) pull off an upset and take the Golden Globe here, instead of Coco. That seems unlikely to happen, but a victory for The Breadwinner would shine a spotlight on Coco's relatively lesser-known competitor. In that respect, it would be a win-win situation.

Should've Been a Contender: The LEGO Batman Movie

Chris McKay's The LEGO Batman Movie avoids the common pitfalls of animated movie franchises spinoffs and instead deconstructs the legacy of the Batman franchise through a study of the LEGO Batman character himself. The resulting film is funny, insightful, and full to the brim with exciting superhero action sequences. Most importantly, Batman sings in the movie, which is deserving of a nomination on its own.

Other Categories

Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language

Nominees: A Fantastic Woman; First They Killed My Father; In the Fade; Loveless; The Square

Predicted Winner: The Square

Should Win: In the Fade

Ruben Östlund's The Square is an overall effective satire of a celebrated male artist (and their ego) for 2017 and the post-Harvey Weinstein era. At the same time, something similar could be said for Fatih Akin's In the Fade, a drama/thriller that features Diane Krueger in arguably a career best performance, as a complicated protagonist on the hunt for members of the Neo-Nazi scene.

Fionn Whitehead in Dunkirk

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Nominees: Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Alexander Desplat, The Shape of Water; Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread; John Williams, The Post; Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk

Predicted Winner: Hans Zimmer

Should Win: Alexandre Desplat

Hans Zimmer's pulse-pounding, clock-ticking fueled score for Dunkirk may bring the composer his first Golden Globe win since Gladiator. Still, even in the face of heavy competition from such cinematic legends as Zimmer and John Williams, Alexandre Desplat's whimsically romantic leitmotifs and themes of longing for The Shape of Water stand out as something special.

Miguel and Great Grandma Coco

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Nominees: œHome, Ferdinand; œMighty River, Mudbound; œRemember Me, Coco; œThe Star, The Star; œThis Is Me, The Greatest Showman

Predicted Winner: "Remember Me"

Should Win: "Remember Me"

Coco isn't just one of Pixar's best films in years, it's also a movie in which music plays an integral role. The Greatest Showman's tunes will get your toes tapping and "Mighty River" tugs on your heastrings, but "Remember Me" is the one song among the lot that can both get you dancing and bring tears to your eyes, depending on how it's performed.

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The 75th Annual Golden Globes ceremony will be hosted by Seth Meyers and take place at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday, January 7.