With many people still coming to terms with some of the surprise nominees from yesterday’s Screen Actor’s Guild Award announcement, the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) have weighed in their contenders for early next year.

The romantic drama Carol leads the way with five nominations including Best Film (Drama) and Best Director (Todd Haynes). Main stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are both nodded in Lead Actress (Drama) with the film also mentioned in Original Score. However it did fail to land a Best Screenplay nomination.

The film faces stern competition in the Drama category from the western thriller The Revenant as well as the media-based drama Spotlight, the indie flick Room and more surprisingly, the action blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road.

Todd Haynes is battling it out in Best Director with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Ridley Scott (The Martian).

Leonardo DiCaprio will be targeting his third Golden Globe win for his performance in The Revenant as he looks to finally end his Oscar voodoo . He is nodded in Best Actor (Drama) along with Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) and Will Smith (Concussion). However there was no sign of Johnny Depp despite his SAG nod for Black Mass yesterday.

In Best Actress (Drama), Blanchett and Mara are both up against a trio of young startlets in Brie Larson (Room), Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl). The latter actress also received a surprise mention in Supporting Actress for her role in the sci-fi drama Ex Machina.

Her competition in that category includes British actresses Helen Mirren (Trumbo) and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) plus veteran Jane Fonda (Youth) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight).

Having both been nominated for their television work this year, British duo Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) are shortlisted in Best Supporting Actor along with Paul Dano (Love & Mercy), Michael Shannon (99 Homes) and veteran Sylvester Stallone (Creed).

The Comedy/Musical categories see the financial-crisis flick The Big Short up for four awards which include two Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) nods for Christian Bale and Steve Carell. The film is up against Ridley Scott’s sci-fi blockbuster The Martian as well as David O. Russell’s Joy and smash hit comedies Spy and Trainwreck.

Bale and Carrell are competing in their category with Matt Damon (The Martian) as well as veteran Al Pacino (Danny Collins) and surprise nominee Mark Ruffalo (Infinity Polar Bear).

The Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) lineup sees Hollywood favourite Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) go head-to-head with comedian actresses Melissa McCarthy (Spy) and Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) plus veterans Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van) and Lily Tomlin (Grandma).

Blockbusters like 50 Shades of Grey (“Love Me Like You Do”), Furious 7 (“See You Again”) and Spectre (Writing’s on the Wall) are shortlisted in the Best Original Song category which also includes Brian Wilson’s “One Kind of Love” from Love & Mercy.

Pixar’s Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur are nominated in Best Animated Film along with Anomalisa, The Peanuts Movie and Shaun the Sheep Movie.

The full list of nominees are below (with my predictions in blue):

BEST MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
CAROL
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
ROOM
SPOTLIGHT

BEST MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
THE BIG SHORT
JOY
THE MARTIAN
SPY
TRAINWRECK

BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes, CAROL
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, THE REVENANT
Tom McCarthy, SPOTLIGHT
George Miller, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN

BEST ACTOR (DRAMA)
Bryan Cranston, TRUMBO
Leonardo DiCaprio, THE REVENANT
Michael Fassbender, STEVE JOBS
Eddie Redmayne, THE DANISH GIRL
Will Smith, CONCUSSION

BEST ACTOR (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Christian Bale, THE BIG SHORT
Steve Carell, THE BIG SHORT
Matt Damon, THE MARTIAN
Al Pacino, DANNY COLLINS
Mark Ruffalo, INFINITY POLAR BEAR

BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Cate Blanchett, CAROL
Brie Larson, ROOM
Rooney Mara, CAROL
Saoirse Ronan, BROOKLYN
Alicia Vikander, THE DANISH GIRL

BEST ACTRESS (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Jennifer Lawrence, JOY
Melissa McCarthy, SPY
Amy Schumer, TRAINWRECK
Maggie Smith, THE LADY IN THE VAN
Lily Tomlin, GRANDMA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Dano, LOVE & MERCY
Idris Elba, BEASTS OF NO NATION
Mark Rylance, BRIDGE OF SPIES
Michael Shannon, 99 HOMES
Sylvester Stallone, CREED

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jane Fonda, YOUTH
Jennifer Jason Leigh, THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Helen Mirren, TRUMBO
Alicia Vikander, EX MACHINA
Kate Winslet, STEVE JOBS

BEST SCREENPLAY
Emma Donoghue, ROOM
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, SPOTLIGHT
Adam McKay & Charles Randolph, THE BIG SHORT
Aaron Sorkin, STEVE JOBS
Quentin Tarantino, THE HATEFUL EIGHT

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Carter Burwell, CAROL
Alexandre Desplat, THE DANISH GIRL
Ennio Morricone, THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto, THE REVENANT
Daniel Pemberton, STEVE JOBS

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, “Love Me Like You Do”
FURIOUS 7, “See You Again”
LOVE & MERCY, “One Kind of Love”
SPECTRE, “Writing’s on the Wall”
YOUTH, “Simple Song #3”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
ANOMALISA
THE GOOD DINOSAUR
INSIDE OUT
THE PEANUTS MOVIE
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT (France)
THE CLUB (Chile)
THE FENCER (Finland)
MUSTANG (France)
SON OF SAUL (Hungary)

The 2016 Golden Globes awards will take place on January 10th 2016 in Los Angeles with British comedian Ricky Gervais hosting for the fourth time.