'Avatar' and 'Top Gun' sequels land Golden Globe nominations

"Avatar: The Way of Water," "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Elvis" were nominated for best drama film at the Golden Globe awards next month when the ceremony returns to television after a year off following a diversity and ethics scandal.

The Banshees of Inisherin, a nominee for best comedy or musical film, led all movies with eight nominations on Monday from members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that hands out the Globes and announces the nominations.

The "Avatar" and "Top Gun" sequels will face off against "Elvis," Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans, and Tar, the story of a manipulative conductor, for the top prize of best drama film.

Banshees, a dark comedy about a man trying to repair a friendship, will compete with Everything Everywhere All at Once, Babylon, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Triangle of Sadness.

The Globes have been known as a star-studded ceremony that kicks off Hollywood's awards season and helps propel nominees and winners in their quest for Oscars.

But the Globes where tainted after a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation probed the association's practices and revealed the organisation had no Black members. Tom Cruise returned his three Golden Globe statues in protest, and longtime broadcaster NBC dropped the 2022 telecast.

The Comcast-owned network agreed to air the Globes again in 2023 after the organisation made reforms. The ceremony will take place January 10 and will also stream on Peacock.

It is unclear if the event will attract the parade of A-list stars that it has in the past. Few nominees commented on Monday.

Best actor contenders included Austin Butler for his portrayal of rock music legend Elvis Presley, Daniel Craig for Glass Onion and Colin Farrell for "Banshees".

Cate Blanchett was nominated for best drama actress for the lead role in Tar alongside Viola Davis in The Woman King, and Ana de Armas for playing Marilyn Monroe in Blonde.

Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer said he was "overjoyed to share this nomination with Paramount, Tom and the entire cast and crew".

Paramount Global distributed "Maverick," the highest-grossing movie of 2022. A spokesperson for Cruise did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In television categories, comedy Abbott Elementary scored eight nominations, followed by royal family drama The Crown.

Searchlight Pictures, owned by Walt Disney Co, led all movie distributors with 12 nominations. In TV categories, Warner Bros Discovery's HBO Max and Netflix Inc tied with 14 nods each.