The Oscars have a history of deserting Denis Villeneuve for directing the Dune franchise, but the Golden Globes could be his ultimate oasis.
Gold Derby’s four leading Best Director predictions for the 2027 Golden Globes mirror the 2027 Oscars: Christopher Nolan (The Odyssey), Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (La Bola Negra), Martin McDonagh (Wild Horse Nine), and Olivia Wilde (The Invite).
But that fifth slot is where things get interesting.
Best Film Director
1.
Christopher Nolan
The Odyssey
2.
Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
La Bola Negra
3.
Martin McDonagh
Wild Horse Nine
4.
5.
Denis Villeneuve
Dune: Part Three
6.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi
All of a Sudden
Villeneuve (Dune: Part Three) is in fifth place at the Golden Globes with a 74% chance of nabbing one of the six bids. Ryusuke Hamaguchi (All of a Sudden) rounding out that projected lineup at 52%.
Best Director
1.
Christopher Nolan
The Odyssey
2.
Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
La Bola Negra
3.
Martin McDonagh
Wild Horse Nine
4.
5.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim
You Can See Everything
6.
Denis Villeneuve
Dune: Part Three
Over at the Oscars, where there are only five nominees, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim (You Can See Everything) recently climbed into the No. 5 position with a 62% shot of being nominated, bypassing Villeneuve. The duo would make Oscar history as the first nominees for directing a documentary.
Fielder and Oppenheim are not eligible at the Golden Globes, which have strict rules when it comes to the doc genre. The only category in which documentaries are eligible is Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award, assuming they meet the box-office threshold of $150 million worldwide — of which $100 million must come from the United States. You Can See Everything has amassed $79 million worldwide after four weeks in theaters.
Villeneuve was snubbed at the Oscars for directing the first two Dune movies (2021 and 2024), but he did get in at the Golden Globes for Dune: Part One — back when there were only five directing nominees. That was just one of the many differences between the Oscars and Globes in the Best Director race.
Going back 10 years, only 34 of the 53 Golden Globe-nominated directors went on to receive Oscar nominations, or roughly 64%. Here are the remaining 19 Globe nominees that were snubbed at the Oscars:
- 2025: Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident) and Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein)
- 2024: Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine as Light) and Edward Berger (Conclave)
- 2023: Greta Gerwig (Barbie), Bradley Cooper (Maestro), and Celine Song (Past Lives)
- 2022: James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water) and Baz Luhrmann (Elvis)
- 2021: Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter)
- 2020: Regina King (One Night in Miami) and Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
- 2019: No differences
- 2018: Peter Farrelly (Green Book) and Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
- 2017: Ridley Scott (All the Money in the World), Steven Spielberg (The Post), and Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
- 2016: Tom Ford (Nocturnal Animals)
The Golden Globes expanded the Best Director lineup from five to six in 2023, but that only accounts for three of these 19 discrepancies. 2019 is the only time in the past decade where the Oscars matched the Globes slot for slot.
In many cases, the Golden Globes opted for well-known contenders who were responsible for big-budget movies, such as Barbie‘s Gerwig, Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, and Cooper’s A Star Is Born. That pattern can definitely help boost Villeneuve this year, as Dune: Part Three is expected to be a crowd pleaser. The final film in the trilogy opens Dec. 18.
The Oscars, however, tend to be more niche and less conventional with their Best Director choices, as evidenced by helmers like Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness), and Paweł Pawlikowski (Cold War) ultimately replacing the three aforementioned Globe nominees.
Find out who makes the cut when the nominations for the Globes are announced on Dec. 7 and the Oscars on Jan. 21.
Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge and Penske Media Corporation, which owns Gold Derby.
