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The films 鈥淏irdman鈥� and 鈥淏oyhood鈥� continued to stay at the head of the pack as Oscar contenders with the announcement of Golden Globe today, while movies like 鈥淪elma鈥� got a bit of a boost.

While typically a preview of what films might make the cut when Oscar nominations are announced, the Golden Globes do make things tricky. In some categories, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (which awards the Globes) divides films into 鈥渄rama鈥� and 鈥渕usical or comedy.鈥� So that means while some movies they nominated, like Best Motion Picture 鈥� Drama nominee 鈥淏oyhood,鈥� will most likely earn a nod when Oscar Best Picture nominees are announced, others, like Best Motion Picture 鈥� Musical or Comedy nominee 鈥淧ride,鈥� most likely will not.聽

In any case, 鈥淏irdman,鈥� 鈥淏oyhood,鈥� and 鈥淭he Theory of Everything鈥� all continue to seem likely contenders for a Best Picture nomination. 鈥淏oyhood鈥� and 鈥淭heory鈥� were both nominated for Best Motion Picture 鈥� Drama, while 鈥淏irdman鈥� is a Best Motion Picture 鈥� Musical or Comedy contender. 鈥淭he Imitation Game,鈥� which received a Best Motion Picture 鈥� Drama nod, is also doing well for itself recently. 鈥淚mitation鈥� also received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the Screen Actors Guild Awards equivalent of Best Picture, when the SAG Awards nominees were announced yesterday. 鈥淚mitation鈥� actor Benedict Cumberbatch has long been considered a likely contender for a Oscar Best Actor nomination, but some critics were less won over by the film itself, with Monitor film critic Peter Rainer, for one, giving the film a B and writing of Cumberbatch, 鈥淗is performance鈥� is a great deal more interesting than the movie.鈥�

Meanwhile, 鈥淔oxcatcher鈥� also earned a nod for Best Motion Picture 鈥� Drama and 鈥淭he Grand Budapest Hotel鈥� made the cut for Best Motion Picture 鈥� Musical or Comedy. "Hotel" in particular may not be a sure thing for a Best Picture Oscar nomination, but this definitely boosts its profile. 鈥淪elma鈥� missed out on the recent SAG Award nominations altogether, so the fact that it earned a Best Motion Picture 鈥� Drama nod may mean it鈥檚 again a likely contender for an Oscar Best Picture nomination.聽

The movie 鈥淚nto the Woods鈥� was long considered a likely film to make the cut for Best Motion Picture 鈥� Musical or Comedy and it did earn a nomination. Time will tell whether it makes the cut for an Oscar Best Picture nod as well. The movies 鈥淧ride鈥� and 鈥淪t. Vincent鈥� both earned a Best Motion Picture 鈥� Musical or Comedy nomination but neither has been considered likely for an Oscar Best Picture nomination.

The Best Actor in a Motion Picture 鈥� Drama category included some of the actors long considered locks for an Oscar Best Actor nod: 鈥淔oxcatcher鈥� actor Steve Carell, Cumberbatch, and 鈥淭heory鈥� actor Eddie Redmayne. Jake Gyllenhaal of 鈥淣ightcrawler,鈥� who also received a SAG Award nomination yesterday, also made the cut here, as did 鈥淪elma鈥� actor David Oyelowo. It鈥檚 been considered likely that the Oscar Best Actor nominees will consist of Carell, Cumberbatch, Redmayne, and 鈥淏irdman鈥� actor Michael Keaton, who earned a Best Actor in a Motion Picture 鈥� Musical or Comedy nod because 鈥淏irdman鈥� was considered a comedy. Maybe Oyelowo will fill that fifth slot.聽

Jennifer Aniston鈥檚 chances of a Best Actress Oscar nomination were boosted yesterday with a SAG Award nomination and she appears here, too, with a Best Actress in a Motion Picture 鈥� Drama nomination for the film "Cake." The others are the actresses long considered likely for a Best Actress Oscar nomination: 鈥淲ild鈥� actress Reese Witherspoon, Rosamund Pike of 鈥淕one Girl,鈥� 鈥淭heory鈥� actress Felicity Jones, and Julianne Moore of 鈥淪till Alice.鈥� Amy Adams of 鈥淏ig Eyes,鈥� who earned a Best Actress in a Motion Picture 鈥� Musical or Comedy nod, could slip in at the Oscars instead of Aniston, however.

The supporting acting categories are easier because the Globes don鈥檛 separate them by 鈥渄rama鈥� and 鈥渕usical or comedy.鈥� In the Supporting Actor category, 鈥淭he Judge鈥� actor Robert Duvall again made the cut as he did yesterday in the SAG Award nominations (this category鈥檚 contenders are identical to the SAG Award Best Supporting Actor nominees). He came out of nowhere in this category for some. Meanwhile, actors long considered strong contenders 鈥� "Foxcatcher鈥� actor Mark Ruffalo, 鈥淏irdman鈥� actor Edward Norton, and 鈥淏oyhood鈥� actor Ethan Hawke 鈥� all earned nods. Frontrunner J.K. Simmons of 鈥淲hiplash鈥� of course made the cut as well.

The Best Supporting Actress category was very similar to yesterday鈥檚 SAG Award nominees, with 鈥淚mitation鈥� actress Keira Knightley, 鈥淏oyhood鈥� actress Patricia Arquette, Meryl Streep of 鈥淚nto the Woods,鈥� and 鈥淏irdman鈥� actress Emma Stone all earning nods. For the SAG Awards, 鈥淪t. Vincent鈥� actress Naomi Watts made the cut for this category, but 鈥淎 Most Violent Year鈥� actress Jessica Chastain earned the nomination this time. Is 鈥淰iolent鈥� catching the attention of awards season voters?聽

As for the Best Director prize, "Birdman" director聽Alejandro Gonz谩lez I帽谩rritu and Richard Linklater of "Boyhood" received nods 鈥� no surprise 鈥� and David Fincher of "Gone Girl" (which did not earn a Best Motion Picture 鈥� Drama nod) and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" director David Fincher also received nominations. "Selma" director Ava DuVernay received a nomination as well, another sign of support for the film.聽

The Golden Globes will air on Jan. 11.