Bohemian Rhapsody scores a stunning upset over A Star Is Born at the Golden Globes

Bohemian Rhapsody
(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Is this the real life? Bohemian Rhapsody took home the award for Best Motion Picture — Drama at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, in one of the most stunning upsets in the show's recent history.

A Star Is Born was the overwhelming favorite going into the night to the point that 27 out of 27 experts polled had predicted it would win on the awards website GoldDerby. And if the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper musical somehow didn't win, the award was expected to go to either BlacKkKlansman or possibly Black Panther.

Instead, the top prize went to Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen movie that earned mixed to negative reactions among critics and a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 62 percent. There had been some buzz going into the show that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that votes on the Golden Globes, may have been far more receptive to Bohemian Rhapsody than critics, but few thought that could propel it to a win.

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This came after A Star Is Born's Lady Gaga, in another surprising upset, lost in the Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama category, although far fewer viewers objected to Glenn Close's win than to Bohemian Rhapsody's.

The good news for A Star Is Born is that the category of Best Motion Picture — Drama isn't always indicative of the Oscar's Best Picture winner; in fact, since 2000, the two awards have only lined up 7 out of 18 times. Still, Bohemian Rhapsody has some unexpected momentum coming out of the show, which, conveniently, takes place right before the Oscar nominating period begins.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.