Hamilton snags 2 Golden Globe nominations — but it's not eligible at the Oscars

Golden Globes voters didn't throw away their shot to recognize Hamilton. But don't expect the Oscars to follow suit.

Hamilton, Disney's filmed performance of the wildly-popular musical, on Wednesday was nominated for two Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Lin-Manuel Miranda was also nominated in the best actor in a musical or comedy film category.

Ever since Disney's Hamilton debuted last year, pundits had their eyes on whether awards shows like the Golden Globes and the Oscars would nominate it. After all, can it actually be considered a movie? On the one hand, it does stitch together multiple live performances of Hamilton and take viewers on stage to create something of a cinematic experience. But on the other hand, it is still effectively just a recording of a stage show — one that already swept the Tony Awards years ago.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

While Hamilton did make it into the Golden Globes' film categories and will be competing against movies like Palm Springs and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, The Hollywood Reporter previously reported it has been deemed ineligible at this year's Oscars. The Academy's Awards Rules Committee, in fact, reportedly held a meeting to discuss Hamilton and decided to disqualify it, even though "there is no rule on the Academy's books that would technically preclude" it from competing, the Reporter writes.

In addition to the Golden Globes, Hamilton is eligible at the Screen Actors Guild Awards — but in that case, according to the Reporter, it's actually being treated as a TV movie. The SAG Awards have yet to be announced, but were Hamilton to pick up nods, it would be in the separate categories for television movies and miniseries.

Now that it's been welcomed into the Golden Globes, some experts think Hamilton could go all the way to the top with a Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy win. But that may have to be enough for fans to be satisfied. It seems the Academy's world just wasn't wide enough for Hamilton.