Golden Globes: What do the winners mean for the Oscars?

There’s nothing like an underdog to shake up the Oscar race. (And that sometimes makes it a lot more fun to watch, too.)

After months of pundits predicting that the Best Picture race would be a showdown between “Lincoln,” director Steven Spielberg’s study of the sixteenth president fighting to free the slaves, and “Zero Dark Thirty,” Kathryn Bigelow’s story of how the US government found Osama bin Laden, Ben Affleck’s movie “Argo” took home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Many had predicted the film about a fake movie crew rescuing Americans from Iran in 1979 was losing its award-season mojo after Affleck wasn’t nominated for Best Director for the Oscars.

The Best Motion Picture – Drama prize can be a harbinger of what movie will win Best Picture at the Oscars as well, though sometimes the fact that the Globes divides the prize into Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy has hampered those predictions. (“The Artist,” last year’s Best Picture winner, was declared a Musical or Comedy by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and so won that prize, not Drama.) And, of course, sometimes they don’t match up at all. The winners for Best Drama at the Golden Globes in 2007, 2009, and 2010 were all different from the eventual Best Picture winner.

Another interesting development? Anne Hathaway took home the Best Supporting Actress prize over Helen Hunt for “The Sessions” and Sally Field for “Lincoln,” the two other nominees who are predicted to be her biggest rivals for the Oscar.

While “Les Miserables” snagged the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award, its chances are probably waning in the Best Picture category, and the fact that the Globes award two motion picture prizes means that one inevitably is not the winner for Best Picture.

To no one’s surprise, Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor – Drama from the Press, meaning that there’s probably little to no chance of an upset for the Best Actor category at the Oscars. Jessica Chastain winning Best Actress – Drama for “Zero Dark Thirty” and Jennifer Lawrence taking the Best Actress – Musical or Comedy award for "Silver Linings Playbook" means that it will probably be a showdown between the two of them for Best Actress on Oscar night.

Tarantino favorite Christoph Waltz winning the Best Supporting Actor prize for "Django Unchained" also gives him the edge in that category going into Oscar night over rival Tommy Lee Jones for “Lincoln,” who is thought to have a good chance of winning the prize from the Academy.