Sawt Falasteen - Golden Globes ratings edge up past 10 million

The ratings boost for Sunday's gala consolidates a slight upward trend for award shows in recent years, as Hollywood tries to move on from the impact of strikes and the pandemic, and the Globes themselves bounce back from their own controversy and scandal.

The averaged figure of 10.1 million viewers marks a seven-percent increase from 2024's gala -- and a significant recovery from barely six million a year earlier.

The Globes, a Hollywood film and television awards show that once ranked second only to the Oscars, has been in crisis -- and even nearly ceased to exist -- in recent years.

In 2022, the Globes gala was not even aired, when former broadcaster NBC pulled the plug due to outrage over the lack of diversity and ethical lapses of the group of journalists that previously organized the awards.

The Globes relaunched last year under new private ownership, with the telecast moved to CBS and restored to its Sunday night spot, and A-list stars returned to the gala's glitzy Beverly Hills ballroom.

This edition, surreal narco-musical "Emilia Perez" and epic immigrant drama "The Brutalist" were the big Globes winners, as prizes were shared widely across an international crop of movies at the year's first major showbiz awards gala.

French director Jacques Audiard's Mexico-set "Emilia Perez" took four prizes, including best comedy or musical film, while "The Brutalist" was named best drama and also picked up best actor for Adrien Brody, who plays a Hungarian Holocaust survivor.

There were major wins for Demi Moore with "The Substance," Sebastian Stan in "A Different Man," and -- in the night's biggest upset -- Brazil's Fernanda Torres for "I'm Still Here."

Comedian Nikki Glaser hosted the ceremony, kicking off the gala with an irreverent, well-received monologue.

Y.Zaher--SF-PST