Birdman continued to soar, Naomi Watts stumbled and Angelina Jolie's Australian-made war epic Unbroken's Oscar hopes appear shattered following the Golden Globes nomination ceremony.
There was some positive news for Australia out of Thursday's 72nd Annual Golden Globes nominations, which often act as a preview to the Academy Awards.
Adelaide singer-songwriter Sia Furler, Perth actress Frances O'Connor and Sydney-made The Lego Movie all picked up Globe nods.
Jolie and Unbroken failed to pick up a single nomination.
Golden Globe nominations for Jolie in the director category and for Unbroken, about US Olympian and World War II hero Louis Zamperini, for best dramatic film were considered a sure thing.
The organisation behind the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has a history of nominating stars over substance, notably handing Jolie and co-star Johnny Depp Globe nominations for their performances in the 2010 dud The Tourist.
But, Jolie, Unbroken and its cast led by English actor Jack O'Connell as Zamperini were snubbed by the HFPA and, in a double blow, by the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Wednesday.
It is a setback for the Australian film industry.
Unbroken was a showcase for Australia's film crews and locations, with Sydney's Blacktown International Sportspark transformed into Adolf Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympic Games stadium, and other locations including Moreton Bay and the Fort Lytton National Park in Queensland.
The director category was filled by Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Ava Duvernay (Selma), David Fincher (Gone Girl), Richard Linklater (Boyhood) and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman).
The overall Globe nomination winner was the drama Birdman, starring Michael Keaton as a washed up movie superhero, which led all films with seven nominations.
Rival best picture hopefuls Boyhood and The Imitation Game followed with five nods each.
Watts has been on an awards roller-coaster the past 24 hours.
On Wednesday Watts was a surprise nominee for a SAG when she picked up a supporting actress nod for her role as a pregnant Russian prostitute in the comedy-drama St Vincent.
American actress Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year appears to have squeezed out Watts for the Globe nomination.
The other Globe supporting actress nominees were Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Meryl Streep (Into The Woods), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game) and Emma Stone (Birdman).
Watts' husband, Live Schreiber, did get a Golden Globe invite with a nomination for best actor in a TV series for his starring role in Ray Donovan.
Furler will have a busy US award season.
Less than a week after picking up four Grammy Award nominations the prolific South Australian received a Globe nomination, and is on track for an Academy Award nod, for her original song Opportunity in the Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx-starring update on the classic musical, Annie.
Furler will battle New Zealander Lorde's song Yellow Flicker Beat from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I for the Globe.
O'Connor was nominated for a best actress in a mini-series or TV movie Globe for her performance in The Missing, where she plays a mother suffering from the abduction of her young son during a family vacation in France.
O'Connor faces tough competition, with Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Freak Show), Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honourable Woman) and Allison Tolman (Fargo) the other nominees.
The Lego Movie, made in Sydney by studio Animal Logic, is up against Big Hero 6, The Book of Life, The Boxtrolls and How To Train Your Dragon 2 in the animated movie category.
While Jolie didn't get a Globe invite, Brad Pitt's ex Jennifer Aniston did.
Aniston is firming as a solid shot at a best actress Oscar with a Globe drama nod for her performance in Cake, with Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) and Reese Witherspoon (Wild) the other nominees.
The Globe best actor in a drama race is Steve Carrell (Foxcatcher), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), David Oyelowo (Selma) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything).
The comedy/musical lead actor category is between Keaton (Birdman), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Bill Murray (St Vincent), Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice) and Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes).
The Globes winners will be announced on February 11.
The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 15 and the winners revealed on February 22.
