'American Hustle' and '12 Years a Slave' score most Golden Globe nominations; clear Oscar frontrunners

CATE Blanchett has scored a Best Actress nomination for Blue Jasmine while 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle tied for most nominations.

Rush Chris Hemsworth

CATE Blanchett has scored a Best Actress nomination for Blue Jasmine as "12 Years a Slave" and "American Hustle" emerged as Oscars frontrunners after picking up seven nominations each.

Blanchett will duke it out against fellow Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock in Gravity, Judi Dench in Philomena, Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks and Kate Winslet for Labor Day as best actress.

The Australian star's nomination comes just one day after she was nominated for a Screen Actor's Guild award for her performance in the Woody Allen film. Blanchett has won rave reviews for her portrayal of a New York socialite brought down by her husband's financial fraud.

American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave both received the most nominations, with seven each - instantly making them Academy Awards frontrunners.

Hailed by critics as film's most unblinking portrait of slavery, 12 Years a Slave verified its frontrunner status as the film to beat, with nominations for best film drama, Chiwetel Ejiofor for best actor in a drama and Steve McQueen for best director.

American Hustle dominated on the Globes' other category side: comedy or musical. The fictionalised story of the FBI's Abscam investigation in the late 1970s earned nominations for best movie comedy, Christian Bale for best actor in a comedy, Jennifer Lawrence for best supporting actress in a comedy and David O. Russell for best director.

Also in the mix are Alexander Payne's father-son road trip Nebraska, with five nominations, including best actor for Bruce Dern. The space odyssey Gravity earned four nominations, as did Tom Hanks' Somali pirate thriller Captain Phillips.

This year's comedy competition could be the strongest field ever for the Globes. Competing against American Hustle, will be Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street, Alexander Payne's Nebraska, Spike Jonze's Her and the Coen brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis.

The last film of 2013 to screen, Scorsese's three-hour financial industry extravaganza The Wolf of Wall Street had been one of the biggest question marks this awards season. Along with the best picture nomination, it earned one for Leonardo DiCaprio's leading performance.

Another Australian hopeful, former Neighbours star Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street), was an outside chance for a supporting actress nomination but she also failed to get Globe and SAG nods.

Along with 12 Years a Slave, the dramatic best picture category was rounded out by Captain Phillips, Gravity, Philomena and Rush, starring Chris Hemsworth. Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, which also received a best actress nomination for Sandra Bullock, will surely benefit more from the Academy Awards' technical categories, which the Globes don't honour.

Most notably shut out of the Globes race was Lee Daniels' The Butler, the Civil Rights history told through a long-serving White House butler played by Forest Whitaker. The film also stars Oprah Winfrey, who picked up a SAG nod yesterday for her portrays of Whitaker's wife.

In television, the most shocking snub may have been for Homeland star Claire Danes in the Best Actress - Drama - category. 

Despite winning the award for the past two years, Danes was overlooked in favour of The Good Wife's Julianna Margulies, Tatiana Maslany for BBC sci-fi thriller Orphan Black, Taylor Schilling for prison drama Orange is the New Black, Kerry Washington for Scandal and Robin Wright for House of Cards.

The Golden Globes Awards and their boozy telecast are known for their desire to attract A-list stars, even if their films aren't quite up to snuff. (It will be a long time before the HFPA lives down its nominations for Johnny Depp's The Tourist.)

This year's ceremony on January 12 will again be hosted by comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Last year's telecast saw a bump in viewership to 19.7 million.

The last two years, one of the Globes' best-picture winners went on to top the Academy Awards. Last year, the Globes awarded Ben Affleck's Argo best picture for drama. The year before that, the silent film ode The Artist won best picture for a comedy.

FULL LIST OF GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES:

Best motion picture (drama)

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Philomena

Rush

Best TV series (drama)

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

The Good Wife

House of Cards

Masters of Sex

Best Actor in a motion picture (drama)

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Robert Redford, All is Lost

Best Actress in a motion picture (drama)

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Judi Dench, Philomena

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Kate Winslet, Labor Day

Best Director – motion picture

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips

Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

Alexander Payne, Nebraska

David O. Russell, American Hustle

Best motion picture (musical or comedy)

American Hustle

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy

Amy Adams, American Hustle

Julie Delphy, Before Midnight

Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said

Meryl Streep, August Osage County

Best Actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy

Christian Bale, American Hustle

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Leonardo Dicaprio, Wolf of Wall Street

Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis

Joaquin Phoenix, Her

Best Animated Feature film

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Frozen

Best Foreign Language Film

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (France)

The Great Beauty (Italy)

The Hunt (Denmark)

The Past (Iran)

The Wind Rises (Japan)

Best Actor in a TV series, drama

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

James Spader, The Blacklist

Best Actor in a mini-series or TV movie

Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra

Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge

Idris Elba, Luther

Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Best Actress in a mini-series or TV movie

Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor

Rebecca Ferguson, The White Queen

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven

Helen Mirren, Phil Spector

Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

Best Supporting Actress in a motion picture

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Best Actress in a TV series (drama)

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black

Kerry Washington, Scandal

Robin Wright, House of Cards

Best TV Series (comedy)

The Big Bang Theory

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Girls

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

Best TV Miniseries or Movie

American Horror Story: Coven

Behind the Candelabra

Dancing on the Edge

Top of the Lake

The White Queen

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Atlas - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Let It Go - Frozen

Ordinary Love - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Please Mr. Kennedy - Inside Llewyn Davis

Sweeter Than Fiction - One Chance

Best Actor in a TV Series (comedy)

Jason Bateman, Arrested Development

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Michael J. Fox, The Michael J. Fox SHow

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Best Actress in a TV Series (comedy)

Zooey Deschanel, New Girl

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Lena Dunham, Girls

Julia Louis Dreyfus, Veep

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

All Is Lost

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Gravity

The Book Thief

12 Years a Slave

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Spike Jonze, Her

Bob Nelson, Nebraska

Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, Philomena

John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave

David O. Russell and Eric Singer Warren, American Hustle

Best Supporting Actress in a series, mini-series, or TV movie

Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge

Janet McTeer, The White Queen

Hayden Panattiere, Nashville

Monica Potter, Parenthood

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Best Supporting Actor in a series, mini-series or TV movie

Josh Charles, The Good Wife

Rob Lowe, Behind the Candelabra

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Corey Stoll, House of Cards

Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Previously announced:

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Woody Allen.