‘Hamnet’ Wins Best Motion Picture, Drama at 2026 Golden Globes

Hamnet, the film Rolling Stone called “the most shattering” of 2025, broke through expectations to win the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Drama on Sunday night.

The film’s director, Chloé Zhao, looked utterly stunned when presenters Don Cheadle and George Clooney announced the win. She stood up slowly with both hands over her mouth before walking to the stage with producer Steven Spielberg to accept the award. (Many considered Ryan Coogler’s Sinners to be the frontrunner for the category going into the show.)

Spielberg spoke first, thanking his co-producer Sam Mendes for sending him the 2020 historical novel Hamnet, which was adapted for the screen. The heartbreaking story follows William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as they navigate the tragic death of their 11-year-old son.

“I loved the book, but I felt there was really only one filmmaker on the face of the planet who could tell the story,” Spielberg said, referring to Zhao, who previously directed the acclaimed films Nomadland and Songs My Brothers Taught Me. He called Zhao an “exceptional” talent. Zhao then walked to the microphone and got permission from the movie’s star, Paul Mescal, to share something he told her.

“He said that making Hamnet made him realize that the most important thing of being an artist is learning to be vulnerable enough to allow ourselves to be seen for who we are, not who we ought to be,” she recalled. “To give ourselves fully to the world, even the parts of ourselves that we’re ashamed of, that we’re afraid of, that are imperfect. So, the people that we speak to, they can also learn to see themselves and fully accept themselves.” She then expressed her admiration for her “incredible fellow nominees.”

“I’m looking at you, Ryan Coogler,” she said. “I’m looking at you, and I see so many of you have [become] so strong and tender at the same time. And you have shared so much of yourselves, in your work, to the world. So, I salute to your bravery, and I salute to your dedication, and let’s do this together. Let’s keep our hearts open, and let’s keep seeing each other, and let’s keep allowing ourselves to be seen.”
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Along with being nominated in the major category, the film was up for five other awards. Jessie Buckley won for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama for playing Agnes. Mescal, meanwhile, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing William Shakespeare. Zhao was nominated for Best Director, and Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell earned a nod for Best Screenplay. The film’s Max Richter also earned a nod for Best Original Score.

Rolling Stone lauded Hamnet for turning “Shakespeare’s real-life tragedy into a heartbreaking portrait of love, loss, and the healing power of art.”
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Hamnet was nominated for the award alongside Frankenstein, It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Sinners. Last year, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist won the award. Oppenheimer won in 2023.

This year’s Golden Globes were hosted by Nikki Glaser from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The show was broadcast on CBS and Paramount+.