THERE'S one question on everybody's lips ahead of the 2016 Golden Globes: who among the crowd of Hollywood's elite will be safe from host Ricky Gervais?

After hosting the Globes for three straight years, ending in 2012, Gervais returns and has already taken to Twitter to apologise in advance for his antics.

"Because I can see the future, I'd like to apologise now for the things I said at next week's Golden Globes," the British comedian wrote.

The Globes kick off the Hollywood award circuit, which culminates in the Oscars held in February.

Among the Globes nominees, Carol starring Cate Blanchett leads the way with five nominations followed closely by The Revenant, The Big Short and Steve Jobs on four.

While the TV competition sees a lot of newcomers including Outlander, Mr. Robot take on some of the staples such as Orange is the New Black and Game of Thrones.

Streaming services such as Netflix and US cable stations HBO and Starz dominated nominations continuing the trend away from traditional network television shows.

As usual for Australian viewers, there will be a number of films and TV shows that have yet to grace our screens but they will hopefully whet your appetite for things to come.

And the film nominees (with predictions in bold) are:

Best Picture - Drama

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Thoughts: Spotlight is firm favourite in this category thanks to its meticulous examination of how the Boston Globes uncovered the scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese. A great ensemble cast featuring Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton and Liev Schreiber deliver in spades. Will face some strong competition from Carol and The Revenant.

Best Picture - Comedy/Musical

Joy

The Martian

Trainwreck

The Big Short

Spy

Thoughts: An interesting category with crowd-pleasing dramas such as The Martian up against out-and-out comedies like Trainwreck. Despite its serious plot about an astronaut left behind on Mars, The Martian will win thanks to a witty script from scribe Drew Goddard (Buffy, Cabin in the Woods) and a fun, yet complex performance from Matt Damon.

Best Actress - Drama

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Rooney Mara, Carol

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Thoughts: Wow. This is tough. Blanchett, a three-time Golden Globe winner, delivers yet again in romantic drama Carol. But her vote could be split with her on-screen partner, the equally impressive, Rooney Mara. This could open the door for Larson, who has now firmed as favourite. Larson's portrayal as mother who will go to any lengths to protect her son is truly harrowing.

Best Actor - Drama

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Will Smith, Concussion

Thoughts: He ate raw bison and endured freezing temperatures for his role in The Revenant. There is a strong momentum building to make 2016 the year of DiCaprio and it should all start with a win here. The always magnetic Fassbender is the only real threat here for his brilliant depiction of Steve Jobs.

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Melissa McCarthy, Spy

Amy Schumer, Trainwreck

Maggie Smith, The Lady in the Van

Lily Tomlin, Grandma

Thoughts: Best friends Lawrence and Schumer will battle it out in this category. Joy's mixed reviews may hurt Lawrence, who is fantastic in the role of the famous mop entrepreneur. Schumer had an incredible 2015 and should cap it off with a win here for her role as a commitment-phobic career woman in Trainwreck.

Best Actor - Comedy Or Musical

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Steve Carell, The Big Short

Matt Damon, The Martian

Al Pacino, Danny Collins

Mark Ruffalo, Infinitely Polar Bear

Thoughts: Matt Damon should win here for his charismatic, tour-de-force performance as astronaut Mark Watney in The Martian. Take that Neil Armstrong!

Best Director

Todd Haynes, Carol

Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Ridley Scott, The Martian

Thoughts: Can the action symphony that Miller conducts in Mad Max: Fury Road overcome the flashy camera work of Inarritu's The Revenant? Or perhaps the sombre craft of Tom McCarthy's Spotlight will be appreciated more than Haynes' beautifully shot Carol? A very tough category, with not much separating the nominees. Despite its simple road-movie premise, here's hoping Miller is rewarded for one of the most unique action movies in decades.

Best Animated Feature Film

Anomalisa

The Good Dinosaur

Inside Out

The Peanuts Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Thoughts: Anomalisa is one of the most interesting films of the year from the mind of Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Pixar has two horses in this race with The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out and it is the latter that should take home the prize. Its unique insight into the mind of a young girl adjusting to her new home and the conflicting emotions that arise.

Best Supporting Actress

Jane Fonda, Youth

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Helen Mirren, Trumbo

Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Best Supporting Actor

Paul Dano, Love & Mercy

Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Screenplay

Emma Donoghue, Room

Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer, Spotlight

Charles Randolph, Adam McKay, The Big Short

Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs

Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

Best Original Score

Ricky Gervais Golden Globe zingers

Alexandre Desplat, The Danish Girl

Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight

Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, The Revenant

Best Foreign Film

The Brand New Testament (Belgium/France/Luxembourg)

The Club (Chile)

The Fencer (Finland/Germany/Estonia)

Mustang (France)

Son of Saul (Hungary)

Best Original Song

Love me Like You Do, Fifty Shades of Grey, written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Ali Payami, Ilya Salmanzadeh

One Kind of Love, Love & Mercy, written by Brian Wilson, Scott Bennett

See You Again, Furious 7, written by Justin Franks, Andrew Cedar, Charlie Puth, Cameron Thomaz

Simple Song #3, Youth, written by David Lang

Writing's on the Wall, Spectre, written by Sam Smith, Jimmy Napes