The Golden Globe Awards, presented for the 73rd time this year, are seen as a good indicator of the films and actors who will be up for a nomination - and a possible win - in the upcoming Academy Awards.

"It's an uncanny crystal ball," said Tom O'Neil, founder of awards tracker GoldDerby.com. "The Globes historically has predicted 75 percent of the Oscars. So it's considered your audition for the Oscar."

Favorites in the film category include lesbian romance "Carol," which stars Cate Blanchett as a married woman who falls for a shop assistant in 1950s New York. The film leads the drama film category with five nominations, with nods for Blanchett, co-star Rooney Mara and director Todd Haynes.

"Spotlight," which tells the story about "Boston Globe" journalists who uncovered a sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, is also a strong contender in the drama category. Other films nominated in the category include "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Room" and "The Revenant."

Threepeat for Leo?

Leonardo DiCaprio, a two-time Golden Globe winner, is nominated again for his role as a 1820s frontiersman who gets mauled by a bear in "The Revenant," from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

A win on Sunday could foreshadow a nomination for DiCaprio at the Academy Awards; Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday. He's up against Bryan Cranston ("Trumbo"), Michael Fassbender ("Steve Jobs"), Eddie Redmayne ("The Danish Girl") and Will Smith ("Concussion").

In the television categories, nominees include drama series "Game of Thrones," "Empire" and "Mr. Robot," along with "Orange Is the New Black" and "Transparent" in the comedy or musical category.

A German co-production, "The Fencer" (Finland/Germany/Estonia), has been nominated in the category for best foreign film. The film recounts the life story of Endel Nelis, an Estonian fencer and coach who fled the Russian secret police in the 1950s and founded a school for young swordsmen.

The Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of around 100 international journalists working in Hollywood. Awards will be presented in a total of 25 film and television categories.

Partial list of nominees (winners in bold)

Best film, drama:
"Carol"
"Mad Max: Fury Road"
"The Revenant"
"Room"
"Spotlight"

Best film, musical or comedy:
"The Big Short"
"Joy"
"The Martian"
"Spy"
"Trainwreck"

Best actor, drama:
Bryan Cranston, "Trumbo"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"
Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Danish Girl"
Will Smith, "Concussion"

Best actor, musical or comedy:
Christian Bale, "The Big Short"
Steve Carell, "The Big Short"
Matt Damon, "The Martian"
Al Pacino, "Danny Collins"
Mark Ruffalo, "Infinitely Polar Bear"

Best actress, drama:
Cate Blanchett, "Carol"
Brie Larson, "Room"
Rooney Mara, "Carol"
Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"
Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"

Best actress, musical or comedy:
Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy"
Melissa McCarthy, "Spy"
Amy Schumer, "Trainwreck"
Maggie Smith, "The Lady in the Van"
Lily Tomlin, "Grandma"

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 supporting actress:
Jane Fonda, "Youth"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "The Hateful Eight"
Helen Mirren, "Trumbo"
Alicia Vikander, "Ex Machina"
Kate Winslet, "Steve Jobs"

Best director:
Todd Haynes, "Carol"
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "The Revenant"
Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"'
Ridley Scott, "The Martian"

Best foreign language film:
"The Brand New Testament" (Belgium/France/Luxembourg)
"The Club" (Chile)
"The Fencer" (Finland/Germany/Estonia)
"Mustang" (France)
"Son of Saul" (Hungary)

Best animated feature:
"Anomalisa"
"The Good Dinosaur"
"Inside Out"
"The Peanuts Movie"
"Shaun the Sheep Movie"

Best drama series:
"Empire" (Fox)
"Game of Thrones" (HBO)
"Mr. Robot" (USA)
"Narcos" (Netflix)
"Outlander" (Starz)

Best drama actor:
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Rami Malek, "Mr. Robot"
Wagner Moura, "Narcos"
Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul"
Liev Schreiber, "Ray Donovan"

Best drama actress:
Caitriona Balfe, "Outlander"
Viola Davis, "How To Get Away With Murder"
Eva Green, "Penny Dreadful"
Taraji P. Henson, "Empire"
Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

Best musical or comedy series:
"Casual" (Hulu)
"Mozart in the Jungle" (Amazon)
"Orange Is the New Black" (Netflix)
"Silicon Valley" (HBO)
"Transparent" (Amazon)
"Veep" (HBO)

Best musical or comedy actor:
Aziz Ansari, "Master of None"
Gael Garcia Bernal, "Mozart in the Jungle"
Rob Lowe, "The Grinder"
Patrick Stewart, "Blunt Talk"
Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"

Best musical or comedy actress:
Rachel Bloom, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
Jamie Lee Curtis, "Scream Queens"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"
Gina Rodriguez, "Jane the Virgin"
Lily Tomlin, "Grace and Frankie"

Best limited series or TV movie:
"American Crime" (ABC)
"American Horror Story: Hotel" (FX)
"Fargo" (FX)
"Flesh & Bone" (Starz)
"Wolf Hall" (PBS)

Best limited series or TV movie actor:
Idris Elba, "Luther"
Oscar Isaac, "Show Me A Hero"
David Oyelowo, "Nightingale"
Mark Rylance, "Wolf Hall"
Patrick Wilson, "Fargo"

Best limited series or TV movie actress:
Kirsten Dunst, "Fargo"
Lady Gaga, "American Horror Story: Hotel"
Sarah Hay, "Flesh & Bone"
Felicity Huffman, "American Crime"
Queen Latifah, "Bessie"

cmk/bw (AP, AFP)