"The Revenant" and "The Martian" won top honors at the 73rd annual Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, with actors Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio both winning for their respective roles in the films. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was named best director for "The Revenant."

Brie Larson won her first Golden Globe for her dramatic turn in "Room," while Jennifer Lawrence picked up her third Globe for her performance as the woman who invented the Miracle Mop in "Joy," managing to make it up to the stage without tripping for a change.

Despite going into the night with five nominations, lesbian romance "Carol" starring Cate Blanchett was shut out, as was another favorite, "Spotlight," which tells the story of "Boston Globe" journalists who uncovered a sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.

The wins marked the official start of the Hollywood awards season, with recognition at the Globes usually being a good indicator of the films and actors who will be up for a nomination - and a possible win - in the upcoming Academy Awards. Oscar nominations are set to be announced on Thursday.

It was a night of firsts, and not just for newcomers. Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone won the first major acting award of his career for "Creed," earning a standing ovation. Stallone, who played a character he first embodied in the 1976 movie "Rocky," thanked Rocky Balboa,"the best imaginary friend I ever had."

Grammy-winning singer Lady Gaga also took home her first acting award, winning for her performance in the US TV series "American Horror Story: Hotel." "I wanted to be an actress before I wanted to be a singer, but music worked out first," she said, clearly moved. "This is one of the greatest moments in my life."

Just add alcohol

Beer in hand and sardonic wit at the ready, host Ricky Gervais got the show off to a promising start with a series of jokes that took aim at awards broadcaster NBC, for coming up empty in the nominations, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, organizer of the awards and - in a bit that clearly made the cut at the very last minute - actor Sean Penn.

"I want to do this monologue and then go into hiding. Not even Sean Penn will find me. Snitch," he said, referring to the Penn's "Rolling Stone" interview with Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

After saying he wouldn't be back as host following his last stint in 2012, Gervais - who has been known to offend with his acerbic wit - was back in fine form on Sunday night, despite promises to "be nice."

"I've changed," he said at the start of the show. "Not as much as Bruce Jenner, obviously. Now Caitlyn Jenner, of course." Some of his quips may have stuck the landing better than others, but his return was a success and on par with previous hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Shunned actor Mel Gibson returned as presenter, in an introduction by Gervais that was heavily bleeped. But a jibe managed to make it through, with Gervais saying he'd "rather have a drink with Mel tonight in his hotel room than Bill Cosby."

The more relaxed atmosphere of the night - alcohol flows freely throughout the event - led to some interesting performances by presenters, with some flubbing their lines and others, like Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer, clearly enjoying the spotlight.

Late in the evening, Denzel Washington was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award, accepting with his family. While it was moving to see the actor awarded for his body of work, you'd think he would have prepared a more eloquent acceptance speech ahead of time. Or at least remembered to bring his glasses.

'Mr. Robot,' 'Mozart' top TV

Taking home the award for best TV drama series was "Mr. Robot," a drama about a cybersecurity expert with social anxiety. The show beat out favorites like "Game of Thrones" and the hip-hop drama "Empire," though "Empire" star Taraji P. Henson was recognized for her role as Cookie Lyon. Best comedic series was "Mozart in the Jungle," with Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal also winning for his performance.

The Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of around 100 international journalists working in Hollywood.

List of 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"