Golden Globes Is ‘Pope-ular’ With 10 Million Viewers

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The 82nd annual Golden Globes ratings are in, and they’re Wickedly good.

According to VideoAmp data, Sunday’s Golden Globes, which went up against NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup of the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions, averaged 10.1 million viewers, which was on par with final numbers from 2024.

The show’s live-streaming audience was up 9% year over year on Paramount+ and the CBS app. Plus, this year’s event drove 40 million social interactions on the night, making it the most social Golden Globes ever, up 124% year over year.

The ratings figures were from VideoAmp due to Paramount’s ongoing contract dispute with Nielsen.

In 2024, Nielsen’s figures for the first revamped version of the Golden Globes on CBS and Paramount+ initially showed a 9.4 million viewer average. The final numbers then put it at more than 10 million, up 50% from the previous year on NBC and the largest Globes audience in four years. The big ratings boost helped lead CBS to sign a five-year deal with the awards show.

The 2024 ratings came despite the show being plagued by a poorly received opening monologue from host Jo Koy, who later said he “fell a little short.” Other issues included congested seating at the Beverly Hilton, which had winners struggling to make it to the stage, and the overall awkward production that even led to Elizabeth Debicki jumping in her seat following an audio glitch when her nomination was announced.

However, 2025 was a different story.

The show still had some snafus. For instance, while presenting an award, actor Seth Rogen called out the production’s awkward camera angles, which put the framing way up in the presenters’ faces. But host Nikki Glaser started the show with a widely praised monologue, making quips about Hollywood at what she called “Ozempic’s biggest night” and even parodying award-show musical sketches by calling herself out for doing a “Pope-ular” mashup of Conclave and Wicked.

In terms of wins, The Brutalist, which had seven nominations, won for Best Motion Picture — Drama; its lead, Adrien Brody, won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama; and its director, Brady Corbet, won Best Director — Motion Picture.

Meanwhile, Emilia Pérez won four awards, including the prize for Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language. Plus, Shōgun took home all four awards it was nominated for, including Best Television Series — Drama.

However, the biggest winner of the night may have been Demi Moore, who won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy thanks to her work in The Substance. During her emotional speech, Moore noted that the award was the first acting accolade she’s had.

“I’ve been doing this a long time — over 45 years,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor.”

In other words, the speech had substance. And Moore will look to continue that momentum on her way to the Oscars.