How much money do the Golden Globe winners get in each category?

The 81st Golden Globes take place in Beverly Hills on Sunday evening. The ceremony is being held for the first time since the disbanding of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the event’s controversy-plagued former organisers. For another year, the glitz and glamour will return to smooth over the cracks and bring a return to some kind of normality - whatever that might look like for Hollywood.

In terms of the Golden Globe awards themselves, there is a certain amount of confusion about what they actually mean and what winning one could lead to. Actors who receive awards could be due a decent windfall - but not directly from a cash prize, rather from the prestige it confers. A Golden Globe generally tends to lead to more work, bigger roles and an opportunity to demand bigger fees.

Do award winners receive any money?

Winning a Golden Globe doesn’t confer any immediate monetary gain as there is no cash prize. However, they aren’t won for nothing, so winning an award probably means your film is going to win other awards. Huge recognition can be gained by winning, leading to increased fame, stardom, and more chance of securing leading roles in other productions.

Actors usually get a cut, albeit a very small percentage, of each film’s earnings, along with what they were paid to be there in the first place. Winning an award is in itself a form of promotion - it can convince the public to go and see an acclaimed film, or lead to actors getting higher percentage cuts of future films they will work on.

Moneynation.com uses the example of Oscar Isaac. After winning a Golden Globe in 2014 for Inside Llewyn Davis, in which he earned $80,000, he made millions from his next two major roles in Ex Machina and Star Wars. Now, this could be incidental as these roles were organized before the awards, but they are a good indicator for how recognition can help lead to a more lucrative career. Not rocket science, really.

Obviously, this helps less established actors more than famous ones. Eight-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro won’t be getting ever-increasing rates for his films - even after picking up a couple of Golden Globe awards at this late stage of his career (Best Actor for Raging Bull and a Cecil B. DeMille Award for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”).