BOYHOOD is the big winner of today's Golden Globe Awards, taking out three gongs including Best Motion Picture Drama.

Twelve years in the making, the film follows the life of a young boy from the ages of 5 to 18.

Director Richard Linklater was named Best Director and Patricia Arquette was named Best Supporting Actress.

The drama knocked another highly acclaimed film, Birdman, off its perch.

While the Broadway drama, starring Michael Keaton, was up for the most awards, seven, Birdman only took home two: Best Actor for Keaton and Best Screenplay.

The 72^nd annual awards honour the best in film and television, or as hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler quipped in their opening monologue "all the films North Korea was OK with".

The Globes, along with the Screen Actors Guild Awards, are considered a good litmus test for the Academy Awards.

Theory of Everything won two awards while Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel was named Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Singer Prince made a surprise appearance to present the award Best Original Song to Legend and Common for their song Glory from the Selma soundtrack.

In the small-screen categories, three series tied with two wins each.

Fargo was named best TV Movie or Miniseries, while Showtime's The Affair was named Best TV Series Drama.

Transparent, the TV comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor, delivered Amazon its first awards in the ever-widening TV market.

Kevin Spacey, star of Netflix political drama House of Cards, finally won his first Golden Globe after seven previous nominations for his film work.

The 2015 Oscar nominees will be announced on January 16 (AEDT) and the SAG Awards will be held on Australia Day (AEDT).

 

Full 2015 Golden Globes winners list:

Best Motion Picture, Drama

*Boyhood

Foxcatcher

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

 

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Birdman

*Grand Budapest Hotel

Into the Woods

Pride

St. Vincent

 

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

David Oyelowo, Selma

*Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

 

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

Ray Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel

*Michael Keaton, Birdman

Bill Murray, St. Vincent

Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice

Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

 

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Jennifer Aniston, Cake

Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

*Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon, Wild

 

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

*Amy Adams, Big Eyes

Emily Blunt, Into the Woods

Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey

Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars

Quvenzhané Wallis, Annie

 

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Robert Duvall, The Judge

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Edward Norton, Birdman

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

*J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

 

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

*Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Emma Stone, Birdman

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

 

Best Director

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ava DuVernay, Selma

David Fincher, Gone Girl

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman

*Richard Linklater, Boyhood

 

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl

*Armando Bo, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr.Nicolás Giacobone and Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

 

Best Foreign-Language Film

Force Majeure, Sweden

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem, Israel

Ida, Poland-Denmark

*Leviathan, Russia

Tangerines, Estonia

 

Best Animated Feature Film

Big Hero 6

The Book of Life

The Boxtrolls

*How to Train Your Dragon 2

The Lego Movie

 

Best Original Song, Motion Picture

Big Eyes, Big Eyes (Lana Del Rey)

*Glory, Selma (John Legend and Common)

Mercy Is, Noah (Patti Smith and Lenny K)

Opportunity, Annie (Greg Kurstin, Sia Furler and Will Gluck)

Yellow Flicker Beat, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (Lorde)

 

Best Original Score, Motion Picture

Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game

*Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Gone Girl

Antonio Sanchez, Birdman

Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

 

Best TV Movie or Miniseries

*Fargo, FX

The Missing, Starz

The Normal Heart, HBO

Olive Kitteridge, HBO

True Detective, HBO

 

Best TV Series, Drama

*The Affair, Showtime

Downton Abbey, PBS

Game of Thrones, HBO

The Good Wife, CBS

House of Cards, Netflix

 

Best TV Series, Comedy or Musical

Girls, HBO

Jane the Virgin, The CW

Orange Is the New Black, Netflix

Silicon Valley, HBO

*Transparent, Amazon Instant Video

 

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama

Clive Owen, The Knick

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

*Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

James Spader, The Blacklist

Dominic West, The Affair

 

Best Actor, TV Series Comedy

Louis C.K., Louis

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Ricky Gervais, Derek

William H. Macy, Shameless

*Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

 

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama

Claire Danes, Homeland

Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

*Ruth Wilson, The Affair

Robin Wright, House of Cards

 

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy

Lena Dunham, Girls

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

*Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin

Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black

 

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Martin Freeman, Fargo

Woody Harrelson, True Detective

Matthew McConaughey, True Detective

Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart

*Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo

 

Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie

*Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show

Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge

Frances O'Connor, The Missing

Allison Tolman, Fargo

 

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie

*Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart

Alan Cumming, The Good Wife

Colin Hanks, Fargo

Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge

Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

 

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie

Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black

Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show

*Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey

Allison Janney, Mom

Michelle Monaghan, True Detective

 

Cecil B. DeMille Award

George Clooney