Steven Spielberg's biopic about former US President Abraham Lincoln is up for a host of top prizes including Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis and Best Screenplay.

Quentin Tarantino's western flick 'Django Unchained' and political drama 'Argo' follow close behind with five nominations each.

Critically-acclaimed films 'Zero Dark Thirty', 'Les Miserables' and 'Silver Linings Playbook' each received four nods.

With three nominations are 'Life of Pi', dark cult drama 'The Master' and heart-warming British comedy 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'.

The great Dames of British film, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren, all have acting nods for 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', 'Quartet' and 'Hitchcock' respectively.

Surprises include Nicole Kidman's Best Supporting Actress nomination for 'The Paperboy' and John Hawkes and Helen Hunt being up for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress for their performances in 'The Sessions'.

Adele has been nominated for Best Original Song for her James Bond theme tune 'Skyfall', with her biggest competition likely to come from 'Suddenly' from Tom Hooper's adaptation of stage musical 'Les Miserables'.

The awards are considered to be an important precursor to the Oscars and the films are voted for by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organises the ceremony.

Last year's winners included Meryl Streep, Octavia Spencer and Jean Dujardin, who all went on to receive Academy Awards.

The nominations were announced on Thursday morning by Jessica Alba, Ed Helms and Megan Fox.

The Golden Globe Awards - aired by NBC - will be hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Hollywood on January 13.
 
THE FULL LIST OF GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES:
 
MOVIES
 
BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty
 
BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook
 
BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
 
BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight
 
BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, Deep Blue Sea
 
BEST ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Bill Murray, Hyde Park
 
BEST ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing
Judy Dench, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs
 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
 
BEST SCREENPLAY
Zero Dark Thirty
Lincoln
Silver Linings
Django Unchained
Argo
 
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph
 
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
Amour
A Royal Affair
The Untouchables
Kon-Tiki
Rust and Bone
 
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Life of Pi
Argo
Anna Karenina
Cloud Atlas
Lincoln
 
ORIGINAL SONG
"For You," Act of Valor
"Not Running Anymore," Stand Up Guys
"Safe and Sound," The Hunger Games
"Skyfall," Skyfall
"Suddenly," Les Misérables
 
TV
 
BEST TV SERIES, DRAMA
Breaking Bad
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom
 
BEST TV SERIES, COMEDY
The Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash
 
BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Steve Buschemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland
 
BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Marguiles, The Good Wife
 
BEST ACTOR, TV COMEDY
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Louis C.K., Louis
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
 
BEST ACTRESS, TV COMEDY
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Lena Dunham, Girls
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
 
BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Game Change
The Girl
Hatfields & McCoys
The Hour
Political Animals
 
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Toby Jones, The Girl
Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gelhorn
 
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gelhorn
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Sienna Miller, The Girl
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals
 
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Ed Harris, Game Change
Danny Houston, Magic City
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
 
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Hayden Panetierre, Nashville
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Sarah Paulson, Game Change
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family