Hollywood's awards season heats up Sunday at the Golden Globes, with surreal narco-thriller musical "Emilia Perez" -- about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to life as a woman -- leading the charge.

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Jacques Audiard's genre-defying film earned 10 nominations, the most ever for a musical or comedy film, including for star transgender actress Karla Sofia Gascon, who plays the title character, as well as co-stars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana.

"Emilia Perez"- almost entirely in Spanish- hopes to throw down the gauntlet in the race to the Academy Awards, which will take place in early March.

"The far and away favorite here going in has got to be 'Emilia Perez'," Deadline Awards columnist Pete Hammond told AFP.

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"I think it's got the international thing going for it, and it just swept the European Film Awards."

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The Golden Globes offer separate awards for dramas and comedies/musicals -- widening the field of stars who will walk the red carpet, and also offering more options for Academy voters set to cast ballots for the Oscar nominations soon.

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"Emilia Perez" started its march towards Hollywood glory at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize.

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Other nods for the film, streaming on Netflix after debuting in theaters, include best director, two entries for best original song, best score, best non-English language film, best screenplay, and best comedy or musical film.

It will compete for top musical-comedy honors with the smash hit "Wicked," Cannes darling "Anora," tennis love-triangle film "Challengers," Jesse Eisenberg's "A Real Pain," and body horror film "The Substance" starring Demi Moore.

"Wicked," the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, earned four nominations, including for pop sensation Ariana Grande as the bubbly pink-clad Glinda and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba. 

Hammond said he believed "Wicked" would be at a "disadvantage" at the Globes, given its lack of nominations in key categories, but he favors Erivo to take home the prize for best lead actress.

She will compete with Gascon, "Anora" star Mikey Madison, Amy Adams ("Nightbitch"), Moore and "Challengers" star Zendaya. 

Hammond calls "The Substance" his dark horse of the season, and says its message about the perils of aging in Hollywood could resonate with voters.

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