Surreal narco-musical “Emilia Perez” and epic immigrant drama “The Brutalist” were the big winners at the Golden Globes on Sunday, as prizes were shared widely across an international crop of movies at the year’s first major showbiz awards gala. French director Jacques Audiard’s Mexico-set “Emilia Perez” took four prizes, including best comedy or musical film, while “The Brutalist” was named best drama and also picked up best actor for Adrien Brody, who plays a Hungarian Holocaust survivor.

“Emilia Perez,” about a drug lord who transitions to life as a woman, had entered the night with the most nominations at 10. It won for best non-English language film and best original song, while Zoe Saldana took best supporting actress honors, nudging out her co-star Selena Gomez. “You can maybe put us in jail, you can beat us up, but you never can take away our soul, our resistance, our identity,” said Karla Sofia Gascon, the film’s star, who is transgender. She added: “Raise your voice... and say, ‘I won. I am who I am, not who you want’.”

Peter Straughan, winner of the Best Screenplay - Motion Picture award for "Conclave".

Kieran Culkin, winner of the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture award for “A Real Pain.”

Sebastian Stan, winner of the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy award for “A Different Man.”

(From left to right) Ron Dyens, Gints Zilbalodis, and Mat?ss Kaža, winners of the Best Motion Picture - Animated award for “Flow.”

(From left to right) Wim De Greef, Jessica Gunning, Petra Fried, Ed Macdonald, Richard Gadd, Nava Mau, and Matt Jarvis, winners of the Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television award for “Baby Reindeer.”

(From left to right) Jessica Gunning, Richard Gadd, and Nava Mau, winners of the Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television award for “Baby Reindeer.”

Jessica Gunning, winner of Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television award for "Baby Reindeer."

(From left to right) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, winners of the Best Original Score - Motion Picture award for “Challengers.”

(From left) Cosmo Jarvis, Michaela Clavell, Tadanobu Asano, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, Edward McDowellm Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, winners of the Best Television Series - Drama Award for “Shogun.”

(From right) Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, Japanese actress Anna Sawai and British actor Cosmo Jarvis pose in the press room with the award for Best Television Series - Drama "Shogun."

Japanese actress Anna Sawai poses with her award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama Award for “Shogun.”

US actress Jodie Foster poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television award for "True Detective: Night Country."

US actress Demi Moore poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for "The Substance."

Big wins at the Globes can help movies earn new audiences and build vital momentum toward the Oscars in early March. Sunday also proved an important night for “The Brutalist,” which shrugged off concerns over its sprawling runtime to earn best director for Brady Corbet. “I was told that no one would come out and see it,” said Corbet, of his epic about a Jewish architect who survives Nazi persecution and emigrates to the United States.

“No one was asking for a three-and-a-half hour film about a mid-century designer... but it works,” he added. In one of the night’s biggest upsets, Brazil’s Fernanda Torres won best actress in a drama film for “I’m Still Here,” which chronicles a family ripped apart by the country’s military dictatorship in the 1970s.

(From left) Mexican actress Adriana Paz, Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez, US singer and actress Selena Gomez, French director Jacques Audiard, Spanish actress Karla Sofia Gascon and US actress Zoe Saldana pose with the Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy award for "Emilia Perez."

Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano poses with the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television award for "Shogun."

Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada poses with the Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama award for "Shogun."

Irish actor Colin Farrell poses with the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television award for "The Penguin."

French composer Clement Ducol (left) and French singer Camille accept the award for song Best Original Song - Motion Picture for "Emilia Perez."

US director Brady Corbet (center) poses with the award for Best Director – Motion Picture for "The Brutalist" with Norwegian director, screenwriter Mona Fastvold (left) and daughter Ada.

(From left) US actor Jeff Goldblum, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande, British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, producer Marc E. Platt and US director Jon M. Chu pose in the press room with the box Cinematic and Box Office Achievment "Wicked."

US actor Adrien Brody poses with the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama award for "The Brutalist."

(From left) Adam Bricker, US writer and producer Jen Statsky, US actress Jean Smart, US actress Hannah Einbinder, US filmmaker Lucia Aniello, and US actor and producer Paul W. Downs pose with the Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy for "Hacks."

US actress Jean Smart poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy award for "Hacks."

Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama award for "I'm Still Here."

US actress Zoe Saldana poses in the press room with the award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture for "Emilia Perez."

Comebacks

Brody’s win was one of the night’s remarkable career comebacks, more than two decades after he became the youngest ever Oscar best actor winner for “The Pianist,” in which he also played a Holocaust survivor. “There was a time not too long ago that I felt that this may be a moment never afforded to me again,” he said. “This story... is very reminiscent of my mother’s, and my ancestral journey of fleeing the horrors of war and coming to this great country.”

And there was another late-career triumph for Demi Moore, who won best actress in a comedy for body horror flick “The Substance,” which takes a satirical and often grotesque look at the pressures placed on women by society as they age. Accepting her prize, Moore reflected on how decades ago, she had been told by a Hollywood producer that she was “a popcorn actress.”

“I bought in, and I believed that, and that corroded me over time,” said the now 62-year-old “Ghost” star. But “I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called ‘The Substance,’ and the universe told me that ‘you’re not done.’”