Netflix dominated the Golden Globe nominations Monday as its heart-wrenching divorce saga "Marriage Story" grabbed six nods including best drama, kicking off the race for the Oscars.

The streaming giant, which has spent billions to lure the industry's top filmmaking talent and fund lavish awards season campaigns, trounced the traditional Tinseltown studios with a whopping 17 film nominations. 

The nominations traditionally see the stars and movies destined for awards success start to break away from the competition – the Globes are seen as a major bellwether for February's Academy Awards. 

"Marriage Story" earned nominations for its stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, and for its screenplay, but Noah Baumbach missed out as director. 

The film portrays how a seemingly stable love can be ripped apart after Johansson's actress moves from New York to Los Angeles, calling in the lawyers as she separates from a self-absorbed theater director played by Driver. 

Scorsese was nominated for best director for "The Irishman" but there was no best actor nod for his leading man Robert De Niro. Instead, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci were selected for supporting roles. 

Star power

Underlining its supremacy, Netflix also secured the most television nominations, with 17. The latest series of royal family drama "The Crown," which features an all-new cast led by Olivia Colman, secured a joint-top four nominations. 

Rival HBO managed 15, although the much-maligned final season of "Game of Thrones" earned just a single nod, for lead actor Kit Harington. 

New streaming platform Apple TV+, launched last month, secured its first nominations, for flagship launch program "The Morning Show." Lead actresses Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, who also executive-produced the series about a morning news program hit by a #MeToo scandal, were both nominated. 

And Meryl Streep broke her own record to bag a 34th Globe nomination for HBO's "Big Little Lies." 

Monday's nominations were announced at an early-morning ceremony by actor Tim Allen ("Toy Story") and actresses Dakota Fanning ("I Am Sam") and Susan Kelechi Watson ("This Is Us"). 

The 77th Golden Globes will take place in Los Angeles on January 5, two days before voting for Oscars nominees ends. The show will be hosted by British comedian Ricky Gervais, returning for a record fifth time.

(With input from AFP)