Yesterday the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the contenders for the 70th Golden Globes where two Nordic films have a chance to bring home the award for Best Foreign Language Film: Denmark's Academy Award entry A Royal Affair by Nikolaj Arcel and Norway's own hopeful Kon-Tiki, by Espen Sandberg and Joachim R

Three French language films are running against them: the Palme d'or 2012 winner Amour, the comedy The Intouchables (current blockbuster in the Nordic region) and drama Rust and Bone.

"The fact that two out of five nominated films come out of the Nordic region once again confirms that we are in the top of the world league. I wish to congratulate the teams behind A Royal Affair and Kon-Tiki and I am pleased to say that both films were supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond," said the Fond's CEO Hanne Palmquist.

The Zentropa production A Royal Affair has had a startling career since its launch year at the 2012 Berlinale where it picked two Silver Bears (Best Actor, Best Script). In the US the film won an Audience Award at Los Angeles' American Film Institute Festival last month and it just picked a nod for Best Foreign Language Film from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for their Critics' Choice Movie Awards and from the Washington Film Critics. Released on November 11 by Magnolia Pictures, the Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen vehicle opened on seven screens in New York and Los Angeles and has expanded to 41 US screens. In Denmark the film has sold 528,415 tickets and it is the biggest grossing Danish language film in the UK and in Australia.

Norway's biggest grossing film of the year Kon-Tiki is the first Norwegian film ever to compete for a Golden Globe in the Best Foreign Language category. Produced by Aage Aaberge for Nordisk Film Production in co-production with Jeremy Thomas' Recorded Pictures Company, Kon-Tiki was picked up recently by the US mogul and marketing king Harvey Weinstein who has often led his films to the final round of the Academy Awards. "From past years we've seen that a Golden Globe nomination has often turned into an Oscar nomination, says the Norwegian Film Institute's Stine Helgeland who heads the Norwegian Oscar committee.

Just two years ago Susanne Bier won both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for the Zentropa produced In a Better World.

This year's 70th Golden Globe Awards ceremony will take place on January 10, just two days before the Academy Award nominations are announced.