Low-key British historical drama "The King's Speech" and Facebook movie "The Social Network" were also hoping for glory at the Beverly Hills show, seen as a key pointer to next month's more prestigious Oscars.
Bale won best supporting actor for his role in boxing movie "The Fighter," which was also tipped to win other awards at the Globes, while Bening was named best actress in a musical or comedy for "The Kids Are All Right."
The Globes are the first major show in a season that includes the Directors Guild awards on January 29 and the Screen Actors Guild gongs the following night, leading up to the Oscars on February 27.
British comic Ricky Gervais, hosting the Globes for the second year, arrived on stage sipping a beer, promising: "It's going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking -- or as Charlie Sheen calls it, breakfast."
He took several early digs at the show's organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HPFA), citing rumors that they only nominated "The Tourist" to get to meet its stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.
"They also accepted bribes," he added, to gales of laughter.
The bigger prizes were saved up for the climax of Sunday's three-hour-long show.
"The King's Speech," starring Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter, was nominated for awards in seven categories: best picture, director, actor, screenplay, score and supporting actor and actress.
"The Social Network" and "The Fighter" were nominated in six categories at the show, which gathers the multi-billion-dollar industry's A-listers for the first such event of the year.
The "King's Speech" was the surprise top nominee when the Globes short lists were announced last month, having only just opened in the United States and taken a tiny fraction of the box office earnings of "The Social Network."
Some suggest this was a wily move by the Weinstein Company behind the film, which let it slowly impress critics and audiences with a limited opening rather than trying for a blockbuster, head-on approach to seeking Oscar glory and fortune.
"The Social Network" was tipped for best picture, director and actor for Jesse Eisenberg's arresting performance as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, as well as best supporting actor and screenplay.
Best actor nominees for the drama category also include James Franco for Danny Boyle's latest movie "127 hours," Ryan Gosling for "Blue Valentine" and Mark Wahlberg for "The Fighter."
One film's inclusion in the short list triggered smirks around Hollywood.
"The Tourist," starring Depp and Jolie, was critically panned but won a surprise nomination in the comedy or musical category, in what gossips suggested was a blatant bid to gets its A-list stars to attend Sunday -- which they duly did.
That kind of surprise nomination underlines the questions raised by a lawsuit filed by a former Golden Globes publicist just a few days before Sunday's show.
Michael Russell, who worked for the Globes' organizers for 17 years, wants at least two million dollars in damages and lost wages, accusing them of running a "payola" scheme, according to the lawsuit.
The HFPA dismissed the lawsuit, calling the allegations "completely without merit."
List of nominees for 2011 Golden Globes
Herewith a complete list of nominees for the Golden Globe awards, winners of which will be announced at a three-hour show Sunday in Los Angeles.
Best movie - drama:
- "Black Swan"
- "The Fighter"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "The Social Network"
Best actress - drama:
- Halle Berry, "Frankie and Alice"
- Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
- Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
- Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
- Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"
Best actor - drama:
- Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
- Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
- James Franco, "127 Hours"
- Ryan Gosling, "Blue Valentine"
- Mark Wahlberg, "The Fighter"
Best movie - comedy or musical:
- "Alice in Wonderland"
- "Burlesque"
- "The Kids Are All Right"
- "Red"
- "The Tourist"
Best actress - comedy or musical:
- Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
- Anne Hathaway, "Love And Other Drugs"
- Angelina Jolie, "The Tourist"
- Julianne Moore, "The Kids Are All Right"
- Emma Stone, "Easy A"
Best actor - comedy or musical:
- Johnny Depp, "Alice in Wonderland"
- Johnny Depp, "The Tourist"
- Paul Giamatti, "Barney's Version"
- Jake Gyllenhaal, "Love And Other Drugs"
- Kevin Spacey, "Casino Jack"
Best supporting actress:
- Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
- Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
- Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"
- Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
- Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"
Best supporting actor:
- Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
- Michael Douglas, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"
- Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"
- Jeremy Renner, "The Town"
- Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"
Best animated movie:
- "Despicable Me"
- "How To Train Your Dragon"
- "The Illusionist"
- "Tangled"
- "Toy Story 3"
Best foreign language film:
- "Biutiful" (Mexico, Spain)
- "The Concert" (France)
- "The Edge" (Russia)
- "I Am Love" (Italy)
- "In A Better World" (Denmark)
Best director:
- Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
- David Fincher, "The Social Network"
- Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"
- Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
- David O. Russell, "The Fighter"
Best screenplay:
- Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle, "127 Hours"
- Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
- Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids Are All Right"
- David Seidler, "The King's Speech"
- Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"
Best original score:
- Alexandre Desplat, "The King's Speech"
- Danny Elfman, "Alice in Wonderland"
- A. R. Rahman, "127 Hours"
- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "The Social Network"
- Hans Zimmer, "Inception"
Best original song:
- "Bound To You," from "Burlesque."
- "Coming Home," from "Country Strong."
- "I See The Light," from "Tangled."
- "There's A Place For Us" from "Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader."
- "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" from "Burlesque"
Best TV series:
- "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)
- "Dexter" (Showtime)
- "The Good Wife" (CBS)
- "Mad Men" (AMC)
- "The Walking Dead" (AMC)
Best TV series actress - drama:
- Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
- Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"
- Piper Perabo, "Covert Affairs"
- Katey Sagal, "Sons Of Anarchy"
- Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
Best TV series actor - drama:
- Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
- Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
- Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
- Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
- Hugh Laurie, "House"
Best TV series - comedy or musical:
- "30 Rock" (NBC)
- "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
- "The Big C" (Showtime)
- "Glee" (Fox)
- "Modern Family" (ABC)
- "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime)
Best TV series actress - comedy or musical:
- Toni Collette, "United States Of Tara" (Showtime)
- Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime)
- Tina Fey, "30 Rock" (NBC)
- Laura Linney, "The Big C" (Showtime)
- Lea Michele, "Glee" (Fox)
Best TV series actor - comedy or musical:
- Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" (NBC)
- Steve Carell, "The Office" (NBC)
- Thomas Jane, "Hung" (HBO)
- Matthew Morrison, "Glee" (Fox)
- Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
Best mini-series of made-for-TV movie:
- "Carlos" (Sundance)
- "The Pacific" (HBO)
- "Pillars Of The Earth" (STARZ)
- "Temple Grandin" (HBO)
- "You Don't Know Jack" (HBO)
Best actress in mini-series or made-for-TV movie:
- Hayley Atwell, "Pillars Of The Earth" (STARZ)
- Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin" (HBO)
- Judi Dench, "Return To Cranford"
- Romola Garai, "Emma"
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, "The Client List"
Best actor in mini-series or made-for-TV movie:
- Idris Elba, "Luther"
- Ian McShane, "Pillars Of The Earth"
- Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"
- Dennis Quaid, "The Special Relationship"
- Edgar Ramirez, "Carlos"
Best supporting actress in mini-series or made-for-TV movie:
- Hope Davis, "The Special Relationship"
- Jane Lynch, "Glee"
- Kelly MacDonald, "Boardwalk Empire"
- Julia Stiles, "Dexter"
- Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
Best supporting actor in mini-series or made-for-TV movie:
- Scott Caan, "Hawaii Five-O"
- Chris Colfer, "Glee"
- Chris Noth, "The Good Wife"
- Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"
- David Strathairn, "Temple Grandin"
