Beverly Hills, Jan. 16 (Reuters): The searing cultural drama Babel and the uplifting musical Dreamgirls won the top Golden Globe awards yesterday, making them instant Oscar front-runners.

Dreamgirls, which follows the rise of three women singers and closely the ascendancy of all-girl groups like The Supremes, won three awards.

Babel, a story of cultural differences and communication failures across borders, earned only one award but a big one — best film drama.