At Monday's restructured Golden Globes film nominations, the odd duo of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer"—which swept the box office and created many internet memes this summer—topped the list, reported AFP.
Nominated for nine awards, including Best Drama and Acting, "Barbie" was a colorful feminist parody of the all-conquering Barbie brand of plastic dolls and starred Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. In addition to becoming the highest-grossing film of the year with over $1.4 billion worldwide, "Barbie" received three awards for best song and was praised by writer-director Greta Gerwig.
Nominated for eight awards, including Best Director and Best Drama, Christopher Nolan's highly acclaimed biopic about the nuclear bomb's creator, "Oppenheimer," received rave reviews. Nods were extended to many members of the cast, including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr.
The box office was dominated by the two films, which were jointly named "Barbenheimer" since they were released on the same day. This has set a strong tone for Hollywood's film awards season, which culminates with the Oscars in March.
The Golden Globes also gave seven nominations to "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "Poor Things," while "Past Lives" received five. After an article in the Los Angeles Times in 2021 revealed that the Golden Globes' voting organization, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, did not include any Black members, the awards ceremony has been plagued by controversy ever since.
Allegations of corruption and amateurism were among the many long-simmering charges leveled against the HFPA that were brought to light by that disclosure. The HFPA was abolished earlier this year when a group of private investors, including US millionaire Todd Boehly, bought and revamped the awards' assets and trademarks. In addition to over 200 non-member (and unpaid) voters from all over the globe, the Golden Globes now include a salary-driven panel of former HFPA members headquartered in Hollywood who are no longer allowed to receive gifts in exchange for their votes.
"This has been a year of exciting change for the Golden Globes," said Helen Hoehne, head of the association, during Monday's nominations announcement. "Our voting body has grown to 300 members from 75 countries, making the Golden Globes the most culturally diverse major awards body."
'Box office' — In the wee hours of the morning in Los Angeles, "CBS Mornings" hosts Wilmer Valderrama and "Cedric The Entertainer" unveiled the nominations for the Golden Globes.
Cedric made a joke and said, "I'm taking coffee orders, guys," to the room full of exhausted journalists and Globes members. Following the departure of long-time host NBC, CBS, one of the most prominent national television networks in the United States, will be airing the Golden Globes.
After the 2023 Golden Globes hit a new low of 6.3 million viewers—even as other events like the Oscars bounced back from pandemic audience lows—CBS executives will be aiming for much better numbers. The addition of a new category for "best cinematic or box office achievement" would allow nominations for commercially successful films that would not often get critical acclaim.
Nominees included Marvel's superhero picture "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and Universal's $1.3 billion-grossing "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." The number of finalists in each category has been raised, perhaps in an effort to recognize more well-known figures.
A-listers including Emma Stone (for her role in the female Frankenstein-esque thriller "Poor Things") and Leonardo DiCaprio (lead of Martin Scorsese's murder epic "Killers of the Flower Moon") received nods.
Others were Paul Giamatti ("The Holdovers"), Timothee Chalamet ("Wonka"), Natalie Portman ("May December"), and Bradley Cooper (in the dual roles of actor and director) in "Maestro."
The Golden Globes also recognize excellence in television. There were nine nominations for "Succession" in the drama category, and five for "The Bear" and "Only Murders in the Building" in the comedy category.
January 7 will see the 81st annual Golden Globes event in Beverly Hills./BGNES
