The big box office battle that spawned the term Barbenheimer during the summer is back on, as Barbie and Oppenheimer have topped the list of nominations for the 2024 Golden Globes.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, based on the popular toy of the same name, has nine nominations across seven categories, including Best Comedy or Musical film, Best Actress in a Comedy film for Margot Robbie and three entries in the running for Best Original Song.
Christopher Nolan’s biopic of the creator of the atom bomb, Oppenheimer, is up for eight awards, including Best Drama, Best Actor in a drama film for Cillian Murphy, and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Junior.
Both films are up for Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Barbie won at the box office but with many of the categories separating dramas from comedies and musicals, both films will have a chance to shine when the Globes try to win back Hollywood after years of scandal.
As the buzz was growing around the 2021 awards, the Los Angeles Times publicised the fact that none of the voting members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association – which ran the awards – was black, setting off a wave of controversy, including accusations of bribery and misogyny.
Tom Cruise handed back his Golden Globes and a number of stars, including Mark Ruffalo and Scarlet Johansson, spoke out publicly against the organisation; Hollywood studios and publicists refused to allow their clients to speak to HFPA members and the NBC TV network refused to broadcast the event in 2022, so the winners were announced at a private dinner, with no-one there to collect the prizes.
In an effort to win back the support of Hollywood, new members were recruited, a diversity team was appointed, tighter rules were brought in, additional voters were found from outside the HFPA and the organisation began a purge of members it believed damaged its reputation. The final stage of its attempt to rehabilitate saw the HFPA itself extinguished after eight decades as the members sold the Golden Globes to the man who’d been brought in as their interim chief executive, to try to save the group, Hollywood mogul Todd Boehly, whose other interests include stakes in the entertainment press Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, as well as production companies such as Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Golden Globes awards show.
But even as the latest set of nominations is announced, as part of Golden Globes efforts to win back the support of the industry, the new owners are still facing legal action from one of the expelled members, Husam Asi, who has accused the former HFPA bosses of sexual harassment and racial discrimination, among other counts that they are contesting in court.
And with years of scandal still not put behind them, with a potentially embarrassing lawsuit hanging over them, the Golden Globes struggled to find a broadcaster for next month’s ceremony; its previous value of $60m a year from NBC is understood to have been slashed when CBS and its streaming service Paramount+ agreed, only last month, to screen it.
As well as trying to win back the support of the studios and stars alike, to combat a general fall in interest in awards shows across the board, the Globes have brought in some new populist categories, including an award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, in which Barbie and Oppenheimer will be up against commercial hits, such as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
By contrast, in the traditional categories, the Barbenheimer pair find themselves up against the films that are likely to making the running for the Oscars, in the weeks ahead, including Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things from Yorgos Lanthimos and Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers.
The Golden Globes might be under new management, but they’re still following their old policy of trying to boost their potential audience by trying to get some of the biggest stars in the industry onto their red carpet, with nominations for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence.
Another sign of continuity is the inclusion of TV shows among the awards, with the likes of Succession, Ted Lasso, Only Murders in the Building and The Crown dominating the nominations – in addition to a new category of Best Stand-Up, in which there’s a nomination for a former host of the Globes, Ricky Gervais. A host for the upcoming ceremony has not yet been announced.
The organisers will at least be relieved that months of pay disputes within the industry have come to an end in time for writers to be able to write the awards show and actors to be able to grace the red carpet, as they try to earn back their place as second only to the Oscars, without being drawn back into the shadows by their ongoing lawsuits.
The ceremony will take place on the 7th January, with winners being chosen by paid employees of the new Golden Globes organisation – and unpaid international critics – from the following full list of nominees:
Best Motion Picture, Drama
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
“Maestro” (Netflix)
“Past Lives” (A24)
“The Zone of Interest” (A24)
“Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon)
Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
“Barbie” (Warner Bros.)
“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
“American Fiction” (MGM)
“The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
“May December” (Netflix)
“Air” (Amazon MGM Studios)
Best Director, Motion Picture
Bradley Cooper — “Maestro”
Greta Gerwig — “Barbie”
Yorgos Lanthimos — “Poor Things”
Christopher Nolan — “Oppenheimer”
Martin Scorsese — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Celine Song — “Past Lives”
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
“Barbie” — Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
“Poor Things” — Tony McNamara
“Oppenheimer” — Christopher Nolan
“Killers of the Flower Moon” — Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese
“Past Lives” — Celine Song
“Anatomy of a Fall” — Justine Triet, Arthur Harari
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Bradley Cooper — “Maestro”
Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer”
Leonardo DiCaprio — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Colman Domingo — “Rustin”
Andrew Scott — “All of Us Strangers”
Barry Keoghan — “Saltburn”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Lily Gladstone — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Carey Mulligan – “Maestro”
Sandra Hüller – “Anatomy of a Fall”
Annette Bening — “Nyad”
Greta Lee — “Past Lives”
Cailee Spaeny — “Priscilla”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Fantasia Barrino – “The Color Purple”
Jennifer Lawrence – “No Hard Feelings”
Natalie Portman – “May December”
Alma Pöysti – “Fallen Leaves”
Margot Robbie – “Barbie”
Emma Stone – “Poor Things”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Nicolas Cage — “Dream Scenario”
Timothée Chalamet — “Wonka”
Matt Damon — “Air”
Paul Giamatti — “The Holdovers”
Joaquin Phoenix — “Beau Is Afraid”
Jeffrey Wright — “American Fiction”
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Willem Dafoe — “Poor Things”
Robert DeNiro — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Robert Downey Jr. — “Oppenheimer”
Ryan Gosling — “Barbie”
Charles Melton — “May December”
Mark Ruffalo — “Poor Things”
Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Emily Blunt — “Oppenheimer”
Danielle Brooks — “The Color Purple”
Jodie Foster — “Nyad”
Julianne Moore — “May December”
Rosamund Pike — “Saltburn”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers”
Best Television Series, Drama
“1923” (Paramount+)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Diplomat” (Netflix)
“The Last of Us” (HBO)
“The Morning Show” (Apple TV+)
“Succession” (HBO)
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
“The Bear” (FX)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
“Jury Duty” (Amazon Freevee)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
“Barry” (HBO)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Pedro Pascal — “The Last of Us”
Kieran Culkin — “Succession”
Jeremy Strong — “Succession”
Brian Cox — “Succession”
Gary Oldman — “Slow Horses”
Dominic West — “The Crown”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Helen Mirren — “1923”
Bella Ramsey — “The Last of Us”
Keri Russell — “The Diplomat”
Sarah Snook — “Succession”
Imelda Staunton — “The Crown”
Emma Stone — “The Curse”
Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Ayo Edebiri — “The Bear”
Natasha Lyonne — “Poker Face”
Quinta Brunson — “Abbott Elementary”
Rachel Brosnahan — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Selena Gomez — “Only Murders in the Building”
Elle Fanning – “The Great”
Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Bill Hader — “Barry”
Steve Martin — “Only Murders in the Building”
Martin Short — “Only Murders in the Building”
Jason Segel — “Shrinking”
Jason Sudeikis — “Ted Lasso”
Jeremy Allen White — “The Bear”
Best Supporting Actor, Television
Billy Crudup — “The Morning Show”
Matthew Macfadyen — “Succession”
James Marsden — “Jury Duty”
Ebon Moss-Bachrach — “The Bear”
Alan Ruck — “Succession”
Alexander Skarsgård — “Succession”
Best Supporting Actress, Television
Elizabeth Debicki — “The Crown”
Abby Elliott — “The Bear”
Christina Ricci — “Yellowjackets”
J. Smith-Cameron — “Succession”
Meryl Streep — “Only Murders in the Building”
Hannah Waddingham — “Ted Lasso”
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
“Beef”
“Lessons in Chemistry”
“Daisy Jones & the Six”
“All the Light We Cannot See”
“Fellow Travelers”
“Fargo”
Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Matt Bomer — “Fellow Travelers”
Sam Claflin — “Daisy Jones & the Six”
Jon Hamm — “Fargo”
Woody Harrelson — “White House Plumbers”
David Oyelowo — “Lawmen: Bass Reeves”
Steven Yeun — “Beef”
Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Riley Keough — “Daisy Jones & the Six”
Brie Larson — “Lessons in Chemistry”
Elizabeth Olsen — “Love and Death”
Juno Temple — “Fargo”
Rachel Weisz — “Dead Ringers”
Ali Wong — “Beef”
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Ludwig Göransson — “Oppenheimer”
Jerskin Fendrix — “Poor Things”
Robbie Robertson — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Mica Levi — “The Zone of Interest”
Daniel Pemberton — “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Joe Hisaishi — “The Boy and the Heron”
Best Picture, Non-English Language
“Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon) — France
“Fallen Leaves” (Mubi) — Finland
“Io Capitano” (01 Distribution) — Italy
“Past Lives” (A24) — United States
“Society of the Snow” (Netflix) — Spain
“The Zone of Interest” (A24) — United Kingdom
Best Original Song, Motion Picture
“Barbie” — “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas
“Barbie” — “Dance the Night” by Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
“She Came to Me” — “Addicted to Romance” by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” — “Peaches” by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, and John Spiker
“Barbie” — “I’m Just Ken” by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
“Rustin” — “Road to Freedom” by Lenny Kravitz
Best Motion Picture, Animated
“The Boy and the Heron” (GKids)
“Elemental” (Disney)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal Pictures)
“Suzume” (Toho Co.)
“Wish” (Disney)
Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy or Television
Ricky Gervais — “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon”
Trevor Noah — “Trevor Noah: Where Was I”
Chris Rock — “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage”
Amy Schumer — “Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact”
Sarah Silverman — “Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love”
Wanda Sykes — “Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer”
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
“Barbie” (Warner Bros.)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney)
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate Films)
“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” (Paramount Pictures)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal Pictures)
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (AMC Theatres)