Barbie came away with several awards but fell short in the most prestigious categories at the 81st Golden Globe Awards. Christopher Nolan’s American epic “Oppenheimer” dominated the ceremony, winning Best Drama Film, while Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” surprisingly triumphed over “Barbie” in the Best Comedy or Musical category. If the awards season was anticipating a showdown between “Barbenheimer,” this round belonged to “Oppenheimer.” Nolan also won Best Director, Cillian Murphy took home Best Dramatic Actor, Robert Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor, and Ludwig Göransson received Best Original Score. “Thank you to the Golden Globe journalists for changing, and therefore changing your name,” said Downey.
In addition to winning Best Comedy or Musical, “Poor Things” also earned recognition for Emma Stone’s performance as Bella. Stone described the film as a romantic comedy in the sense that Bella falls in love with life itself rather than a person. Lily Gladstone made history by becoming the first indigenous winner in the Best Actress in a Drama Film category for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone began her acceptance speech in the language of her native tribe, the Blackfeet Nation, and emphasized that her victory belonged not only to her but to her community.
The 81st Golden Globe Awards marked a new and uncertain chapter for the ceremony. After tumultuous editions and numerous scandals, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) disbanded, paving the way for a new iteration of the Golden Globes on a new network (CBS) in an attempt to regain its position as the third most important awards show of the year, following the Oscars and the Grammys. Even the menu, featuring Nobu sushi, had changed.
The ceremony had a rocky start. Host Joy Koy took the stage at the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom in Beverly Hills, California, and his monologue touched on expected topics such as the weight-loss drug Ozempic, Meryl Streep’s award-winning abilities, and the length of “Oppenheimer” (“It needed another hour,” he joked). After a joke that fell flat, Koy, who reportedly stepped in as host after other more prominent names declined, acknowledged how quickly he was chosen for the job. “Hey, I got the job 10 days ago. Want a perfect monologue?” he quipped. “I wrote some good ones that will make you laugh.”
Robert Downey Jr.’s victory, his third Golden Globe, denied Ryan Gosling and his “Kenergy” or Ken’s energy, which was considered one of the strongest contenders in the many head-to-head competitions between “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” The filmmakers faced off in the Best Director category, which Nolan ultimately won.
It took two hours for “Barbie,” the highest-grossing film of the year with over $1.4 billion in ticket sales, to win an award. Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” won Best Original Song, and shortly after, “Barbie” received the new honor of the Golden Globe for “cinematic and box office achievement.” Some thought the award might go to Taylor Swift, whose “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” also set box office records. Margot Robbie, star and producer of “Barbie,” accepted the award wearing a pink dress inspired by the 1977 Superstar Barbie. “We would like to dedicate this to every person on the planet who dressed up and went to the best place on Earth: the movie theaters,” Robbie said.
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” two blockbuster hits released on the same date, also competed in the Best Screenplay category. However, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari surprisingly won for the screenplay of the French legal drama “Anatomie d’une chute” (“Anatomy of a Fall”). Triet’s film also won Best Foreign Language Film.
While the Golden Globes do not directly correlate with the Academy Awards, they can influence campaigns at a crucial moment. Oscar nominations voting begins on Thursday, and the Barbenheimer sensations remain the favorites. However, there are other contenders on the horizon, including “Poor Things” and “The Holdovers.” Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” Giamatti, who reunited with Payne two decades after “Sideways,” won Best Actor, while Randolph won for her portrayal of a troubled woman in a 1970s boarding school drama. “Oh, Mary, you’ve changed my life,” Randolph said of her character. “You’ve made me feel seen in ways I never imagined.”
Hayao Miyazaki’s “Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka” (“How Do You Live?”) won Best Animated Film, beating out “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” The final season of “Succession” dominated the television categories, winning Best Drama Series for the third time, matching the record set by “Mad Men” and “The X-Files.” The HBO series also earned three acting awards for Matt Macfadyen, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin. “It’s bittersweet, but things like this make it a little bit sweeter,” said “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong. Hulu’s “The Bear” also won three awards, including Best Comedy Series. Jeremy Allen White won for the second time, but this time he had company. Ayo Edebiri won her first Golden Globe for her lead performance in the show’s second season. She thanked her agents and managers’ assistants, saying, “To the people who answer my emails.”
“Beef” won three awards, including Best Limited Series and acting awards for Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. The Golden Globes also introduced a new award for Best Comedy Monologue Performance on Television, which surprisingly went to Ricky Gervais, who did not attend the ceremony despite having hosted it multiple times. Some expected Chris Rock to win for “Selective Outrage,” his response to Will Smith’s slap.
List of Winners:
– Best Drama Film: “Oppenheimer”
– Best Comedy or Musical Film: “Poor Things”
– Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: “Barbie”
– Best Director: Christopher Nolan for “Oppenheimer”
– Best Actress in a Drama Film: Lily Gladstone for “Killers of the Flower Moon”
– Best Actor in a Drama Film: Cillian Murphy for “Oppenheimer”
– Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Film: Emma Stone for “Poor Things”
– Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film: Paul Giamatti for “The Holdovers”
– Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for “The Holdovers”
– Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. for “Oppenheimer”
– Best Foreign Language Film: “Anatomie d’une chute” (“Anatomy of a Fall”)
– Best Animated Film: “Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka” (“How Do You Live?”)
– Best Screenplay: “Anatomie d’une chute” (“Anatomy of a Fall”)
– Best Original Score: “Oppenheimer”
– Best Original Song: “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”
– Best Drama Series: “Succession”
– Best Actress in a Drama Series: Sarah Snook for “Succession”
– Best Actor in a Drama Series: Kieran Culkin for “Succession”
– Best Comedy or Musical Series: “The Bear”
– Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series: Ayo Edebiri for “The Bear”
– Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Series: Jeremy Allen White for “The Bear”
– Best Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie: “Beef”
– Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Made-for-TV Movie: Ali Wong for “Beef”
– Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Made-for-TV Movie: Steven Yeun for “Beef”
– Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series: Elizabeth Debicki for “The Crown”
– Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series: Matthew Macfadyen for “Succession
