Barbenheimer has dominated Hollywood in 2023 and organizers of the newly reformed Golden Globes are hoping to cash in on that hype at the upcoming awards ceremony on Sunday.
Kicking off awards season from the usual posh Beverly Hills ballroom at 5 p.m., the Globes have new owners and new voters — and have plenty of box office gold to toast.
The show should celebrate barbie And Oppenheimer – two films which won over critics and audiences when they were released simultaneously in the summer of 2023, and between them have 17 nominations.
“They're so different from each other, and yet they both succeeded… We're thrilled that they're both well-represented here,” said Glenn Weiss, producer of this year's Globes . “It’s been a big reset for the Globes,” he told AFP.
That of Greta Gerwig barbie tops the nominations list with nine nominations. The film put a clever satirical spin on the tale of the beloved doll and transformed it into a story of female empowerment.
It is tipped to win the Globes for best comedy film and best screenplay and has three of the six contenders for best song. As the highest-grossing film of the year, it is also likely to win a newly created award for its box office achievements.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan Oppenheimer — the other half of last summer's viral movie phenomenon — tells the story of the inventor of the atomic bomb and has eight nominations.
The favorite to win the Best Drama Film, Best Director and Best Music awards, Oppenheimer focuses on the rivalry between a brilliant scientist and a powerful politician, played by Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., respectively.
They are strong contenders for Best Lead Drama Actor and Supporting Actor.
The Globes, which for decades have provided huge publicity and a timely boost to Oscar contenders, will be closely scrutinized as they aim to rebound after years of declining audiences. The organization has been accused of corruption and racism in the recent past and was even disbanded completely in 2022.
Since then, the obscure and rowdy group of Los Angeles-based foreign journalists that created the Globes 80 years ago has disbanded, and a broader network of foreign critics has been brought in to choose this year's winners.
Alongside movie stars like Leonardo DiCaprio (Flower Moon Killers), among the nominees are big names from the music world such as Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa – both for best song – and Taylor Swift for her recent concert film.
Cooper plans to double the Globes
If Cillian Murphy misses out on the Best Actor in a Drama title, it will likely be Bradley Cooper, who plays Leonard Bernstein in Maestro.
Cooper is also nominated for directing and would be the first person to receive both acting and directing gongs for the same film.
Elsewhere, Indigenous actress Lily Gladstone is a favorite leading drama actress for her role in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which has seven nominations in total.
On the television side, Succession, The Bear And Beef are expected to dominate the drama, comedy and limited series categories respectively.
Comedian Jo Koy hosts the 81st edition of the Golden Globes, broadcast in the United States on CBS.