‘Oppenheimer’ dominates Golden Globes, ‘Poor Things’ upsets ‘Barbie’ in comedy

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic “Oppenheimer” dominated the 81st Golden Globes, winning five awards including best drama, while Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein riff “Poor Things” pulled off an upset victor over “Barbie” to triumph in the best comedy or musical category.

If awards season has been building toward a second match-up of Barbenheimer, this round went to “Oppenheimer.” The film also won best director for Nolan, best drama actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and for Ludwig Göransson’s score.

“I don’t think it was a no-brainer by any stretch of the imagination to make a three-hour talky movie — R-rated by the way — about one of the darkest developments in our history,” said producer Emma Thomas accepting the night’s final award and thanking Universal chief Donna Langley.

Along with best comedy or musical, “Poor Things” also won for Emma Stone’s performance as Bella, a Victorian-era woman experiencing a surreal sexual awakening.

“I see this as a rom-com,” said Stone. “But in the sense that Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person. She accepts the good and the bad in equal measure, and that really made me look at life differently.”

Lily Gladstone won best actress in a dramatic film for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone, who began her speech speaking the language of her native tribe, Blackfeet Nation, is the first Indigenous winner in the category.

“This is a historic win,” said Gladstone. “It doesn’t just belong to me.”

[Lily Gladstone opens Golden Globe victory speech in Blackfeet language: ‘This is a historic win’]

The Globes were in their ninth decade but facing a new and uncertain chapter. After a tumultuous few years of scandal, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was dissolved, leaving a new Globes, on a new network (CBS), to try to regain its perch as the third biggest award show of the year, after the Oscars and Grammys. Even the menu (sushi from Nobu) was remade.

“Golden Globes journalists, thank you for changing your game, therefore changing your name,” said Downey in his acceptance speech.

It got off to a rocky start. Host Jo Koy took the stage at the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom in Beverly Hills, California . The Filipino American stand-up hit on some expected topics: Ozempic, Meryl Streep’s knack for winning awards and the long-running “Oppenheimer.” (“I needed another hour.”)

After one joke flubbed, Koy, who was named host after some bigger names reportedly passed, also noted how fast he was thrust into the job.

“Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue?” said Koy. “I wrote some of these and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”

Downey’s win, his third Globe, denied one to “Kenergy.” Ryan Gosling had been seen as his stiffest competition, just one of the many head-to-head contests between “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” The filmmakers faced each other in the best director category, where Nolan triumphed.

It was two hours before “Barbie,” the year’s biggest hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, won an award Sunday. Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” took best song, and swiftly after, “Barbie” took the Globes’ new honor for “cinematic and box office achievement.” Some thought that award might go to Taylor Swift, whose “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” also set box-office records. Swift, though, remains winless in five Globe nods.

Margot Robbie, star and producer of “Barbie,” accepted the award in a pink gown modeled after 1977′s Superstar Barbie.

“We’d like to dedicate this to every single person on the planet who dressed up and went to the greatest place on Earth: the movie theaters,” said Robbie.

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” two blockbusters brought together by a common release date, also faced off in the best screenplay category. But in an upset, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won for the script to the French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall.” Later, Triet’s film picked up best international film, too.

Though the Globes have no direct correlation with the Academy Awards, they can boost campaigns at a crucial juncture. Oscar nomination voting starts Thursday, and the twin sensations of Barbenheimer remain frontrunners.

Other contenders loom, though, like “Poor Things” and “The Holdovers.”

Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph both won for Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” Giamatti, reuniting with Payne two decades after “Sideways,” won best actor and Randolph won for her supporting performance as a grieving woman in the 1970s-set boarding school drama.

“Oh, Mary you have changed my life,” Randolph said of her character. “You have made me feel seen in so many ways that I have never imagined.”

Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won best animated film, an upset over “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

The final season of “Succession” cleaned up on the television side. It won best drama series for the third time, a mark that ties a record set by “Mad Men” and “The X-Files.” Three stars from the HBO series also won: Matt Macfadyen, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin.

“It is bittersweet, but things like this make it rather sweeter,” said “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong.

Hulu’s “The Bear” also came away with a trio of awards, including best comedy series. Jeremy Allen White won for the second time, but this time he had company. Ayo Edebiri won her first Globe for her leading performance in the Hulu show’s second season. She thanked the assistants of her agents and managers.

“To the people who answer my emails, you’re the real ones,” said Edebiri.

“Beef” won three awards: best limited series as well as acting awards for Ali Wong and Steven Yeun.

The Globes also added a new stand-up special award. That went, surprisingly, to Ricky Gervais, who didn’t attend the show he so often hosted. Some expected Chris Rock to win for “Selective Outrage,” his stand-up response to the Will Smith slap.

A few years ago, the Golden Globes were on the cusp of collapse. After The Los Angeles Times reported that the HFPA had no Black members, Hollywood boycotted the organization. The 2022 Globes were all but canceled and taken off TV. After reforms, the Globes returned to NBC last year in a one-year deal, but the show was booted to Tuesday evening. With Jerrod Carmichael hosting, the telecast attracted 6.3 million viewers, a new low on NBC and a far cry from the 20 million that once tuned in.

The Golden Globes were acquired by Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which Penske Media owns, and turned into a for-profit venture. The HFPA (which typically numbered around 90 voters) was dissolved and a group of some 300 entertainment journalists from around the world now vote for the awards.

Questions still remain about the Globes’ long-term future, but their value to Hollywood studios remains providing a marketing boost to awards contenders. (The Oscars won’t be held until March 10.) This year, because of the actors and writers strikes, the Globes are airing ahead of the Emmys, which were postponed to Jan. 15.

With movie ticket sales still 20% off the pre-pandemic pace and the industry facing a potentially perilous 2024 at the box office, Hollywood needed the Golden Globes as much as it ever has.

The most comical evaluation on the Globes came from presenters Will Ferrell and Kristin Wiig, who blamed the awards body for the constant interruption of a song they found irresistible while otherwise solemnly presenting best actor in a drama.

A furious, dancing Ferrell shouted: “The Golden Globes have not changed!”

Here’s the full list of the 2024 Golden Globes winners (Via Los Angeles Times):

Motion Picture – Drama

“Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon)

“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)

“Maestro” (Netflix)

“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures) | WINNER

“Past Lives” (A24)

“The Zone of Interest” (A24)

Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Annette Bening (“Nyad”)

Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) | WINNER

Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”)

Greta Lee (“Past Lives”)

Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”)

Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”)

Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

“Air” (Amazon MGM Studios)

“American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)

“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

“The Holdovers” (Focus Features)

“May December” (Netflix)

“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures) | WINNER

Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Nicolas Cage (“Dream Scenario”)

Timothée Chalamet (“Wonka”)

Matt Damon (“Air”)

Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”) | WINNER

Joaquin Phoenix (“Beau Is Afraid”)

Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”)

Television Series – Drama

“1923″ (Paramount+)

“The Crown” (Netflix)

“The Diplomat” (Netflix)

“The Last Of Us” (HBO | Max)

“The Morning Show” (Apple TV+)

“Succession” (HBO | Max) / WINNER

Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Helen Mirren (”1923″)

Bella Ramsey (“The Last Of Us”)

Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”)

Sarah Snook (“Succession”) | WINNER

Imelda Staunton (“The Crown”)

Emma Stone (“The Curse”)

Television Series – Musical or Comedy

“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

“Barry” (HBO | Max)

“The Bear” (FX) | WINNER

“Jury Duty” (Amazon Freevee)

“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)

“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)

Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

“All The Light We Cannot See” (Netflix)

“Beef” (Netflix) | WINNER

“Daisy Jones & The Six” (Prime Video)

“Fargo” (FX)

“Fellow Travelers” (Showtime)

“Lessons in Chemistry” (Apple TV+)

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures) | WINNER

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

“John Wick: Chapter 4″ (Lionsgate)

“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1″ (Paramount Pictures)

“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal Pictures)

“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (AMC Theatres Distribution)

Original Song – Motion Picture

“Addicted to Romance” — “She Came to Me,” Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen

“Dance the Night” — “Barbie,” Music & Lyrics by: Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Dua Lipa, Caroline Ailin

“I’m Just Ken” — “Barbie,” Music & Lyrics by: Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt

“Peaches” — “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” Music & Lyrics by: Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, John Spiker

“Road to Freedom” — “Rustin,” Music & Lyrics by: Lenny Kravitz

“What Was I Made For?” — “Barbie,” Music & Lyrics by: Billie Eilish O’Connell, Finneas O’Connell | WINNER

Original Score – Motion Picture

Jerskin Fendrix (“Poor Things”)

Ludwig Göransson (“Oppenheimer”) | WINNER

Joe Hisaishi (“The Boy and the Heron”)

Mica Levi (“The Zone of Interest”)

Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”)

Robbie Robertson (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)

Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”)

Leonardo DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)

Colman Domingo (“Rustin”)

Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn”)

Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) | WINNER

Andrew Scott (“All of Us Strangers”)

Female Actor 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”) | WINNER

Director – Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”)

Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”)

Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”)

Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”) | WINNER

Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)

Celine Song (“Past Lives”)

Motion Picture – Animated

“The Boy and the Heron” (GKIDS) | WINNER

“Elemental” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal Pictures)

“Suzume” (Crunchyroll / Sony Pictures Entertainment)

“Wish” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Brian Cox (“Succession”)

Kieran Culkin (“Succession”) | WINNER

Gary Oldman (“Slow Horses”)

Pedro Pascal (“The Last Of Us”)

Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)

Dominic West (“The Crown”)

Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)

Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”)

Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) | WINNER

Elle Fanning (“The Great”)

Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”)

Natasha Lyonne (“Poker Face”)

Motion Picture – Non-English Language

“Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon) - France | WINNER

“Fallen Leaves” (Mubi) - Finland

“Io Capitano” (Pathe Distribution) - Italy

“Past Lives” (A24) - USA

“Society of the Snow” (Netflix) - Spain

“The Zone of Interest” (A24) - United Kingdom / USA

Stand-Up Comedy Performance

Ricky Gervais (“Ricky Gervais: Armageddon”) | WINNER

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”)

Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Bill Hader (“Barry”)

Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)

Jason Segel (“Shrinking”)

Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)

Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)

Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) | WINNER

Screenplay – Motion Picture

Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach (“Barbie”)

Tony McNamara (“Poor Things”)

Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”)

Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)

Celine Song (“Past Lives”)

Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (“Anatomy of a Fall”) | WINNER

Male Actor in a Supporting Role On Television

Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)

Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”) | WINNER

James Marsden (“Jury Duty”)

Ebon Moss–Bachrach (“The Bear”)

Alan Ruck (“Succession”)

Alexander Skarsgård (“Succession”)

Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown”) | WINNER

Abby Elliott (“The Bear”)

Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”)

J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”)

Meryl Streep (“Only Murders in the Building”)

Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”)

Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a 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”) | WINNER

Female Actor in a 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 & Death”)

Juno Temple (“Fargo”)

Rachel Weisz (“Dead Ringers”)

Ali Wong (“Beef”) | WINNER

Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”)

Robert De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)

Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”) | WINNER

Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”)

Charles Melton (“May December”)

Mark Ruffalo (“Poor Things”)

Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a 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”) | WINNER