Christopher Nolan鈥檚 blockbuster biopic 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� dominated the , winning five awards including best drama, while Yorgos Lanthimos鈥� Frankenstein riff 鈥淧oor Things鈥� pulled off an upset victor over 鈥淏arbie鈥� 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 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� The film also won best director for Nolan, , best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and for Ludwig G枚ransson鈥檚 score.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it was a no-brainer by any stretch of the imagination to make a three-hour talky movie 鈥� R-rated by the way 鈥� about one of the darkest developments in our history,鈥� said producer Emma Thomas accepting the night鈥檚 final award and thanking Universal chief Donna Langley.
Along with best comedy or musical, 鈥淧oor Things鈥� also won for , a Victorian woman experiencing a surreal life and sexual awakening.
鈥淚 see this as a rom-com,鈥� said Stone. 鈥淏ut 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.鈥�
won best actress in a dramatic film for Martin Scorsese鈥檚 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon.鈥� Gladstone, who began her speech speaking the language of her native tribe, Blackfeet Nation, is the first Indigenous winner in the category.
鈥淭his is a historic win,鈥� said Gladstone. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 just belong to me.鈥�
The were in their 81st year but facing a new and uncertain chapter. After a tumultuous few years and heaps of scandals, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was dissolved, leaving a new Globes, , 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 flipped.
鈥淕olden Globes journalists, thank you for changing your game, therefore changing your name,鈥� 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鈥檚 knack for winning awards and the long-running 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� (鈥淚 needed another hour.鈥�)
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.
鈥淵o, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue?鈥� said Koy. 鈥淚 wrote some of these and they鈥檙e the ones you鈥檙e laughing at.鈥�
HI, BARBIE
Downey鈥檚 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 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� and Greta Gerwig鈥檚 鈥淏arbie.鈥� The filmmakers faced each other in the best director category, where Nolan triumphed.
It was two hours before 鈥淏arbie,鈥� the with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, won an award. Billie Eilish鈥檚 鈥淲hat Was I Made For?鈥� took best song, and swiftly after, 鈥淏arbie鈥� took the Globes鈥� new honor for 鈥渃inematic and box office achievement.鈥� Some thought that award might go to Taylor Swift, whose 鈥淭aylor Swift: The Eras Tour鈥� also set box-office records.
Margot Robbie, star and producer of 鈥淏arbie,鈥� accepted the award in a .
鈥淲e鈥檇 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,鈥� said Robbie.
鈥淏arbie鈥� and 鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� two blockbusters , 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 Later, Triet鈥檚 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 鈥淧oor Things鈥� and 鈥淭he Holdovers.鈥�
Paul Giamatti and Da鈥橵ine Joy Randolph both won for Giamatti, reuniting with Payne two decades after 鈥淪ideways,鈥� won best actor and Randolph won for her supporting performance as a grieving woman in the 1970s-set boarding school drama.
鈥淥h, Mary you have changed my life,鈥� Randolph said of her character. 鈥淵ou have made me feel seen in so many ways that I have never imagined.鈥�
Hayao Miyazaki鈥檚 鈥淭he Boy and the Heron鈥� won best animated film, an upset over 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.鈥�
鈥楽UCCESSION鈥� AND 鈥楾HE BEAR鈥� LEAD TV WINNERS
The cleaned up on the television side. It won best drama series for the third time, a mark that ties a record set by 鈥淢ad Men鈥� and 鈥淭he X-Files.鈥� Three stars from the HBO series also won: Matt Macfadyen, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin.
鈥淚t is bittersweet, but things like this make it rather sweeter,鈥� said 鈥淪uccession鈥� creator Jesse Armstrong.
Hulu鈥檚 鈥淭he Bear鈥� 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鈥檚 second season. She thanked the assistants of her agents and managers.
鈥淭o the people who answer my emails, you鈥檙e the real ones,鈥� said Edebiri.
鈥淏eef鈥� 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鈥檛 attend the show he so often hosted. Some expected Chris Rock to win for 鈥淪elective Outrage,鈥� his .
THE GLOBES COMEBACK
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, The 2022 Globes were all but canceled and . 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, 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 new group of some 300 entertainment journalists from around the world now vote for the awards.
Questions still remain about the Globes鈥� long-term future, but their value to Hollywood studios remains providing a marketing boost to awards contenders. (The Oscars won鈥檛 be held until March 10.) This year, because of the actors and writers strikes, the Globes are airing ahead of the Emmys, which were
With movie ticket sales still and the industry facing a potentially perilous 2024 at the box office, Hollywood needed the Golden Globes as much as it ever has.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
