Written by Brent Lang & Ethan Shanfeld, Variety
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a feminist phenomenon that traces its origins to toy store shelves, dominated nominations for the 2024 Golden Globe Awards. Its 10 nods makes the movie the second most-nominated in the 81-year history of the show, tying it with “Cabaret.”
“Barbie” was followed closely by “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s look at J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb, which scored eight nominations. “Oppenheimer” was released on the same weekend as “Barbie,” a rare confluence of blockbusters that inspired memes and, later, Halloween costumes, while turbocharging the box office.
Unlike the Oscars, the Globes honor the best of both film and television and steer clear of recognizing excellence in most below-the-line crafts like editing or cinematography. They also distinguish between film genres, recognizing the best comedies and musicals separately from the best dramas. Thus, “Oppenheimer” will compete for the top drama prize alongside “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest” and “Past Lives.” For its part, “Barbie” will vie for best comedy or musical with “Air,” “American Fiction,” “Poor Things,” “May December” and “The Holdovers.”
“Succession,” HBO’s look at a media mogul’s warring family, scored a leading nine nominations for its final season. FX’s “The Bear” and Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” were the second-most nominated shows with five nods apiece. In addition to “Succession,” the best TV drama race will involve “1923,” “The Crown,” “The Diplomat,” “The Last of Us” and “The Morning Show.” “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building” will duke it out for best comedy with “Abbott Elementary,” “Barry,” “Jury Duty” and “Ted Lasso.”
Netflix, the producer of series and movies like “Maestro,” “The Crown” and “The Diplomat,” scored the most nominations of any media company, with 28. It was followed by Warner Bros. Discovery with 27 – its haul included nominations for “Barbie,” “Succession” and “Barry.”
Not everyone had cause to celebrate the morning’s announcement. Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” and Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” were shut out despite earning rave reviews, while “The Color Purple” failed to snag a best musical or comedy nomination, and the reboot of “Frasier” went home empty-handed.
There are some notable changes to this year’s show. Each category now has six, instead of five nominees. Additionally, the Globes introduced two new prizes to celebrate box office achievements and stand-up comedy performances. That meant that films like “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” are being recognized for their ticket sales, while the likes of Trevor Noah, Amy Schumer and Ricky Gervais (a former Globes host) are getting attention for their stand-up specials.
The Globes, which are voted on by roughly 300 journalists, don’t always line up with the picks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which is comprised of 10,500 film industry professionals. Last year’s top Globes went to “The Fabelmans” and “The Banshees of Inisherin,” while the Oscars selected “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as best picture.
Nominations for the top honors were unveiled by Cedric “The Entertainer” and Wilmer Valderrama. The ceremony takes place Jan. 7, and will be broadcast live on CBS, the awards ceremony’s new network home. The ceremony will also stream on Paramount+ and the CBS app. The Globes had aired on NBC for decades, but that partnership ended with the 2023 broadcast. During much of that run, the Globes were seen as an essential stop in Hollywood’s long and winding awards season, and their boozy ceremonies were appointment viewing for audiences hoping to see a less guarded side of A-list talent (the free-flowing champagne helped loosen those inhibitions). It was one of the only awards shows where winners like Christine Lahti and Renée Zellweger were late accepting their prize because of an ill-timed bathroom break.
However, the good times ended as questions arose about the lack of diversity and ethical practices of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group behind the awards. Boycotts followed, and NBC opted not to air the 2022 show (it returned last year). Since that time, the Globes has worked to expand its membership, clean up its guidelines and has reorganized itself as a for-profit entity, after the HFPA was wound down and its assets were sold to Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge. Variety’s parent company, Penske Media, subsequently acquired Dick Clark Productions in a joint venture with Eldridge. The show has yet to reveal a host for this year’s broadcast — the 2023 telecast was emceed by Jerrod Carmichael. So it’s unclear who will be cracking jokes from the stage as the Globes seeks to reinvent itself and restore its reputation as the loose and fun, yet still prestigious, major awards ceremony.
Best Motion Picture, Drama
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
“Maestro” (Netflix) - Co-VFX Producer: Rebecca "Beck" Dunn
“Past Lives” (A24)
“The Zone of Interest” (A24)
“Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon)
Best Television Series, Drama
“1923” (Paramount+)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Diplomat” (Netflix) - Costume Designer: Roland Sanchez
“The Last of Us” (HBO) - Editors: Timothy A. Good, ACE & Mark Hartzell, ACE; 2nd Unit DP: Roger Vernon
“The Morning Show” (Apple TV+)
“Succession” (HBO)
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
“The Bear” (FX)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+) - Production Designer: Paul Cripps; Costume Designer: Jacky Levy, Editor: A.J. Catoline, ACE
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
“Jury Duty” (Amazon Freevee) - Editor: Diana Fishman
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
“Barry” (HBO) - Stunt Coordinator: Wade Allen
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
“Beef” - Costume Designer: Helen Huang; ACD: YJ Hwang
“Lessons in Chemistry”
“Daisy Jones & the Six” - 1st Assistant Director: Anna Notarides
“All the Light We Cannot See”
“Fellow Travelers”
“Fargo” - Editor: Christopher Nelson, ACE
Best Motion Picture, Animated
“The Boy and the Heron” (GKids)
“Elemental” (Disney)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures) - Editor: Michael Andrews, ACE
“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” - Cinematographer: Rhet Bear
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) - Editor: Michael Andrews, ACE
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal Pictures)
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (AMC Theatres)
