As Hollywood gears up for the Golden Globes, the spotlight shines on the box office sensation 'Barbie', leading the nominees and setting the stage for the glamorous commencement of the awards season. This event marks the first major celebration in Tinseltown since the resolution of contentious labor disputes last year.
The Golden Globes, known as the precursor to the industry's grand awards season, will recognize outstanding achievements in both film and television. A notable shift this year involves approximately 300 entertainment journalists from around the world participating in the voting process, a significant departure from the previous method where only around 80 individuals determined the winners. The stage is set for Hollywood's stars to revel in a night of recognition and celebration.
"Barbie," the female-empowering doll adventure, tops the field with nine nominations. The movie directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie is expected to claim the trophy for best film musical or comedy over "The Holdovers," "Poor Things" and others, according to experts polled by the Gold Derby website.
Historical drama "Oppenheimer," with eight nominations, is the favorite for best movie drama. The story about the man behind the atomic bomb had competed with "Barbie" over the summer in a box office clash dubbed "Barbenheimer."
"Barbie" reigned as the highest-grossing film of 2023 with $1.4 billion in ticket sales. "Oppenheimer" finished third with $952 million.
"I can see both of them doing really well on Sunday night," said Joyce Eng, senior editor at Gold Derby.
Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who played Barbie's boyfriend Ken, are nominated in acting categories, as is Cillian Murphy, who portrayed J. Robert Oppenheimer, and co-star Robert Downey Jr.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone are contending for Globe acting honors for "Killers of the Flower Moon," Martin Scorsese's film about the murder of Native Americans in 1920s Oklahoma.
Bradley Cooper is in the running for best actor and best director for Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro."
The Globes are the first major awards show since Hollywood endured two bitter strikes by writers and then actors last year. The work stoppages shut down film and television production, as well as many red carpet events, for months.
Known as a booze-fueled celebration more relaxed than the Oscars, the Globes nearly became extinct. A 2021 Los Angeles Times report revealed ethical lapses and a lack of diversity among members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that previously voted on the Globes. The 2022 ceremony was scrapped while the organization made reforms.
Last year, the Globes were sold to new owners and the association was disbanded. Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions now operate the awards, with a voting body of 300 journalist members from 75 countries with 60% racial and ethnic diversity.
There are 27 first-time nominees for this year's Globes.
'Love a good party'
Hollywood's top talent appears ready to move forward with the Globes, said Chris Gardner, senior staff writer for The Hollywood Reporter.
"They love a good party and they also love the recognition," Gardner said. "This is a show that is looser than the other shows you see on television."
Sunday's ceremony will be hosted by comedian Jo Koy, a comic of Filipino heritage, in his first major hosting gig. It will be broadcast live on CBS and streamed simultaneously for subscribers to Paramount+ with Showtime.
One possible guest in the A-list crowd is pop superstar Taylor Swift. Her concert film, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," was nominated in the new category of cinematic and box office achievement. It is unclear whether she will attend the ceremony.
In the television field, "Succession" is expected to win accolades for its final season about the high-stakes battle for control of a global media empire. It leads all nominees with nine nods, followed by restaurant dramedy "The Bear" with five.
Winners of the film awards are closely watched as they can provide a boost in the race to the Academy Awards in March.
The Globes were known in the past, however, for some unexpected choices. Awards watchers will be looking to see whehter that changes with a larger voting body.
One category to watch, Eng said, is best original song, where three "Barbie" songs are competing. They are Billie Eilish's soul-searching "What Was I Made For?," Dua Lipa's upbeat "Dance the Night," and Gosling's lamenting power ballad "I'm Just Ken."
"It would be a total Globes thing to give it to 'I'm Just Ken,'" Eng said. "It's like a novelty song and it's kind of quirky."
(With inputs from Reuters)