Barbenheimer, big stars and high stakes: it’s Golden Globes time again

While Barbenheimer might have been the dominating box office story of 2023, the new year promises a new kind of battle as the two hit movies compete for awards, kicking off this weekend with the Golden Globes.

Greta Gerwig’s Mattel comedy Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb drama Oppenheimer both lead this year’s field with eight and seven nominations apiece and while they are mostly competing in separate genre categories – comedy/musical and drama – it’s likely the two films will still monopolise the night. Last year the two films combined made over $2bn at the global box office.

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It will bring a much-needed boost of broad commercial attention to the Globes, still fielding bad press after a series of exposés and revelations in 2021 uncovered corrupt practices and concerns over a lack over diversity. The 2022 ceremony was devoid of both stars and a television network as a result and while last year saw a starry televised return, questions over the future remain.

The last 12 months have seen the Globes become a for-profit organisation, welcoming 215 new voters, bringing its overall membership to 310. At the start of 2021, that number was just 87, with no Black members. Now 58% “self-identify as ethnically diverse” with the president, Helen Hoehne, now calling it “the most culturally diverse major awards body” in the industry.

Voters now represent 76 countries and this year’s nominations include a strong showing for a range of international films, including Anatomy of a Fall, Fallen Leaves, The Boy and the Heron and The Zone of Interest.

This year also include a number of firsts, with the Beef stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun as the first actors of Asian descent to be recognised in the limited TV series category and the Killers of the Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone as the first Native actor to be nominated for best actress, predicted by many to win.

Scorsese’s historical drama will battle it out with Oppenheimer for best drama, the two films seen as frontrunners while their stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Cillian Murphy will also go head-to-head for best actor, competing alongside the hotly tipped Bradley Cooper for his Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro.

In the comedy/musical categories, Barbie faces competition from Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos’s offbeat follow-up to The Favourite reuniting him with Emma Stone, and The Holdovers, a Christmas-set tale starring Paul Giamatti.

Gerwig, Nolan and Scorsese will all fight it out for best director.

On the TV end, the final season of Succession is predicted to triumph on the drama side with comedy awards likely to be shared by Abbott Elementary and The Bear.

The night will also see two new categories, best standup comedian on television and an award for box office achievement, which could see Taylor Swift win her first Golden Globe for the big-screen release of her hit Eras tour.

It’s been something of a mad scramble for a host with the comedian Jo Koy announced in late December with just over two weeks to air. “I’m going to poke fun, but I want to do it in a way where we’re still celebrating,” he said to Variety this week. “The industry got hit hard. Hollywood got shook. Everyone got shook. It wasn’t just the writers. It wasn’t just the actors … So, let’s celebrate. Let’s enjoy this. We have a great gig. That’s the approach I want to have on this one. This is a great moment for all of us.”

The Globes will mark the first major red-carpet event since both the end of the writers’ and actors’ strikes and the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In October, the Globes donated $75,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in response to the conflict. A statement said that the organisation shared in “the profound sadness and horror felt in the aftermath of the tragic and deeply hurtful events”.

Previous ceremonies have seen stars such as Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams make political speeches aimed at topics such as the presidency of Donald Trump and restricted abortion rights. Last year also included a special video message from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

There has been no confirmed political activity during Sunday’s ceremony or on the red carpet, where stars have previously worn ribbons in support of various causes.

The night promises a return to old-fashioned Globes glamour with A-listers confirmed to present awards including Oprah Winfrey, Florence Pugh, Angela Bassett and Will Ferrell. Winners will also receive gift bags estimated to be worth $500,000 including a five-day luxury yacht voyage through Indonesian waters valued at $50,000.

“The people watching at home are tuning in to see their favorite stars and TV shows and movies, and we’re here to honor them and have a good time,” the producer Ricky Kirshner told the LA Times. “I don’t think people at home really care about what happened in the past at this point.”

The Globes are seen as a major predictor of the Oscars, nominations for which will be announced on 23 January.