'Barbenheimer' tops Golden Globes nominations

LOS ANGELES

"Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" - the unlikely pair of films that dominated the box office and spawned countless internet memes this summer - topped the newly revamped Golden Globes nominations on Dec. 11.

"Barbie" - a vivid feminist satire about the all-conquering line of plastic dolls - claimed nine nods, including best comedy as well as acting nominations for stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

This year's top-grossing movie, earning more than $1.4 billion globally, "Barbie" also scooped a whopping three best song nominations, and recognition for its writer-director Greta Gerwig.

"Oppenheimer," Christopher Nolan's critically adored film about the inventor of the nuclear bomb, took eight nominations, including best drama and best director.

Cast members including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr all received nods.

The two blockbusters - collectively dubbed "Barbenheimer" after their theatrical releases happened to fall on the same date - now have a strong start to Hollywood's film awards season, which ends with the Oscars in March.

"It's amazing that they maintained that momentum," said the Globes' new executive vice president Tim Gray.

"Last July, people were exclaiming about how popular they are, but I think nobody was confident that they were going to dominate the awards. But they did."

Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” and Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” both received seven nominations each. “Poor Things” saw nominations for Lanthimos, its actors Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, and Tony McNamara for screenplay. “Killers of the Flower Moon” got nods for Scorsese, for direction and co-writing the screenplay with Eric Roth, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro.

“Barbie” tied for second-most nominations in Globes history with “Cabaret,” from 1972. Robert Altman’s “Nashville” remains the record-holder with 11 nominations. It went into the morning as a favorite and got a big boost from its three original song nominations, including “I'm Just Ken," and one of the year’s new categories, recognizing cinematic and box office achievement. One person who was not nominated was America Ferrera, who delivered the movie's most memorable monologue.

“Succession” was the top-nominated television program, with nine nods including for series stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin, followed by Hulu's “The Bear.”

The 81st Golden Globes will be the first major broadcast of awards season, with a new home on CBS, but no word yet on a host. It’s been tumultuous few years behind the scenes in the aftermath of the L.A. Times report, which also exposed ethical lapses like its members accepting lavish gifts and travel from awards publicists and studios.