The Barbie and Oppenheimer films will continue their duel, which began last July, at the Golden Globes. The two feature films, which topped the box office this summer, dominated the Golden Globe nominations on Monday, December 11. A true cultural and commercial phenomenon, the film Barbie by American Greta Gerwig was nominated nine times, notably in the categories “best comedy”, “best director, best director” and “best song” (with three titles in the running).

Oppenheimer, a tortuous portrait of the designer of the atomic bomb directed by Christopher Nolan, has eight nominations, notably in the categories “best dramatic film” and “best director, best director”.

In addition to the “Barbenheimer” duo, the nominations podium is completed by the films Killers of the Flower Moon, by Martin Scorsese, and Poor Creatures, by Yorgos Lanthimos, with seven nominations each.

As for the Palme d’Or at the last Cannes Film Festival, Anatomy of a Fall, by Justine Triet, it was nominated in four categories. Failing to represent France at the Oscars, this legal drama will be eligible for the Golden Globes for best film, best actress, best screenplay and best foreign film.

The Golden Globes, the first awards ceremony of the season in the United States, will also honor the television series Succession and The Last of Us.

The Golden Globes will be held in Beverly Hills, California, on January 7, and will be broadcast by the national network CBS, owned by the cinema giant Paramount, which replaced its competitor NBC. With this change of broadcaster, a reshuffled jury and new owners, the Golden Globes are trying to boost their audience and put aside the controversies of the past.

Accusations of racism and corruption

Once placed just behind the Oscars in terms of audience, the “Globes” only attracted 6.3 million viewers in 2023, their worst score, after 18 million at the start of 2020, just before the Covid pandemic. 19. A collapse despite the presence of heavyweights in the film industry like Steven Spielberg, Colin Farrell, Brad Pitt and Michelle Yeoh.

This year, other big names – Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr and Ryan Gosling – are expected. We could also see Paul Giamatti, Bradley Cooper, Timothée Chalamet and Natalie Portman. Last January, Cate Blanchett shunned the ceremony.

It has lost its luster due to accusations of racism and corruption, and some critics in Hollywood say the reforms raise new ethical questions. For decades, the Golden Globes were owned, operated and awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). A group of journalists often criticized by industry professionals for its amateurism and opacity.

These behind-the-scenes barbs came to light in 2021, when the Los Angeles Times revealed that the organization had no black people and that its members were accepting lavish gifts. The ceremony was boycotted the following year by Hollywood, and remains in search of redemption. The Golden Globes were bought in June by investors, including American billionaire Todd Boehly. The HFPA was disbanded, and a new plan adopted to try to restore its former prestige.

Members of the old HFPA are now employees of the new Golden Globes corporation, paid to watch films, vote and write articles for the organization’s website. A situation potentially leading to conflicts of interest.