Hollywood stars are preparing to dance the night away as box office smash Barbie leads nominees for Golden Globes

Hollywood’s elite are gearing up for a night of celebration as the Golden Globes, marking the commencement of the glitzy awards season, approaches. After contentious labour disputes last year, this year’s Globes will be the first significant gathering in Tinseltown, honoring the best in film and television according to around 300 entertainment journalists from around the world—a departure from the past when approximately 80 people determined the winners.

The box office hit “Barbie,” a female-empowering doll adventure, leads the nominations with nine nods. Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, the film is expected to secure the trophy for Best Film Musical or Comedy, surpassing competitors like “The Holdovers” and “Poor Things,” according to experts surveyed by the Gold Derby website.

In the drama category, the historical film “Oppenheimer” with eight nominations is the frontrunner. The movie, narrating the story of the man behind the atomic bomb, had previously competed with “Barbie” in a box office clash referred to as Barbenheimer. “Barbie” claimed the title of the highest-grossing film of 2023 with $1.4 billion in ticket sales, while “Oppenheimer” secured the third spot with $952 million.

Nominees for acting categories include Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Cillian Murphy, and Robert Downey Jr. Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone are in the running for acting honors for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Martin Scorsese’s film depicting the murder of Native Americans in 1920s Oklahoma. Bradley Cooper is a contender for Best Actor and Best Director for the Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro.”

The Golden Globes, known for its relaxed and booze-fueled atmosphere, are the first major awards show after Hollywood faced two bitter strikes by writers and actors last year. The work stoppages halted film and television production and many red carpet events for months. The Globes were nearly canceled after a 2021 Los Angeles Times report exposed ethical lapses and a lack of diversity among members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The organization underwent reforms, and the 2022 ceremony was canceled.