Bumps & Dips - 2024 Golden Globes
A Brief Golden Globes Recap - Bumps & Dips
In past years when discussing the Golden Globes, we've actively complained about snubs in the nominations, begrudgingly previewed each category, and outwardly ranted about how corrupt and negligent the now defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was as an organization. In 2024, some things have changed while others haven't. This year's Golden Globes, which was the 81st installment of the ceremony, boasted an impressive slate of nominees from an acclaimed year of film and television. It was also tabbed as a year of considerable change for this show at large, being it was the first ceremony after Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries took full control of the Golden Globes away from the HFPA. A few new categories were added to the telecast (one of which doesn't really make any sense but whatever), a new and little-known host was brought in to run the show (how bad could he be, right?), and the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon led to 17 nominations between the two films. It seemed like the forward momentum of the show was positive!
Well, I hope you didn't get too excited. Notwithstanding perhaps the worst opening monologue ever delivered at the Globes (or any other major awards show for that matter), this year's Golden Globes was as clunky and long-winded as one should come to expect. Sure, there were some good moments, but as per usual, I view the Globes more as a precursor opportunity to take a temperature check of Hollywood to better prognosticate about what to expect in the upcoming awards season, particularly about the – yes, you guessed it – Academy Awards. Rather than recap every category, let's briefly sum up which films might've received a "bump" from the Golden Globes versus those that might have experienced a "dip."
Bumped: Oppenheimer
- 5 wins / 8 nominations
If there was any uncertainty about whether or not Christopher Nolan's three-hour opus, a biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, would be the awards season juggernaut to beat, there isn't anymore. Oppenheimer was the big winner last night, bringing home hardware for three of the premier categories at the Golden Globes including Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Director (Christopher Nolan), and Best Motion Picture – Drama. As is the case with most Nolan films, I would expect this to fare quite well in the under-the-line technical categories at the Oscars; however, Oppenheimer has solidified its contention in the acting categories and top prizes, too. This is unequivocally your Best Picture frontrunner as of right now.
Dipped: Barbie
- 2 wins / 9 nominations
The other half of "Barbenheimer" might've had the most nominations heading into last night's ceremony, but it didn't seem to pick up any momentum as a serious contender for the Oscar's Best Picture race. Sure, Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" won Best Original Song, and we got to see Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig (alongside the entire Barbie table) co-accept the newly created Cinematic and Box Office Achievement (which is still a shameless maneuver to nominate a bunch of famous people and hand out an additional nonsensical award), which was indeed a nice moment. But it isn't a good sign that Barbie couldn't win Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy or pick up an acting win when it wasn't even competing against all the other films competing in Best Motion Picture – Drama. This on top of last week's news that the Academy decided last week that Barbie would compete in Best Adapted Screenplay rather than Best Original Screenplay, and I'm sadly starting to feel that Barbie might be this year's most decorated darling with little-to-no chance of winning.
Bumped: Anatomy of a Fall
- 2 wins / 4 nominations
Justine Triet's Palme d'Or-winning courtroom drama thriller, Anatomy of a Fall, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film wasn't necessarily a shock, but it's doubling up and winning Best Screenplay was a pleasant surprise! Though this award isn't necessarily a reliable predictor of films that go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, it is robustly informative for predicting nominees. Since 2010, 88% of the films that get nominated in this category at the Golden Globes are in turn nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. While granted this is the first year the Globes have nominated six films for Best Screenplay, I still think this is extremely notable.
Bumped: The Holdovers
- 2 wins / 3 nominations
One of the biggest risers after last night's Golden Globes has to be The Holdovers, a film that secured a pair of wins in two of the Globes' acting categories: Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and Paul Giamatti for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. While punditry considered both of these performers very much in the awards season mix, this could be evidence of a swell of support in favor of the feel-good Christmas dramedy from Alexander Payne that ranked quite highly in our recent Best Holiday Films of All Time list.
Dipped: Killers of the Flower Moon
- 1 win / 7 nominations
Without a doubt, the most emotional moment of the evening went to Lily Gladstone, who won Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Her victory marked the first Indigenous woman to both be nominated and win an acting Golden Globe. Unfortunately, apart from Gladstone's deserving win, Killers of the Flower Moon was shut out. Just having Martin Scorsese in the room makes every award junket 10x more interesting, but I'm sad to see him out of the mix altogether. Perhaps Killers of the Flower Moon is a hard sell for audiences and voters based on its jumbo runtime and severe subject matter, but I hope it will be in more serious contention come time for the Oscars. I'm sorry, Marty, and we'll try to not let it happen again.
Dipped: Past Lives
- 0 wins / 5 nominations
In the last ten years since its foundation, A24 has produced and distributed many, many films that have competed at the Academy Awards – did you know it has received 49 Oscar nominations and has 16 wins to date? And in case you forgot, last year its most successful film to date, Everything Everywhere All at Once, swept seven of the major awards. Its stable of contending films this year, which includes Priscilla, The Iron Claw, and The Zone of Interest, is perhaps less formidable, except for maybe Past Lives, the directorial debut from Celine Song. The latter has appeared on top of many year-end best-of lists and is considered one of the most affecting and beautifully rendered films of the year. However, it was blanked at the Golden Globes last night, which has got me wondering whether or not this will play as a serious contender this awards season. I'm not suggesting it isn't deserving of the recognition (quite the opposite) or that there is A24 fatigue (I wouldn't assume that for a second), but it might just be a smaller, quieter film in a busier, louder year.
Dipped: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- 0 wins / 3 nominations
Does it matter that this film's predecessor, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, won Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globes back in 2018 and that last night this sequel did not win? Probably not. Can we really call this a dip when this universally adored sequel in one of the most creative soon-to-be trilogies of recent memory lost to what might end up being the last Miyazaki movie ever? Probably not. Should we consider the Best Animated Feature Film race a wrap? Probably not.
Bumped: The Boy and the Heron
- 1 win / 2 nominations
But don't get me wrong, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has its work cut out. The Boy and the Heron, the latest film from Studio Ghibli and the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, is formidable. Despite there being essentially no traditional marketing campaign for the film in Japan, the film has been extremely successful, both commercially and critically. It is the first original anime film and Miyazaki's first film to reach number one at the box office in Canada and the United States. The Boy and the Heron has already received immense acclaim, not only as an animated feature but also in contention with other feature-length films. The crossover appeal with this one is real! What a swan song it would be for Miyazaki if this competed in Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards, eh?
Dipped: Maestro
- 0 wins / 4 nominations
I'll save this for another write-up in the coming weeks, but it is abundantly clear that no one wants an Oscar quite as badly as Bradley Cooper does at the current moment. Yeah, I know he claimed that he would prefer a Super Bowl victory for his Philadelphia Eagles in an interview with Howard Stern – but here's the thing: I don't believe him. His latest film, Maestro, which he starred in and directed, is well-crafted, well-acted, and an accomplished piece of filmmaking. This is a thoroughly considered biopic that strives for top-shelf greatness but is held back and undermined by its unhinged ambition and, at times, flimsy screenplay and overwrought mission statement. I want to dive deeper into Maestro soon, especially once we know how the Oscar nominations shake out, but for now, I feel it might get overlooked this awards season, much to Cooper's chagrin.
Bumped: Poor Things
- 2 wins / 7 nominations
While Poor Things only won two awards last night, both were significant. Emma Stone won Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical and the film won the other top prize, Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Competing head-to-head against the top-billed nominee Barbie, Yorgos Lanthimos's science fantasy black comedy held its own and proved it will most definitely be a serious contender across all categories these next few months. Now I know what you're thinking: the Golden Globes can be fairly stupid, somewhat idiosyncratic, and rather unpredictable. However, they often still offer a glimpse of what might happen at the Oscars, and for that, they're worth keeping tabs on. Maybe Poor Things just had a big night, or maybe it was the first big night of many to come.
