Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' dominates Golden Globes 2024 with five awards

In a star-studded night of glitz and glamour, Christopher Nolan's acclaimed biopic Oppenheimer emerged as the big winner at the 81st Golden Globes, securing five wins, including Best Drama.

And in an unexpected turn, Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things, a quirky take on Frankenstein, triumphed over Barbie to take home the Best Comedy or Musical category.

As the awards season hinted at a "Barbenheimer" showdown, this time round unquestionably favoured Oppenheimer.

Nolan clinched the Best Director accolade, with Cillian Murphy earning Best Drama Actor, Robert Downey Jr. for Best Supporting Actor, and Best original score for Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson.

In addition to its Best Comedy or Musical win, Poor Things also won for Emma Stone's performance as Bella, a Victorian woman experiencing a surreal life and sexual awakening.

“I see this as a rom-com,” said Stone. “But in the sense that Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person. She accepts the good and the bad in equal measure, and that really made me look at life differently.”

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Historic win for Indigenous representation

While she may have been lesser known compared to some of her fellow nominees, like Annette Bening (Nyad) and Carey Mulligan (Maestro), Lily Gladstone won the Best Actress award in a dramatic film for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon for her role as as Mollie Burkhart.

Gladstone, 37, who began her speech speaking the language of her native tribe, Blackfeet Nation, is the first Indigenous winner in the category.

“This is a historic win,” said Gladstone. “It doesn’t just belong to me.”

"This is for every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream, who is seeing themselves represented and our stories told — by ourselves, in our own words — with tremendous allies and tremendous trust from and with each other.”

Hi Barbie

It was two hours into the evening before Barbie, the year's biggest hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, won an award.

Billie Eilish's emotional ballad “What Was I Made For?” took Best Song, and swiftly after, Barbie took the Globes' new honour for “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.”

Some thought that award might go to Taylor Swift, whose Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour also set box-office records.

Margot Robbie, star and producer of Barbie, accepted the award in a pink gown modelled after 1977's Superstar Barbie.

“We’d like to dedicate this to every single person on the planet who dressed up and went to the greatest place on Earth: the movie theatres,” said Robbie.

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Upsets and surprises

Barbie and Oppenheimer, two blockbusters brought together by a common release date, also faced off in the best screenplay category.

But in an upset, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won for the script to the French courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall (which featured highly in our best movies of the year list.)

Later, Triet’s film picked up Best International Film, too.

Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron won best animated film, an upset over Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

TV winners

On the television front, the final season of HBO's Succession dominated, securing Best Drama Series and individual acting wins for Matthew Macfadyen, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin.

“It is bittersweet, but things like this make it rather sweeter,” said “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong.

Hulu's restaurant drama The Bear also claimed victories, including Best Comedy Series.

Jeremy Allen White won for the second time, but this time he had company. Ayo Edebiri won her first Globe for her leading performance in the Hulu show's second season.

Beef also won three awards, including Best Limited Series, as well as acting awards for Ali Wong and Steven Yeun.

Full list of winners:

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)

Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films)

Maestro (Netflix)

Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) (WINNER)

Past Lives (A24)

The Zone of Interest (A24)

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Air (Amazon MGM Studios)

American Fiction (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Holdovers (Focus Features)

May December (Netflix)

Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures) (WINNER)

Best Motion Picture – Animated

The Boy and the Heron (GKids) (WINNER)

Elemental (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Releasing)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal Pictures)

Suzume (Crunchyroll / Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Wish (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures) (WINNER)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount Pictures)

Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Releasing)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal Pictures)

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (AMC Theatres Distribution)

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

Anatomy of a Fall, France (Neon) (WINNER)

Fallen Leaves, Finland (Mubi)

Io Capitano, Italy (Pathe Distribution)

Past Lives, United States (A24)

Society of the Snow, Spain (Netflix)

The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom/USA (A24)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Bradley Cooper, Maestro

Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon

Colman Domingo, Rustin

Barry Keoghan, Saltburn

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer (WINNER)

Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Annette Bening, Nyad

Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon (WINNER)

Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall

Greta Lee, Past Lives

Carey Mulligan, Maestro

Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple

Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings

Natalie Portman, May December

Alma Pöysti, Fallen Leaves

Margot Robbie, Barbie

Emma Stone, Poor Things (WINNER)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Nicolas Cage, Dream Scenario

Timothée Chalamet, Wonka

Matt Damon, Air

Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers (WINNER)

Joaquin Phoenix, Beau Is Afraid

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Willem Dafoe, Poor Things

Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer (WINNER)

Ryan Gosling, Barbie

Charles Melton, May December

Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

Jodie Foster, Nyad

Julianne Moore, May December

Rosamund Pike, Saltburn

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers (WINNER)

Best Director — Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper, Maestro

Greta Gerwig, Barbie

Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer (WINNER)

Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Celine Song, Past Lives

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Barbie

Tony McNamara, Poor Things

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Celine Song, Past Lives

Justine Triet, Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall (WINNER)

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

“Addicted to Romance,” She Came to Me, Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

“Dance the Night,” Barbie, Music and lyrics by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Dua Lipa, Caroline Ailin

“I’m Just Ken,” Barbie, Music and lyrics by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt

“Peaches,” The Super Mario Bros. Move, Music and lyrics by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, John Spiker

“Road to Freedom,” Rustin, Music and lyrics by Lenny Kravitz

“What Was I Made For?” Barbie, Music and lyrics by Billie Eilish O’Connell, Finneas O’Connell (WINNER)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Jerskin Fendrix, Poor Things

Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer (WINNER)

Joe Hisaishi, The Boy and the Heron

Mica Levi, The Zone of Interest

Daniel Pemberton, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Robbie Robertson, Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Television Series – Drama

1923 (Paramount+)

The Crown (Netflix)

The Diplomat (Netflix)

The Last of Us (HBO/Max)

The Morning Show (Apple TV+)

Succession (HBO/Max) (WINNER)

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Barry (HBO/Max)

The Bear (FX) (WINNER)

Jury Duty (Amazon Freevee)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix)

Beef (Netflix) (WINNER)

Daisy Jones & the Six (Prime Video)

Fargo (FX)

Fellow Travelers (Showtime)

Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Helen Mirren, 1923

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us

Keri Russell, The Diplomat

Sarah Snook, Succession (WINNER)

Imelda Staunton, The Crown

Emma Stone, The Curse

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Brian Cox, Succession

Kieran Culkin, Succession (WINNER)

Gary Oldman, Slow Horses

Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us

Jeremy Strong, Succession

Dominic West, The Crown

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (WINNER)

Elle Fanning, The Great

Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building

Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Bill Hader, Barry

Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building

Jason Segel, Shrinking

Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building

Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Jeremy Allen White, The Bear (WINNER)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Riley Keough, Daisy Jones & the Six

Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry

Elizabeth Olsen, Love & Death

Juno Temple, Fargo

Rachel Weisz, Dead Ringers

Ali Wong, Beef (WINNER)

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Matt Bomer, Fellow Travelers

Sam Claflin, Daisy Jones & the Six

Jon Hamm, Fargo

Woody Harrelson, White House Plumbers

David Oyelowo, Lawmen: Bass Reeves

Steven Yeun, Beef (WINNER)

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown (WINNER)

Abby Elliott, The Bear

Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets

J. Smith-Cameron, Succession

Meryl Streep, Only Murders in the Building

Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Matthew Macfadyen, Succession (WINNER)

James Marsden, Jury Duty

Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear

Alan Ruck, Succession

Alexander Skarsgard, Succession

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television

Ricky Gervais, Ricky Gervais: Armageddon (WINNER)

Trevor Noah, Trevor Noah: Where Was I

Chris Rock, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage

Amy Schumer, Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact

Sarah Silverman, Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love

Wanda Sykes, Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer