'Oppenheimer' tops Golden Globes on bittersweet night for 'Barbie'

LOS ANGELES – “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s drama about the inventor of the atomic bomb, topped the Golden Globes on Jan. 7 – but its fellow summer smash hit “Barbie” missed out on best comedy film honors to “Poor Things.”

- 

“Oppenheimer” took five prizes, including Best Drama, best director for Nolan, Best Score, as well as acting wins for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.

Emma Thomas, the film’s producer, and Nolan’s wife said her husband’s three-hour epic about “one of the darkest developments in our history” is “unlike anything anyone else is doing.”

Murphy, who plays brilliant scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, hailed his “visionary director,” while Downey portraying the protagonist’s bitter rival, praised the movie as a “masterpiece.”

In winning best director, Nolan fended off Greta Gerwig, who helmed “Barbie” – the other half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon that grossed a combined $2.4 billion last year at the box office.

Turning nostalgia for the beloved doll into a sharp satire about misogyny and female empowerment, “Barbie” was the leading film heading into the night with nine nominations, but ended the gala with just two prizes.

It won the award for best song, for a tune written by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas. And as the year’s highest grossing movie, it claimed a newly created trophy for box office achievement.

“We would like to dedicate this to every single person on the planet who dressed up and went to the greatest place on Earth, the movie theaters,” said Margot Robbie, the film’s star and producer.

“Thank you to all the Barbies and Kens in front of and behind the screen,” added Gerwig.