Unpacking the Success of “Oppenheimer” at the Critics Choice Awards

“Oppenheimer” made its awards-season front-runner place with a leading 8 Critics Choice Awards additionally Best Director and Best Picture for Christopher Nolan tonight in Santa Monica. It obvious was the Barbenheimer Show at the CCAs, with summer rival Barbie finishing 2nd with 6 wins including Best Comedy.

Here are the full lists of winners ahead:

Emma Stone turned in the biggest FILM upset of the night by taking Best Actress for Searchlight’s Poor Things, later Lily Gladstone won at the Golden Globes last week. However, Paul Giamatti won Best Actor for Focus Features’ The Holdovers, repeating his Globes win.

The Oppenheimer haul also added Best Acting Ensemble, Visual Effects, Editing, Cinematography and Score. Its Robert Downey Jr followed up his Golden Globe received for Supporting Actor, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph of The Holdovers did the exact for Supporting Actress.

Robert Downey Jr
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Barbie, categorized in the No. 1 movie of 2023, also won for Original Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design, Hair and Makeup and Best Song for “I’m Just Ken.” Speaking to writer-director Greta Gerwig from the stage, songwriter Mark Ronson said, “The result that you carved out 11 minutes for this prog rock power ballad dream ballet shredfest so that the boys could cry and hold hands a little too, we are really forever in your debt for that.”

It was a Golden Globes redux in the top small-screen categories, with Netflix’s Beef, HBO’s Succession and FX’s The Bear taking Best Limited Series, Drama and Comedy Series, respectively.

It’s the exact on the acting side, with Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook repeating as Best Actor and Actress in a Drama for Succession, and Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri taking Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series for FX’s The Bear. And Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, who received Best Actress and Actor in a Limited Series or Made for TV Film for Beef.

the-bear-golden-globes
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Billy Crudup and Elizabeth Debicki received the respective Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a, Drama Series categories for The Morning Show and The Crown, with the latter repeating her Globes legacy. Ebon Moss-Bachrach of The Bear and an absent Meryl Streep of Only Murders in the Building won the supporting prizes for comedy.

Maria Bello and Jonathan Bailey prior took Supporting Actress and Actor in a limited series or telefilm for Beef and Showtime’s Fellow Travelers, respectively.

Beef and The Bear topped TV with four trophies each, and Succession got three. Universal Pictures led all distributors with 8 wins — all for Oppenheimer — and Warner Bros was next with the half-dozen for Barbie.

Netflix hit the networks and platforms filed with 8 wins, doubling both FX and HBO, which had 4 each.

Margot Robbie presented the SeeHer Award to her Barbie castmate America Ferrera, and James Mangold got the stage to honor his Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny star Harrison Ford with the Career Achievement Award.

Margot Robbie
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Chelsea Handler was back to host the ceremony and trolled her former-boyfriend Jo Koy in her opening monologue.

Barbie came into the night leading all Critics Choice nominees with 18, with its Barbenheimer trend teammate Oppenheimer and Poor Things following with 13 respectively. Killers of the Flower Moon has 12. The Morning Show was tops for the small screen with 6 nominations, followed by Succession with 5. Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Beef, Lessons In Chemistry, Loki, Reservation Dogs and A Small Light had 4 apiece.

Here are the winners at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards:

BEST PICTURE OF 2024
Oppenheimer

BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer

BEST ACTOR
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

BEST ACTRESS
Emma Stone – Poor Things

emma-stone
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BEST LIMITED SERIES
Beef (Netflix)

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Succession (HBO | Max)

BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Bear (FX)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kieran Culkin – Succession (HBO | Max)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sarah Snook – Succession (HBO | Max)

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Oppenheimer

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear (FX)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear (FX)

BEST SONG
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Steven Yeun – Beef (Netflix)

Steven Yeun
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BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ali Wong – Beef (Netflix)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear (FX)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Meryl Streep – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown (Netflix)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Maria Bello – Beef (Netflix)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jonathan Bailey – Fellow Travelers (Showtime)

Jonathan Bailey
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

BEST COMEDY (non-televised)
Barbie

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (non-televised)
Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – Barbie

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (non-televised)
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE (non-televised)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM (non-televised)
Anatomy of a Fall

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS (non-televised)
Oppenheimer

BEST EDITING (non-televised)
Jennifer Lame – Oppenheimer

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (non-televised)
Hoyte van Hoytema – Oppenheimer

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN (non-televised)
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer – Barbie

Sarah Greenwood
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BEST COSTUME DESIGN (non-televised)
Jacqueline Durran – Barbie

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP (non-televised)
Barbie

BEST SCORE (non-televised)
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (non-televised)
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers

BEST TALK SHOW (non-televised)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO | Max)

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION (non-televised)
Quiz Lady (Hulu)

BEST ANIMATED SERIES (non-televised)
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix)

Scott Pilgrim
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BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES (non-televised)
Lupin (Netflix)

BEST COMEDY SPECIAL (non-televised)
John Mulaney: Baby J (Netflix)

Wins by Motion Picture

Oppenheimer: 8
Barbie: 6
The Holdovers: 3
American Fiction: 1
Anatomy of a Fall: 1
Quiz Lady: 1
Poor Things: 1
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: 1

Oppenheimer
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Wins by TV Show

The Bear: 4
Beef: 4
Succession: 3
The Crown: 1
Fellow Travelers: 1
John Mulaney: Baby J
Lupin: 1
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: 1
The Morning Show: 1
Only Murders in the Building: 1
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: 1

Wins by Film Distributor:

Universal Pictures: 8
Warner Bros Pictures: 6
Focus Features: 3
Amazon Studios/MGM: 1
Neon: 1
Searchlight Pictures: 1
Sony Pictures: 1

Oppenheimer
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Wins by TV Network/Platform:

Netflix: 8
FX: 4
HBO: 4
Hulu: 2
Apple TV+: 1
Showtime: 1

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