The Golden Globes were in their 81st year but facing a new and uncertain chapter Sunday night. After a tumultuous few years and heaps of scandals, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was dissolved, leaving a new Globes, on a new network (CBS), to try to regain its perch as the third biggest award show of the year, after the Oscars and Grammys. Even the menu (sushi from Nobu) was flipped. It got off to a rocky start, the AP reports. Host Jo Koy took the stage at the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom in Beverly Hills, California. The Filipino American stand-up hit on some expected topics: Ozempic, Meryl Streep's knack for winning awards, and the long-running Oppenheimer. ("I needed another hour.") After one joke flubbed, Koy, who was named host after some bigger names reportedly passed, also noted how fast he was thrust into the job.
"Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue?" said Koy. "I wrote some of these and they're the ones you're laughing at." It was two hours before Barbie, the year's biggest hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, won an award. Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" took best song, and swiftly after, Barbie took the Globes' new honor 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. A couple other quick takes on the ceremony came from Vogue, which pondered whether the Globes should skip having a host entirely, and Vanity Fair, which deemed the night "a near-total disaster," due partially to Koy's "horrid, sophomoric mishmash of lazy jokes" but also to issues including a "bizarre" approach to the presenting segments.
A few years ago, the Golden Globes were on the cusp of collapse. After the Los Angeles Times reported that the HFPA had no Black members, Hollywood boycotted the organization. The 2022 Globes were all but canceled and taken off TV. After reforms, the Globes returned to NBC last year in a one-year deal, but the show was booted to Tuesday evening. With Jerrod Carmichael hosting, the telecast attracted 6.3 million viewers, a new low on NBC and a far cry from the 20 million that once tuned in. The Golden Globes were acquired by Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which Penske Media owns, and turned into a for-profit venture. The HFPA (which typically numbered around 90 voters) was dissolved and a new group of some 300 entertainment journalists from around the world now vote for the awards.
story continues below
Questions still remain about the Globes' long-term future, but their value to Hollywood studios remains providing a marketing boost to awards contenders. The Oscars won't be held until March 10. Though the Globes have no direct correlation with the Academy Awards, they can boost campaigns at a crucial juncture. Oscar nomination voting starts Thursday, and the twin sensations of Barbenheimer remain frontrunners. This year, because of the actors and writers strikes, the Globes are airing ahead of the Emmys, which were postponed to Jan. 15. (See the full list of Golden Globes winners here or some notable looks from the red carpet here.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
