The Oscars will be remembered as a tribute to the globally renowned film “Openheimer,” which won a staggering seven awards. However, an equally popular film, often viewed as the twin of “Openheimer” due to its release date, box office success, and immense public interest, only managed to win one award. What happened to “Barbie”?
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“I’m immensely happy and honored. This is dedicated to everyone who was touched by the film and how amazing it is,” Eilish said during the ceremony.
While one Oscar is still a significant achievement, the fact that the film “Barbie,” which dominated the previous year and earned nearly $1.5 billion, only won one award surprised many, considering it had eight nominations for the most prestigious award in the film industry.
Turbulence in Hollywood At the end of January, there were quite tumultuous reactions in Hollywood after the film about the popular girls’ doll received “few” Oscar nominations, especially since the lead actress Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig were not on the list of nominees in several major Oscar categories.
The nominations were criticized by many in the celebrity world, including Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in the popular film and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, as well as for the Best Original Song “I’m Just Ken.” “No acknowledgment would have been possible for anyone who was in the film without their talent, courage, and genius. Despite everything, using only a pair of soulless, scantily dressed dolls, they made us laugh, broke our hearts, pushed culture, and made history. Their work should be recognized along with others who were also nominated on merit,” Gosling said, as reported by CBS.
Thus, there were already criticisms about the fact that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, without whom the film might not have reached such popularity, were not in the competition.
However, their colleague America Ferrera, who played Gloria in the film “Barbie,” was nominated.
“Barbie,” a comedy inspired by the eponymous girls’ doll that undergoes an existential crisis and experiences self-discovery, was indeed a sensation worldwide. It was the highest-grossing film of the previous year, and both the public and critics praised and lauded it. The film covered several dominant narratives of today, such as patriarchy and breaking toxic norms, self-recognition, and gaining self-confidence, which was certainly worth mentioning and popularizing.
Additionally, “Barbie” had an excellent cast, with so many popular actors gathered in one place to tell one story. The exclusion of Robbie and Gerwig from the nominations resulted in more criticism that the Oscar voters “missed the point” of the film, thus excluding the main protagonists of the whole story.
The exclusion of Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig from the Oscar nominations was also mentioned during the awards season in the film industry. For example, at the British Academy Film Awards ceremony, Robbie expressed her opinion on this.
“Obviously, I think Greta should have been nominated for best director,” Robbie said.
Incidentally, at this awards ceremony, “Barbie” had five nominations but left without a single award.
Global Impact Remains Regardless, the film had a total of 414 nominations for prestigious awards at various film festivals. The fact that it did not win more Oscars supports the trend that films earning over a billion dollars lose awards, as reported by Screenrant. Is there a correlation between the amount of money earned and the number of awards won? There are several examples of films that did well at the box office but not at the Oscars.
As for potential arguments for why “Barbie” only won one Oscar, and that too not directly related to the cast or the quality of filming, it could simply be that it wasn’t good enough. However, its popularity can argue against this claim. PROFIMEDIA / KEVIN WINTER / Getty images / Profimedia PROFIMEDIA / KEVIN WINTER / Getty images / Profimedia Actress Margot Robbie may not have won her first Oscar this time, but she certainly left a big impact in the fashion industry in terms of dressing for tours and promoting the film “Barbie.” Months of traveling around the world and special creations designed in the style of some of the iconic outfits worn by the “real” Barbie doll led to the publication of a book on this topic.
Although “Barbie” and the team missed the expected recognition in the form of awards, they deserve one acknowledgment – no one can deny the extent of the influence this film had, which was of global proportions. The highest-grossing film of the year, with a strong marketing campaign that largely changed the game in the film industry and sparked a new set of questions that are still awaiting answers.
