'Barbie' leads Golden Globe nominations, just ahead of 'Oppenheimer'

Beverly Hills, California: Summer blockbuster Barbie topped the list of nominees for Hollywood's Golden Globe awards on Monday with nine nods, outpacing the eight for historical film drama Oppenheimer.

Pink-fueled doll adventure Barbie will compete for best comedy or musical film alongside American Fiction, The Holdovers and others at a red-carpet ceremony in January that will kick off the Hollywood awards season.

Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy as the man behind the creation of the atomic bomb, will face off with Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro and others for best film drama.

Martin Scorsese's Flower Moon tells the story of the murder of American Indians in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Bradley Cooper plays composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro and also directed the film.

The Globes are one of the key contests that can provide a boost to movies on the road to the Academy Awards in March.

In television categories, cutthroat family drama Succession led all series with nine nominations.

This year, Globe winners will be chosen by a new organization. The nonprofit Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of journalists that was criticized for ethical lapses and a lack of diversity, was disbanded in June.

New Globe owners Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions are operating the awards as a for-profit venture. The voting body now consists of 300 journalist members from 75 countries with 60 per cent racial and ethnic diversity, organizers said.

Winners will be announced on Jan. 7 at a ceremony broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.