The Golden Globes make a play for relevance with new categories
The Golden Globes have announced new categories for stand-up comedy and "box office achievement"
Aux News The Golden Globes
The answer to “How are we going to give an award to Top Gun: Maverick?!” has arrived, one year too late. The Golden Globes, already grasping for relevance even before controversy nearly wiped the ceremony off the map, has announced two new award categories for film and television. At least one of them has a decidedly populist bent: “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement in Motion Pictures,” in addition to “Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television.”
Let’s get the more inoffensive category out of the way first—sure, why not give an award for a performer in a stand-up special? The rules for eligibility on this one include doing “Traditional stand-up comedy performances of at least 30 minutes” on a recognized media platform (“broadcast, basic and premium cable, streaming, and pay-per-view cable”), per a press release from the Globes. Think: John Mulaney for Baby J on Netflix, John Early for Now More Than Ever on HBO, Chris Fleming’s Hell on Peacock. Comedians tend to have a strong presence at awards shows, including and especially this one; last year’s host was Jerrod Carmichael in the wake of his critically acclaimed special Rothaniel. In other words, this category feels valid and slots in well for the Globes.
“Cinematic and Box Office Achievement in Motion Pictures” is another story. The aim is “to recognize the hard work and innovation that goes into making a film that is both a blockbuster and artistically exceptional,” in the words of Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne. A film is eligible if it receives “a box office receipt total/gross of $150 million, of which $100 million must come from the U.S. domestic box office, and/or obtain commensurate digital streaming viewership recognized by trusted industry sources.”
Time and again, the awards circuit has tried to figure out a way to incorporate the big, money-making movies into their typically more niche nominee pool. That’s because, as the Globes’ Executive Vice President Tim Gray put it, “These films have typically not been recognized among industry awards, but they should be.” (Surely it has nothing to do with how no one wants to watch your awards show.) Yet no awards show has figured out a way to do it that hasn’t gone embarrassingly wrong. In 2018, the Academy Awards quickly walked back a new category for “outstanding achievement in popular film” after facing immense backlash. In 2022, the ceremony introduced fan-voted awards that went to Army Of The Dead and Zack Snyder’s Justice League; most of the votes reportedly came from bots, a controversy that was overshadowed by that other big thing that happened at the Oscars that year.
To make a long story short, merging awards season with the box office has been bumpy at best. One might argue that making big bucks at the box office is its own reward, and the smaller art house films usually represented at the Oscars and Globes are more in need of the boost one can get from being nominated. One might also argue that the category is almost unnecessary this year when the biggest box office success stories have been critically acclaimed auteur-driven work. Even so, this Globes news has been met mostly with a shrug so far. Unfortunately for the Golden Globes, that speaks more to the reputation of the ceremony and the makeup of its voting body than how people feel about a “blockbuster award.”
14 Comments
“That’s what the money is for!”[someone had to do it, so it may as well be the guy with the Mad Men inspired account name]
Damn, you beat me to it.But for real, I think the “recognition” is the boatload of damn money. Like I know people there were a lot of annoying people out there on the internet grousing about how Avengers Endgame or Spider-Man No Way Home deserved some sort of award in their respective years. And like sure, yeah, I’m sure Robert Downey Jr. (or any Marvel actor) would love to get their little gold statue but frankly when they can afford to buy and sell me 1000 times over, I personally don’t give a damn if they get more praise on a stage.(Plus like, for real, this award is just gonna be chucked over to whatever Marvel blockbuster or Disney live-action remake is the hot new thing every year, like how the Best Animated Feature award at the Oscars was basically exclusively dominated by Disney/Pixar for years)
Welcome to Smiling Around the World!In this virtual corner, we invite you to embark on a unique adventure filled with smiles and discoveries. We are passionate travelers who believe in the transformative power of experiencing new cultures and places. Each destination is an opportunity to learn, grow, and, of course, smile!Our goal is to provide you with inspiration and tips to make your travels unforgettable. From planning advice to authentic reviews of places we’ve explored, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.Whether you prefer paradisiacal beaches, bustling local markets, or majestic mountains, at Smiling Around the World, you’ll find the information you need to turn your travel dreams into reality.Join us on this journey full of laughter, culture, and unforgettable experiences. Together, we’ll explore the world, one destination at a time, always with a smile on our faces.Get ready to discover the world while smiling! https://sonriendoporelmundo.com
“Box office achievement” is a reward unto itself, but sure, go on.
How is that John Early special? That guy cracked me up on Search Party and was decent in The Afterparty (bring him back in S3!) But I’ve found that I can find an actor hilarious and even poignant, and still dislike their stand-up (Ken Jeong is an example.)
I always thought Best Comedy did this for the Globes. Those were rarely comedies, but well made accessible movies. Not guaranteed blockbusters but seems they have enough covered without stretching to give Transformers: Rise of the Beasts a nomination.
I thought we all agreed not to talk about the Golden Globes anymore.
“Box office achievement” is the most suspense-free category someone could possibly come up with. Anyone can just google “what movie made the most money this year” to know who should get it. If any other movie gets it then they did it wrong. This is like the only award ever where there’s an objectively correct winner.
Usually awards only have objectively incorrect winners, like giving Best Picture to Green Book.(I like how they require $100 million to come from the US, because they know that sooner or later the top grosser for a year will be a Chinese film and God forbid we give the award to a foreigner!)
“Cinematic and Box Office Achievement in Motion Pictures,” so they don’t end up having to give it to Porky’s: The Next Generation. (Being the Globes, they could totally end up giving it to PTNG.)
Is MTV still the only one to get this right? Best Fight Scene, Best Kiss, etc.?
What a stupid year to do this. The two biggest box office stories of the year (Barbie and Oppenheimer) are already shoo-ins for Best Picture nominations in the Drama and Musical/Comedy categories. You can celebrate the movies everyone in the world saw WITHOUT inventing some gross Miss Congeniality category.With that being said, all award shows are stupid and the Golden Globes is even stupider than most.
“These films have typically not been recognized among industry awards, but they should be.”
Best Stunt Co-ordinator, or nothing.
Bring back Ricky Gervais!