The Critics Choice Is ‘Barbie’ With 18 CCA Nominations; ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Poor Things’ Follow With 13 Each

Barbie leads the nominations for the 29th annual Critics Choice Awards with 18, far outdistancing every other film, as the Warner Bros. living doll dominates the list with mentions for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and five acting noms, including stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling who received two each.

On the heels of its stellar showing at Monday’s Golden Globe nominations where it received a record nine nominations, the Mattel phenomenon doubled the total with the Critics Choice Association and left all the other contenders in the dust. Still, the other half of the “Barbenheimer” dynamic summer duo, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer grabbed an impressive 13 nominations, the same number given to Searchlight’s Poor Things, with both solidly in the race for Best Picture honors from the group that has shown an uncanny ability in past years to be a strong predictor of Oscar glory. Just one step behind was Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon which racked up 12 noms, continuing its impressive showing on the critics awards circuit this season.

In addition to the above four films, other Best Picture nominees are American Fiction, The Color Purple, The Holdovers, Maestro, Past Lives, and Saltburn. Acting nominees largely mirrored those found on the Globes list which divides contenders into drama and comedy/musical categories. As the season gains hurricane force it appears the same group of films are rising to the top and showing strength as all signs point to Oscar. In other words there is a lot of agreement.

The CCA’s however did give a boost to The Color Purple with five overall nominations, and Amazon’s Saltburn, neither making the Globes cut in their Best Picture categories. In a bit of a surprise, critical and Cannes darlings Anatomy Of A Fall and The Zone Of Interest , both competing in the Globes’ Best Picture Drama and Foreign Film races were relegated by CCA to just the Best Foreign Language Film category, nailing only four nominations between them. Focus Features’ The Holdovers had a particularly strong showing with nominations in key acting categories, Director, Screenplay, and Picture in securing eight mentions on the list. And just as good as that was the performance of Maestro with star, director, co-writer, and co-producer Bradley Cooper landing four of the film’s 8 nominations.

“We are so excited to celebrate this year’s remarkable projects, performances, and the people who made it all possible at the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards,” said CCA CEO Joey Berlin. “This year saw an incredible number of blockbuster hits and beautiful stories brought to life in these exceptional films.”

The 29^th annual Critics Choice Awards will air live Sunday January 14, 2024 on The CW from 7-10 pm ET (delayed PT, check local listings). Chelsea Handler will return for the second consecutive year as host for the awards which are bestowed annually to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. As previously announced, The Morning Show leads the television contenders with six nominations including Best Drama Series. The Critics Choice Awards show will be executive-produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment.

Here are the Film Nominations:

BEST PICTURE

American Fiction

Barbie

The Color Purple

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

Saltburn

BEST ACTOR

Bradley Cooper – Maestro

Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon

Colman Domingo – Rustin

Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

BEST ACTRESS

Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall

Greta Lee – Past Lives

Carey Mulligan – Maestro

Margot Robbie – Barbie

Emma Stone – Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction

Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling – Barbie

Charles Melton – May December

Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple

America Ferrera – Barbie

Jodie Foster – Nyad

Julianne Moore – May December

Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Ariana Greenblatt – Barbie

Calah Lane – Wonka

Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy of a Fall

Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers

Madeleine Yuna Voyles – The Creator

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Air

Barbie

The Color Purple

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

BEST DIRECTOR

Bradley Cooper – Maestro

Greta Gerwig – Barbie

Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things

Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer

Alexander Payne – The Holdovers

Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Samy Burch – May December

Alex Convery – Air

Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer – Maestro

Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – Barbie

David Hemingson – The Holdovers

Celine Song – Past Lives

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Kelly Fremon Craig – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Andrew Haigh – All of Us Strangers

Cord Jefferson – American Fiction

Tony McNamara – Poor Things

Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer

Eric Roth & Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Matthew Libatique – Maestro

Rodrigo Prieto – Barbie

Rodrigo Prieto – Killers of the Flower Moon

Robbie Ryan – Poor Things

Linus Sandgren – Saltburn

Hoyte van Hoytema – Oppenheimer

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Suzie Davies, Charlotte Dirickx – Saltburn

Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman – Oppenheimer

Jack Fisk, Adam Willis – Killers of the Flower Moon

Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer – Barbie

James Price, Shona Heath, Szusza Mihalek – Poor Things

Adam Stockhausen, Kris Moran – Asteroid City

BEST EDITING

William Goldenberg – Air

Nick Houy – Barbie

Jennifer Lame – Oppenheimer

Yorgos Mavropsaridis – Poor Things

Thelma Schoonmaker – Killers of the Flower Moon

Michelle Tesoro – Maestro

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Jacqueline Durran – Barbie

Lindy Hemming – Wonka

Francine Jamison-Tanchuck – The Color Purple

Holly Waddington – Poor Things

Jacqueline West – Killers of the Flower Moon

Janty Yates, David Crossman – Napoleon

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP

Barbie

The Color Purple

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Priscilla

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

The Creator

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

BEST COMEDY

American Fiction

Barbie

Bottoms

The Holdovers

No Hard Feelings

Poor Things

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The Boy and the Heron

Elemental

Nimona

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Wish

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Anatomy of a Fall

Godzilla Minus One

Perfect Days

Society of the Snow

The Taste of Things

The Zone of Interest

BEST SONG

“Dance the Night” – Barbie

“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie

“Peaches” – The Super Mario Bros. Movie

“Road to Freedom” – Rustin

“This Wish” – Wish

“What Was I Made For” – Barbie

BEST SCORE

Jerskin Fendrix – Poor Things

Michael Giacchino – Society of the Snow

Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer

Daniel Pemberton – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Robbie Robertson – Killers of the Flower Moon

Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt – Barbie

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association and serve as Film Branch President.