Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster comedy “Barbie” scored 18 nominations to shatter the record and lead all films at the 29th annual Critics Choice Awards, which announced its film nominations on Wednesday morning. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” received 13 nominations each, while Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” received 12 and Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” and Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” received eight each.
Those six films were joined in the Best Picture category by “American Fiction,” “The Color Purple,” “Past Lives” and “Saltburn.”
Reinforcing the fact that the Critics Choice Association voters had a clear Top 6, the Best Director nominees were Gerwig, Nolan, Lanthimos, Scorsese, Cooper and Payne.
The previous record for Critics Choice film nominations was 14, set by last year’s Best Picture winner, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” “Barbie” shot past that record with nominations for picture, director, comedy, screenplay, actress (Margot Robbie), supporting actor (Ryan Gosling), supporting actress (America Ferrera), young actor/actress (Ariana Greenblatt), acting ensemble, cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, hair and makeup, and score, as well as three of the six nominations in the Best Original Song category.
Overall, the results were similar to Monday’s Golden Globe nominations, though the increasingly international makeup of the Globes voters was evidenced by the inclusion of the European films “The Zone of Interest” and “Anatomy of a Fall” in their best picture category. At the Critics Choice Awards, “Zone” was limited to a single nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category, while “Anatomy” received noms for foreign language, actress Sandra Hüller and young actor Milo Machado Graner.
Todd Haynes’ “May December” was another notable omission from the Critics Choice Best Picture category, as was its lead actress Natalie Portman. The film was nominated for its screenplay and for supporting performers Julianne Moore and Charles Melton.
For the most part, though, the fact that the Critics Choice Awards have six nominees in every category except Best Picture, where they have 10, means that few of the major awards contenders were overlooked by voters. Over the last 10 years, about 75% of the nominees in the top Critics Choice category go on to receive Oscar nominations for Best Picture.
The nominations are made by members of the Critics Choice Association, which consists of more than 650 broadcast, radio and online critics and entertainment journalists, making it the largest critics group in the U.S. and Canada. (I am a voting member.)
The Critics Choice Awards will take place on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2023 in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on The CW.
Here is the list of nominations. (Television noms were announced last week — though that announcement inadvertently left off Carla Gugino’s nomination for “The Fall of the House of Usher” in the Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television category.)
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