Barbie is back in the cultural zeitgeist once again after the nominations for the 96th Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, January 23rd.
The movie received eight nods, including one for Best Picture, but missed out on crucial mentions for Best Director for Greta Gerwig, and Best Actress for lead Margot Robbie.
Meanwhile, in the acting categories, Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera picked up nominations in their respective fields, though both shared their disappointment at the highly talked about "snubs."
The misses came as a surprise, given the film was a hit among critics circles worldwide and was a staple at awards ceremonies leading up to the Oscars, from the Golden Globes to the SAG Awards and Critics Choice ceremonies.
In particular, Margot and Ryan picked up mentions at nearly every major award show during the season, for their leading turns as Barbie and Ken, and from the very jump, both stars were placed on equal footing.
A report from Variety released back in 2022, based on expertise from industry professionals and studio executives, revealed that both stars were paid equal salaries for their contributions to the movie, amounting to a whopping $12.5 million each.
However, as the irony of the situation indicates, the movie does rest on the shoulders of Barbie aka Margot, and what sets the previously Oscar-nominated star apart is her role as a producer.
The actress was involved in the film from the very start with Greta, who also co-wrote Barbie, with the two working closely on the project with Mattel and finding a home in Warner Bros.
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The movie was produced by Margot's production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, which aims to create female-focused film and TV productions, and as a result, makes her win even larger.
Barbie quickly became a commercial juggernaut, having earned over $1.44 billion at the global box office. Among the film's many records, it is the highest grossing Warner Bros. production of all time, the highest by a solo female director, the highest grossing live action comedy of all time, the highest grossing film of the entire year, and the 14th highest grossing film ever (and second-highest non-franchise grosser ever, behind Titanic).
As a result of its monumental success, it was estimated in a report by Variety based on industry knowledge that as early as August, Margot stood to make as much as $50 million from the movie, thanks to a combination of her salary and box office.
"There is no Ken without Barbie," as Ryan pointed out in his statement released yesterday after the nominations were announced. "And there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film."
READ: Ryan Gosling treated differently from Margot Robbie on Barbie set: 'It was just surreal'
"To say that I'm disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement," he added, with many on social media quickly pointing out that the Academy had, in essence, replicated the plot of the fantasy-comedy.
Praising Margot and Greta, he wrote: "Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history."
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