Awards season officially kicked off this weekend, as the 81st annual Golden Globes ceremony took place on Jan. 7. Hosted by comedian Jo Koy, the Globes returned to television on a one year prove-it deal from CBS to see if the show would be worth renewing on a longer contract. Well, how was the show, who won and what could the results from the night tell us about the Oscar race? 

The show got off to an extremely rocky start. Koy’s opening monologue was absolutely dreadful, with arguably his worst jokes being “‘Oppenheimer’ is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and ‘Barbie’ is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” which highlighted the rampant sexism the film has faced throughout its entire existence. This was on-top of him admitting at the top of the show that he had hardly seen anything nominated until he had gotten the call to host 10 days prior, and had not even finished “Oppenheimer.” 

Then, about halfway through his monologue, it seemed to dawn on him that he was completely bombing, when he then proceeded to blame the writers of the show saying “I wrote some of these, they’re the ones you’re laughing at.” Overall, a lackluster and borderline pathetic effort from someone who clearly was either underqualified or didn’t have the foresight to make it seem like he actually cared about being there. The producers of the show seemed to take notice, as Koy was largely removed from the rest of the night. 

After this it was fairly smooth sailing. On the television side, “Succession,” “Beef” and “The Bear” swept, with each series bringing in multiple performance wins and winning Best TV Series in their respective categories. Although, I personally was a little sad to see no love for “Barry” in its final season. Shows like “The Last of Us,” “Daisy Jones and the Six” and “Fargo” also failed to bring home any wins. 

On the film end, I found everyone who took home an award to be extremely deserving. I also think that these wins tell us a lot about how things could shake up at the Oscars in March, with some wins solidifying some campaigns, and others opening up alternate possibilities that seemed less than likely before. Although, keep in mind, nominations are not even out yet, so this is all speculation. 

Firstly, “Oppenheimer” won five awards: Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Cillian Murphy), Best Director of a Motion Picture (Christopher Nolan), Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Original Score (Ludwig Gorannson) and Best Drama Motion Picture. It’s looking increasingly likely that “Oppenheimer” is the film to beat this year in pretty much every category that it will be recognized in. Notably, Robert Downey Jr. winning in Best Supporting Actor is a huge boost for him, as coming into the night many believed that Charles Melton could’ve won for his performance in “May December.” 

Melton gained a lot of traction over the holidays as “May December” debuted on Netflix, with both the movie and his performance garnering immense praise. I thought Melton was absolutely incredible in his role, but Downey has been the front-runner for the majority of the year and as of this weekend it seems like he is holding firm onto that position. 

Emma Stone won Best Actress in a Comedy Motion Picture and Lily Gladstone won Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture for their roles in “Poor Things” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” respectively. This tells us what we’ve known for a while now, that it’s going to come down to these two in March, and honestly this might be the most difficult award to predict. Stone is truly transformative, hilarious and endearing in “Poor Things,” but Gladstone’s performance in “Flower Moon” is deeply powerful, and she demands your attention while sharing scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DiNiro, and you can count the number of actors who have ever done that on one hand. 

In the biggest upsets of the night, Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” won two awards: Best Foreign Language Film and Best Screenplay of a Motion Picture. Admittedly, “Anatomy” is one of the few films of the season that I have yet to see, and I hope to get that rectified sooner than later, especially after these wins. 

“Anatomy” beat out seeming frontrunners “Past Lives” and “The Zone of Interest” in Best Foreign Language Film, which was a surprise in-it-of-itself, but the real shock comes from it beating out “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things,” “Past Lives” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” in Best Screenplay, making this arguably the most revealing win of the night. “Anatomy” has arrived at awards season in a real way, and in my mind has cemented itself as the fourth film in my completely imaginary power rankings of these movies. 

Well, what would be the three ahead of “Anatomy?” I think there is a pretty set trio after the Globes: “Oppenheimer” in the lead, “Poor Things” trailing it and “The Holdovers” rounding it out. Coming into the night I would’ve had “The Holdovers” ahead of “Poor Things,” as it seemed to really resonate with a lot of people who watched it over the holidays. 

All three central performances from Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa and DaVine Joy Randolph had been immensely praised, with Giamatti and Randolph even being recognized at the Globes themselves. But, “Poor Things” beat it out for Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture as a far more irreverent and complicated movie, which gives me pause about “The Holdovers” chances at the Oscars. I still think that it is the clear third-place suitor, but in terms of upsetting “Oppenheimer,” I’d give “Poor Things” a better chance. 

Also, they should give “Succession” an honorary Oscar. Just for fun. I love that show.