"Barbie" receives eight Oscar nominations, misses out on Best Director and Best Actress

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

by Madison Bibbey

Staff Writer

In 2023 Barbie broke records and the internet globally. To start 2024, Barbie is back in the headlines, but this time for a more controversial reason.

On January 23rd the Academy Award nominations were announced. Despite Barbie receiving eight nominations, many fans were upset that Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig weren’t nominated for Best Actress and Best Director, respectively. 

Greta Gerwig, left, Margot Robbie, center, and Ryan Gosling, right, onstage at Warner Bros.' "Barbie" Los Angeles Special Screening and Q&A at Harmony Gold on January 05, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

Senior Noha Abu believes Gerwig should have been nominated for Best Director since “many of her other movies” have been nominated and that “speaks to her good sense of directing.” Others were upset that the “snubs” were overshadowing the accomplishments. 

America Ferrera, who plays Gloria, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Abu also agrees with this and believes Ferrera “was the star of Barbie.” This is her first Oscar nomination and she’s one of few Latina actresses to be nominated for an Oscar. 

Barbie’s nominations include Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Song (“I’m Just Ken” and “What Was I Made For”), and Best Picture. Margot Robbie got her first Best Picture award as a producer. Despite not being nominated for best director got a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay as she co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. 

Ferrera, Gosling, and Robbie have all spoken out on the nominations and “snubs.” Ferrera in an interview with Variety said “I still haven’t really been able to get in my feelings because I’m still on like the top layer of ‘I can’t even believe that [the nomination] is real.” Additionally, she said “I feel it so deeply and am so grateful for their love and support and in this moment”. Ferrera also expressed her feelings on Gerwig’s snub. “Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it,” and “creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list,” Ferrera expressed. 

Gosling, after receiving and celebrating his nomination, said, “There is no "Barbie" movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film” as reported by NPA. Robbie then spoke out and said, “There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed.” She also said that “People’s reactions to the movie have been the biggest reward of this entire experience,” and that she’s “beyond ecstatic that we’ve (Barbie) got eight Academy Award nominations, it’s so wild,” according to an interview in Deadline.

The "Barbie" movie has been successful throughout the award ceremonies it’s been nominated in. The movie received nominations and wins for many prestigious awards and was left out of others. It also broke records domestically and internationally. Most importantly, it resonated with viewers.