Golden Globes 2024 recap: Biggest moments from the 81st annual awards show

The awards show honored the best in film and television.

Last Updated: January 7, 2024, 10:24 PM EST

The 2024 Golden Globes kicked off awards season Sunday night as the best in film and television were honored.

Comedian Jo Koy hosted the ceremony, which was held at Los Angeles' famed Beverly Hilton.

"Oppenheimer" and "Succession" were big winners of the night, with "Barbie" taking home the prize for cinematic and box office achievement, one of the two new categories at this year's show.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association -- the group of international journalists who previously chose nominees for and decided winners at the annual awards show -- was officially wound down last summer after years of controversy. Now with new management and a voting membership that has swelled to 300 members, this year marked a fresh start for the Golden Globes.

Check out a recap of how the night unfolded below.

Jan 07, 2024, 10:01 PM EST

Ludwig Göransson wins best original score for "Oppenheimer"

Ludwig Göransson won the Golden Globe for best original score for "Oppenheimer."

"Working with Christopher Nolan has been an incredible experience," he shared in his acceptance speech. "I think the way you use music in your films and your storytelling has inspired a lot of people.”

PHOTO: Ludwig Garansson accepts award for Best Original Score  Motion Picture for "Oppenheimer" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills.
Ludwig Garansson accepts award for Best Original Score Motion Picture for "Oppenheimer" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills.
Rich Polk/Getty Images

“I also want to thank Cillian Murphy,” he added. “I've been watching your face over and over and over again. It's been an incredible experience, and thank you for inspiring me. I want to thank all the musicians who played on this incredible score.”

Other nominees in the category included Jerskin Fendrix for "Poor Things," Joe Hisaishi for "The Boy and the Heron," Mica Levi for "The Zone of Interest," Daniel Pemberton for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" and Robbie Robertson for "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Jan 07, 2024, 9:55 PM EST

Cillian Murphy wins best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (drama)

Cillian Murphy won the Golden Globe for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (drama) for "Oppenheimer."

"I knew the first time I walked on a Christopher Nolan set that it was different. I could tell by the level of rigor, the level of focus, the level of dedication, the complete lack of any seating options for actors that I was in the hands of a visionary director and master," Murphy, who played the titular J. Robert Oppenheimer in the biopic, said in his acceptance speech.

Cillian Murphy accepts the award for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for "Oppenheimer" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills.
Rich Polk/Getty Images

He added, "One of the most beautiful and vulnerable things about being an actor is that you can't do it on your own, really. We had the most incredible ensemble cast in this movie. It was magic."

Other nominees in the category included Bradley Cooper for "Maestro," Leonardo DiCaprio for "Killers of the Flower Moon," Colman Domingo for "Rustin," Barry Keoghan for "Saltburn" and Andrew Scott for "All of Us Strangers."

Jan 07, 2024, 9:48 PM EST

Emma Stone wins best performance by a female actor in a motion picture (musical or comedy)

Emma Stone won the Golden Globe for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture (musical or comedy) for "Poor Things."

"This is amazing," Stone said before thanking her fellow "Poor Things" cast members and crew, as well as director Yorgos Lanthimos.

"I see this as a rom-com," said Stone, who portrays the character Bella Baxter in the film, "but in the sense that Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person, and she accepts the good and the bad in equal measure -- and that really made me look at life differently."

Other nominees in the category included Fantasia Barrino for "The Color Purple," Jennifer Lawrence for "No Hard Feelings," Natalie Portman for "May December," Alma Pöysti for "Fallen Leaves" and Margot Robbie for "Barbie."

PHOTO: Emma Stone accepts the award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture  Musical or Comedy for "Poor Things" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills.
Emma Stone accepts the award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for "Poor Things" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills.
Rich Polk/Getty Images
Jan 07, 2024, 9:41 PM EST

Christopher Nolan wins best director

Christopher Nolan won the Golden Globe for best director for "Oppenheimer."

"The only time I've ever been on the stage before was accepting one of these on behalf of our dear friend, Heath Ledger, and that was complicated and challenging for me," the filmmaker said, referencing Ledger's posthumous Golden Globes win in 2008 for his role as the Joker in Nolan's "The Dark Knight."

Nolan noted that he received "a look of love and support" from Robert Downey Jr. during that moment as well as during his speech Sunday night.

Christopher Nolan at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Jan. 7, 2024.
Sonja Flemming/CBS

"I thought it'd be simpler accepting for myself, but as a director … I stand here and realize I can only accept this on behalf of people," he continued. "As directors, we bring people together and we try to get them to give their best."

He shouted out the "Oppenheimer" cast as well as his wife and producing partner Emma Thomas, calling her "my partner in life and in art."

This is Nolan's sixth nomination and first win.

Other nominees in the category included Bradley Cooper for "Maestro," Greta Gerwig for "Barbie," Yorgos Lanthimos for "Poor Things," Martin Scorsese for "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Celine Song for "Past Lives."

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