The Golden Globes is finally back on prime-time television and the awards show has two new categories: Best Performance in Stand-Up on Television and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. The first category is long overdue as there’s been plenty of incredible stand-up comedy specials and comedians who deserve to be recognized for their performances. However, the latter doesn’t make much sense. It’s been well documented how much the Golden Globes has fallen since the controversy surrounding Emily in Paris opened up a can of worms in regards to the Globes behind the scenes.
The Golden Globes is in a dire position because the show has been desperately trying to win back viewers. Once seen as the second most prestigious awards show behind the Oscars, viewers and celebrities have stopped taking the Globes seriously. Hell, the awards show was reportedly having trouble finding a big name to host the event. Business-wise, it makes sense that the Golden Globes want as many eyes on their shows as possible. On the other hand, the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category does more harm than good for the once prestigious awards show.
Cinematic And Box Office Achievement Isn’t Based On The Merit Of Quality
The following films have been nominated for this category: Barbie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Oppenheimer, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. When you look at this list, there are plenty of Oscar contenders here, but digging deeper beyond the surface, the mish-mash of films doesn’t particularly make much sense.
Exactly what warrants a film to be nominated for this category? Obviously, it has to make a huge dent at the box office, but films like Fifty Shades of Grey ($569 million), David Ayer’s Suicide Squad ($747 million), and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (1.124 billion) made a ton of money at the box office. They aren’t the only bad movies to make a lot of money, so do these types of films qualify? Better movies like Killers of the Flower Moon or Past Lives aren’t here because they didn’t make much money at the box office. Nominations in EVERY category should be based on quality, not box office revenue.
If terrible films like Fifty Shades of Grey can now win the Golden Globes, what makes these awards prestigious today? The point of these high-level awards shows is to honor the best of the best, and the cinematic and box office achievement’s merits have nothing to do with the best films. The main importance here is box office totals, and history has seen some true duds make bank at the box office.
Why Not Focus On Actual Skills That Could Lead To Viewership?
The award itself seems desperate because the focus is mainly on box office success; however, there are plenty of other ways that the Associated Press could’ve highlighted popular films based on their quality. The Academy Awards has seen some bad films get nominated in the past as well: Click (Best Makeup), Fifty Shades of Grey (Best Original Song), Norbit (Best Makeup), and Suicide Squad (Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling) were all nominated in secondary categories. These are BAD movies, but the categories that their nomination represents still highlight the best aspects of said film.
An interesting category such as Best Stunt work could’ve been something perfect. Since The Raid and John Wick, choreography in action films has vastly stepped their game up to produce some of the best moments in modern cinema. Three of the nominations for cinematic achievement – John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – could’ve made the list and it wouldn’t be awkward if less than favorable movies were added because a terrible film can have excellent stunt work. But it doesn’t just have to be stunt work.
As I’ve stated numerous times, the focus should always be on quality, and highlighting a different aspect within a film or television series can allow some stinkers to sneak in without diminishing the prestige of the Golden Globes itself.
Cinematic And Box office Achievement Won’t Solve The Viewership Problems
While putting in popular films could lead to some increase in viewership, it won’t help too much. The issues with the Golden Globes are based on the people no longer viewing them as a prestigious event. Once it was revealed that members could be bribed into picking a nomination, the Globes lost all value in the eyes of many. Thankfully, the Golden Globes has made drastic measures since that controversy, which ensures film and television nominations are pure and considered only for quality. However, it’s going to take time for the awards show to rebuild their damaged reputation. It’s doubtful that the cinematic and box office achievement award will help with that in the long run.
Follow Us
