Summary
- Warner Bros. announced that Barbie would be campaigning for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar rather than Best Adapted Screenplay.
- Entering this category prevents Barbie from being pitted against hard-hitters like Oppenheimer and Poor Things, but could have it competing for the same prize as hits Past Lives and Saltburn.
- The Academy could disagree with this decision and move Barbie to the Adapted Screenplay category.
Greta Gerwig's Barbie is the smash hit of the summer. It's the first female-directed movie to break a billion dollars at the box office and half of the cultural phenomenon Barbenheimer. It's the highest-grossing film of the year so far and has already become the fourteenth highest-grossing film of all time -- topping blockbusters like The Avengers and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Its story entranced audiences, and moments like the hilarious "I'm Just Ken" sequence have already become daily references for die-hard fans.
Barbie's momentum isn't slowing down any time soon, either. As the Academy Awards grow closer, many wonder what categories Barbie has a shot at scoring a nomination in. After all, Ryan Gosling looks like a sure contender for Best Supporting Actor, and Gerwig could earn her second Best Director nod for her exceptional work on the film. "I'm Just Ken" or "What Was I Made For?" both have the chance to be recognized for Best Original Song. However, there's one major aspect of the film's awards potential that's still unclear: its screenplay.
Why Is Warner Bros. Submitting Barbie for Best Original Screenplay?
From the beginning, it's been unclear which screenwriting category Barbie belonged in. Initially, it appeared to be a shoo-in for Best Adapted Screenplay. The official submission guidelines for the category state that any screenplay based on existing material automatically counts as an adaptation. This includes sequels (which is why Glass Onion was nominated in this category in 2023) or spinoffs, as they use the same characters as a pre-existing work. Because Barbie is based on existing intellectual property, it would make the most sense for it to be classified in this category, especially when taking into consideration that the majority of the characters are based on Mattel's dolls.
However, it wasn't truly an adaptation, either. Barbie's plot was crafted entirely by Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach and isn't based on any other stories starring the dolls. Not only that, but they built the brilliant world of Barbieland from the ground up. They created all the human characters, such as the scene-stealing Gloria (America Ferrera) and her daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt). Overall, there's more original material in the film than there is adapted material, even if the film is based on intellectual property. This is the move Warner Bros. has finally decided to make, as it announced on September 13, 2023, in an exclusive for Variety, that Barbie would campaign for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.
Is This the Best Move for Barbie?
Submitting Barbie for Best Original Screenplay could prove to be a mistake. On one hand, it prevents it from going up against the other major contenders from this awards season. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which Barbie already battled with at the box office, will most likely score a nomination, as it's based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherman's biography. Poor Things, the latest feature from renowned director Yorgos Lanthimos, who's currently making waves on the festival circuit and will have a wide release in early December, will probably be nominated in this category as well. Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which premiered at Cannes in May and is slated for a theatrical release in October, is also almost guaranteed a nod. Warner Bros. may believe that, by avoiding having Barbie compete against these films, it stands a better chance of taking home the Academy Award.
On the other, however, it's still going to face remarkably stiff competition. Though the Best Original Screenplay is less crowded up to this point, there are still some incredible films predicted to earn nominations. Emerald Fennell's sophomore feature Saltburn could earn the writer-director her second nod following her win for Promising Young Woman. Celine Song's critically acclaimed debut feature Past Lives has already garnered particular praise for its screenplay and, therefore, is incredibly likely to be recognized by the Academy. Renowned director Wes Anderson's latest feature, Asteroid City, stands a solid chance of being nominated, especially because it's been a while since the last time he was recognized on such a grand scale. May December, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, was met with widespread praise at Cannes and is a front-runner in the category even though it hasn't been widely released yet. The Boy and the Heron, Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki's first feature in ten years, could make a solid campaign and earn a nomination despite how much of a break from tradition it would be to nominate an animated film. Though Barbie is still ahead of its competitors (at least according to most Oscar predictions), it's still going to be a stiff race, and nothing can guarantee that it's going to be victorious.
Will the Academy Move Barbie?
Warner Bros. also runs the risk of having their decision overridden by the Academy as the awards season continues. Before nomination ballots are finalized, they must be verified by the Writers Branch of the Academy itself. Though there are typically no issues with how films are categorized when they are initially submitted, there have been instances when a film was intended to compete as an original screenplay but was later deemed an adaptation. For example, 2017 Best Picture winner Moonlight was initially a contender for Best Original Screenplay since the play it's based on was never published. However, before the honorees were announced, Moonlight was relocated into the Best Adapted Screenplay (where it's worth noting that it took home the prize). Something similar occurred with 2005's Syriana and 2018's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, as well as 2016's Loving, which ended up not being nominated at all. Whiplash was deemed an adaptation because it's based on an existing short film, even though it was also written and directed by Damien Chazelle.
Barbie could be the next film to have its initial nomination overridden by the Writers Branch. Warner Bros. not knowing where to submit it early in its awards campaign signals that its status as an original script is already tenuous at best, and having it face off against the other well-received films in the adapted screenplay category could heighten the drama around the Oscars themselves, thus urging more viewers to tune in to see who ultimately walks out with the prize. No matter what group it's in, Barbie's screenplay is likely to earn a nomination, and it'll be interesting to see what movies it ends up competing against.
Barbie is currently available on digital and VOD.