‘Barbie’ goes to the Oscars: How many of the cast will be invited?

“Barbie” has become a resounding success for Warner Bros. and director Greta Gerwig. The film grossed $155 million in its opening weekend and received rave reviews from critics hailing the direction, script, design, and, above all, performances.

Margot Robbie leads the cast as the titular main Barbie while Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, and Nicola Coughlan, amongst others, play different variations of Barbie. Ryan Gosling leads the pack of Kens along with Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Ncuti Gatwa. Also in the movie are Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, and Ariana Greenblatt. This has led to some intriguing odds charts for the movie on our site, meaning that the “Barbie” cast could theoretically receive up to five Oscar nominations. Here’s the rundown.

More from GoldDerby

• Netflix Top 10 (Week of July 17): 'Bird Box Barcelona' is most-watched film, 'Sweet Magnolias' tops the TV chart

• Moira Frazier ('Abbott Elementary' hairstylist) on 1st Emmy nomination: 'All that hard work paid off' [Exclusive Video Interview]

• After 'Oppenheimer,' watch these end of the world movies

Best Actress — Margot Robbie
Robbie is wonderful as Barbie and it’s her pitch-perfect performance that keeps the movie running. Other names (more on that below) might steal the spotlight but its selfless performance that makes the movie work. It also shows a deep understanding of tone and style while Robbie’s Barbie is the emotional heart of the movie. She is looking for her third Oscar bid after she was nominated in 2018 for Best Actress for “I, Tonya” and then again in 2020 for Best Supporting Actress for “Bombshell.”

However, Robbie is currently outside of our predicted five nominees in this category: Emma Stone (“Poor Things”), Natalie Portman (“May December”), Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Greta Lee (“Past Lives”), and Fantasia Barrino (“The Color Purple”). Plus, Jessica Lange (“Long Day’s Journey Into Night”) and Annette Bening (“Nyad”) are also ahead of Robbie, so there is some ground for Robbie to make up just yet. However, Robbie is one of the biggest stars on the planet right now and we know that voters like nominating young, big-name actresses in this category. Recent nominees include Ana de Armas (in 2023 for “Blonde”), Kristen Stewart (in 2022 for “Spencer”), and Scarlett Johansson (in 2020 for “Marriage Story”). Robbie fits right in with those names, while she is still in the Oscars gaze with those two recent nominations. That always helps.

Best Supporting Actor — Ryan Gosling
Probably the biggest takeaway from the movie is how brilliant Gosling is. He steals pretty much every scene he’s in and delivers one of the best comedic performances in cinema this century. It’s that good. He nails every beat. As such, Gosling is in our top five predicted nominees for Best Supporting Actor alongside Colman Domingo (“The Color Purple”), John Magaro (“Past Lives”), Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”), and Robert De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”). If he picks up the bid as we think he will, he will land his third-ever Oscar nomination after he was nominated twice for Best Actor — once in 2007 for “Half Nelson” and then again in 2017 for “La La Land.”

While Gosling’s performance may feel a little out there, there are actually a number of reasons to believe why he will pick up that bid (aside from how good the performance is, of course). Firstly, Gosling’s Ken is something of a villain. We know that the Academy like nominating villains in the Best Supporting Actor category. Sam Rockwell won for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” in 2018, Tom Hardy was nominated for “The Revenant” in 2016, J.K. Simmons won for “Whiplash,” Michael Fassbender (“12 Years a Slave”) and Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”) were nominated in 2014, and Christoph Waltz won for “Inglourious Basterds” in 2010. Plus, it’s a performance that combines singing, dancing, and acting. Bradley Cooper was lauded for his singing work in “A Star is Born,” which landed him a Best Actor bid. Austin Butler was praised for his singing and dancing in “Elvis,” which garnered him a Best Actor bid. And Andrew Garfield received plaudits for his singing and dancing in “Tick, Tick… Boom!,” which resulted in, you guessed it, a Best Actor nomination. Gosling should be treated no differently.

Best Supporting Actress — America Ferrera, Issa Rae, or Kate McKinnon
There are a couple of options here. First, there are two Barbies. Rae plays President Barbie and has one of the funniest moments in the film right toward the end (she also gets the film’s only f-bomb, which makes her stand out). It’s a small-ish role, however, so it would likely be a long shot. There is also McKinnon, who portrays Weird Barbie — this character has more of a crucial role in the plot, which helps, while McKinnon has a couple of scenes where she is front and center and gets to show off her trademark comedy skills and wit. Out of all the supporting Barbies, it is McKinnon who stands out most. She is, like Rae, a long shot, but both she and Rae have proven awards credentials. Rae is an eight-time Emmy nominee (no wins, though) while McKinnon is a two-time Emmy winner (for Best Comedy Supporting Actress for “Saturday Night Live” in 2016 and 2017). So, we know that awards bodies like them. However, they are both looking for their first Oscar nominations. What does help them, however, is the fact that voters have often nominated supporting actresses with not much screen time. Aunjanue Ellis was nominated in 2022 for “King Richard,” Ruby Dee snagged a bid in 2008 for “American Gangster,” and Judi Dench won in 1999 for “Shakespeare in Love.” So it does happen.

However, the best shot at a Best Supporting Actress nomination is Ferrera, who plays Mattel employee Gloria, who helps Barbie in the real world. Unlike her costars Rae and McKinnon, Ferrera gets a lot of time to shine. She has a wonderful arc with Greenblatt, who plays her on-screen daughter, and it is arguably their relationship that is actually the thumping heart of the movie. Plus, Ferrera gets that stunning speech about the difficulties of being a woman. Not only is that a pivotal moment in the plot but it is also a powerful speech in and of itself and Ferrera delivers it with aplomb. It’s the sort of “Oscar moment” speech you need in a film (you can even imagine awards bodies playing this clip when reeling off their nominees on awards night) and is especially reminiscent of the speech that Laura Dern‘s divorce lawyer gave in “Marriage Story” about the difficulties of motherhood. That film was written and directed by Noah Baumbach, who co-wrote the “Barbie” script with Gerwig. It’s this speech that makes Ferrera a contender for Best Supporting Actress. However, at this time of writing, she is outside of our predicted five nominees for this category: Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”), Julianne Moore (“May December”), Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson (both “The Color Purple”), and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”). Like Rae and McKinnon, Ferrera is looking for her first-ever Oscar bid.

If all three actors did land a nomination, however, it would be the most acting bids any Gerwig movie has ever received. “Lady Bird” was nominated for Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan) and Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf) in 2018 while “Little Women” matched those two bids in 2020 with Ronan again landing a Best Actress nomination and Florence Pugh snagging a Supporting Actress nomination. “Barbie” has already broken a lot of records already. Why not this one?

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

• Meryl Streep Oscar dresses: What did she wear each time she was nominated?

• Jim Caviezel movies: 10 greatest films ranked from worst to best

• All 11 Christopher Nolan movies ranked worst to best

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.