In the pre-Black Panther era, it would have been almost unbelievable to see a DC or Marvel film nominated for a major Oscar or Golden Globe. But director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther was nominated for three Golden Globes in 2019, including Best Film – Drama, Best Original Song, and Best Original Score.
The film went on to be the first “superhero” movie to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, and the first film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to win in three Oscar categories. The film would also go on to win a BAFTA, a SAG Award, a Grammy, seven NAACP Image Awards, and two BET Awards, among many other honors. Audiences loved the film as much as critics, as it grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film directed by a Black filmmaker, and the ninth highest-grossing movie of all time.
During the 76th Golden Globes ceremony, held at the Beverly Hilton and hosted by Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg, Black Panther’s main cast came on stage to introduce the blockbuster film, in one of the last award appearances by the late and great Chadwick Boseman.
Despite the tragic death of Boseman in 2020, the Black Panther franchise is still going strong, and its 2022 sequel was another box-office smash. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been nominated for two Golden Globes this year, including Angela Bassett as Best Supporting Actress and a nod for Best Original Song for “Lift Me Up,” performed by Rihanna. (Tune in on January 10 to see what happens!)

There was another important milestone at the 2019 Golden Globes ceremony, as Spike Lee became the only Black director to receive two Best Director nominations (he’d previously been nominated in 1990 for Do the Right Thing). His film BlacKkKlansman was also nominated for three other Golden Globes, including Best Film – Drama; Best Actor – Drama, for John David Washington</a>; and Best Supporting Actor, for Adam Driver.

In a year when awards were widely distributed amongst a very diverse body of films, Green Book</strong won the most awards with three, including Best Film – Musical or Comedy.

Additionally, Regina King made a memorable speech while accepting the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in If Beale Street Could Talk, saying that any project she produced in the following two years would be made up of 50 percent women to increase diversity, while challenging others in every industry to do the same.