'Oppenheimer' wins big at Oscars, but 'Barbie' was inescapable

Barbie didn’t have to win all the Oscars to shine.

While the film’s opening weekend counterpart, Oppenheimer, was undoubtedly the big winner during Sunday’s show with seven Academy Awards, there was still a lot of love for Barbie throughout the telecast because, as we know, “Barbie has a great day every day.”

Greta Gerwig’s film — up for eight awards — didn’t go home unhonored. Billie Eilish and brother Finneas’s “What Was I Made For?” took home the Oscar for Best Original Song. Their performance, amid a backdrop of shade of pinks and an orchestra, had the cast and audience feeling the feels. (Eilish also became the youngest two-time Oscar winner with her victory.)

Although Ryan Gosling didn’t win in the same category, he brought big Kenergy — and Slash! — for his rousing performance of "I'm Just Ken." The set was again aglow in pink hues, but it was Gosling’s all-in attitude — which he also had while playing the role of Barbie’s “No. 2” — that made the sometimes bland awards show, helmed by Jimmy Kimmel, sparkle like the actor’s bedazzled Gucci suit from the initial tip of Ken’s hat.

Emma Stone, Best Actress winner for Poor Things, later blamed her wardrobe malfunction on the show’s synergistic sing-along. Even Martin Scorsese was out of his seat, clapping along, right to the final fireworks.

There was Barbie buzz throughout the show from the start. The first image viewers saw on their screens was of Margot Robbie as Barbie in the film’s bus stop scene, which Gerwig called the “heart of the movie.” Kimmel sat in for “The Woman on the Bench,” 92-year-old Oscar-winning costume designer Ann Roth, and was on the receiving end of Barbie’s teary-eyed “You’re beautiful.”

Gosling and Oppenheimer’s Emily Blunt poked fun at the “Barbenheimer rivalry” while presenting together, which was one of the best presenting bits.

In fact, from red carpet arrivals, the cast of the summer’s billion-dollar blockbuster had people talking. Robbie, who helped elevate Barbiecore by wearing every shade of pink imaginable during her press tour and into awards season, completely went the other way on Oscars night.

The Australian actress and producer wore a strapless black dress from Versace. Gosling and co-stars Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu and Issa Rae also wore black. That helped illuminate Best Supporting Actress nominee America Ferrera’s pink Versace gown.

Meanwhile, Gerwig — passed over for a director nomination — came dressed as her own golden statue, a total power move to go along with her film’s narrative.

At the end of the day, there are many films that have been snubbed or largely overlooked by the Academy that live big in the hearts of moviegoers. Turn on your TV right now and The Shawshank Redemption is on one of the channels. In 1995, the film had zero wins despite seven nominations. Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street wasn’t a winner nor were classics Rebel Without a Cause, The Shining, Stand by Me and Reservoir Dogs. And though Glenn Close is one of the best actresses around, she has never won an Academy Award amid her eight nominations.

So if you think Barbie was a loser last night, going home with just one Oscar, to borrow a line from her: "Either you're brainwashed or you're weird." It goes deeper, and it always did.