Does Barbie qualify for Original Screenplay at the Oscars? WB's decision explored

The Oscars, the pinnacle of recognition in the film industry, annually celebrate the most exceptional contributions to cinema, and Barbie seems to be a strong contender in the coming year's list of nominations. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie already aims for multiple category nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress.

However, one category in which speculation has arisen owing to the criteria for the nomination is Best Original Screenplay - a category in which Barbie does not qualify. Warner Bros. (WB) has been pushing for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination when, in reality, it clears the guidelines for the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

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What category does Barbie qualify for at the upcoming Oscars?

The Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starrer Barbie have grossed a worldwide total of $1.407 billion so far, and going by the looks of it, the movie is set to win a couple of accolades apart from hearts. The distributor, Warner Bros. Pictures (WB), has positioned the movie for multiple categories in the upcoming awards season, especially at the Oscars 2024.

Out of the two categories that the Academy Awards has reserved for writing, Warner Bros. has been targeting Best Original Screenplay instead of Best Adapted Screenplay for its recent hit. The criteria for Best Adapted Screenplay include films that have been based on literature, stage productions, comic series, video games, and intellectual property that has been pre-existing.

The storyline for the box-office hit turned out to take an unexpected turn with social messages that were loud and clear for all age groups, genders, and ethnicities, thereby resulting in an original plot. However, the premise is not original, making the movie eligible for the Adapted Screenplay category.

For reference, Mattel’s doll had been registered for its first trademark on July 2, 1958. Warner Bros. approached screenwriter duo Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach to turn Mattel’s iconic doll into a cinematic figure by making a feature film on her.

The matter remains to be a topic of debate, as pointed out by Variety,

"Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s “The Lego Movie” (2014) was campaigned for original and has Lego toys and Batman in the movie. Pixar’s “Toy Story” creates a fresh concept with Woody and Buzz going from enemies to friends, but the film includes classic toys like Mr. Potato Head, the plastic green army men, and a piece of Barbie’s leg. The seven screenwriters receive nods."

The movie puts down the credits as being based on Barbie by Mattel.

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More on Warner Bros. efforts

Warner Bros. has been determined to receive a maximum number of nominations for Barbie, but the categorization may influence the chances of a statuette for the writing category.

Greta Gerwig had failed to receive a nod from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) with Little Women and Lady Bird in the past. Even though that may change this time, at the end of the day, it would be the say of the voters that will matter.

Barbie will be looking at contenders such as Celine Song’s Past Lives, Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, which received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.