‘Black Panther’ Jokes Open Golden Globes 2019

The 76th Annual Golden Globes opened with topical jokes centered around Marvel Studios' Black Panther, which is the first-ever superhero film to be nominated for the coveted Best Picture - Drama award.

"It is the third-highest grossing movie of all time in the U.S., which just goes to show people want more movies where the characters ride around on rhinoceroses like they're horses," joked co-host Sandra Oh. "I have been saying this for years, Hollywood!"

Added co-host Andy Samberg, "It was another huge year for director Ryan Coogler, a fellow Bay Area native. You know, if you told me as a kid growing up in the Bay there would be a movie called Black Panther that starts off in Oakland, this is not what I would have imagined."

Then, addressing Coogler in the audience, Samberg joked, "Were there like a bunch of old members of the actual Black Panther Party saying, 'I can't even get an audition?'"

Samberg then launched into rapid speech, adding, "Just kidding, they were all framed and murdered for wanting justice and equality and the world is and always has been a nightmare it just seems worse now because of our phones, what else happened this year?"

Turning serious, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star said the year of film and television brought "incredible work like Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, If Beale Street Could Talk, Roma, Pose, BlacKkKlansman, and many more."

"They're not just here tonight because they resonated with audiences Hollywood often ignores," Samberg continued, "they're here because they told stories that resonated with everyone, and that is truly a beautiful thing."

"Wow, Andy, can I just say... that you read all of my lines off the teleprompter," joked Oh.

"What? No, those were mine! Here, let me keep going. When I was growing up in Canada, the daughter of Korean immigrants... okay, you're right, that was totally your stuff," Samberg said. "Oh my God, I just totally white-washed your speech! This is how it happens!"

"That's not how it happens," Oh said.

"What an amazing learning experience for me!" Samberg said excitedly.

"If I could take a moment here, in all honesty, I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out into this audience and witness this moment of change," said Oh, who is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama for her work in Killing Eve.

"And I'm not fooling myself — I'm not fooling myself — next year could be different, it probably will be, but right now, this moment is real. Trust me, it is real. Because I see you. And I see you. All of these faces of change. And now so will everyone else."

Black Panther earned more than $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office and won $700 million of that haul domestically, making the blockbuster just the third film in history to achieve the feat behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936m) and James Cameron's Avatar ($760m).