Female stars dressed in black to show support for sexual assault victims

Hollywood spoke with one voice at the Golden Globes on Sunday to declare war on the film industry's culture of sexual harassment and abuse, as it kicked off its annual awards season on a rare serious note.

Popular crime drama "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri" was the big winner of the night with four trophies, giving it momentum ahead of the all-important Oscars in March.

The awards podium played second fiddle at times to the clarion call coming from numerous stars about the need to heal and move forward.

"Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have," actress and media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey told the audience at the Beverly Hilton as she accepted a lifetime achievement award.

"For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up!" she added, earning a standing ovation.

The industry's elite turned the red carpet black for the Globes, avoiding bright colors in a fashionable refutation of disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein and others ensnared in allegations of misconduct.

And fittingly, it was a big night for movies and TV shows telling women's stories, such as Three Billboards and coming-of-age tale "Lady Bird" on the film side, and TV juggernauts The Handmaid's Tale and Big Little Lies.

The overall message at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's champagne-drenched annual prize-giving was a call for continued change.

"People are aware now of a power imbalance. It's led to abuse in our industry... It's everywhere," Meryl Streep, who was nominated for her work in media drama "The Post," said on the red carpet.

Time's up

Seth Meyers, making his debut as Golden Globes host, opened the show with joke after joke about Hollywood's post-Weinstein reckoning.

"It's 2018, marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't. It's going to be a good year," the late night NBC funnyman said.

"For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud."

Leading the pack by the end of the night was "Three Billboards," Martin McDonagh's searing film about a mother who battles local authorities to solve her daughter's murder.

"The women are not here for the food, they're here for the work," McDormand said to applause, noting the tectonic shift in our industry's power structure.