'Wonder Woman' wants to shatter another glass ceiling: The Oscars
Having smashed record after record at the box office, Wonder Woman's looking to blaze another new trail – this time all the way to Best Picture.
Variety reports Warner Bros. planning a "formidable" awards campaign for the film, with hopes of netting nominations for best picture and best director.
If the studio succeeds, it'll be nothing short of groundbreaking. It's not unheard of for superhero movies to make it to the Academy Awards – Suicide Squad took home makeup and hairstyling just a few months ago – but none have ever been nominated for best picture or best director.
Does Wonder Woman have a shot?
It's far too early to say how Diana might fare in this year's race. While a few potential contenders have already been released (Get Out, Dunkirk), the glut of wannabe Oscar nominees won't hit for another few months.
That said, Wonder Woman has a few things working in its favor already. One is the box office: although the biggest blockbusters (your Star Warses, your Avengerses) tend to get shut out, the Academy does take notice when a film performs exceptionally well. Just ask Avatar.
Another is Wonder Woman's position as a feminist victory – and, in particular, a feminist victory that comes at a time when women in the U.S. are feeling under attack. It's going to be difficult to ignore the overwhelming emotional support that Wonder Woman has engendered, particularly since (thanks to the Academy's efforts toward inclusivity over the past few years) the organization skews younger and more diverse than it once did.
... Or will it be The Dark Knight all over again?
The last time a superhero movie got this close to claiming the big prize was 2009 with The Dark Knight, which was nominated for eight prizes and took home two (including a posthumous supporting actor win for Heath Ledger). However, it could not break into the best director or best picture fields.
In that case, the backlash to the Academy's failure to recognize The Dark Knight's achievements was so severe that it helped inspire a rule change the following year. Explaining the Academy's decision to expand the Best Picture category from five films to ten, Academy president Sidney Ganis admitted, "I would not be telling you the truth if I said the words Dark Knight did not come up.”
Granted, that rule change hasn't led to more superhero movies breaking into best picture, or at least not yet. Wonder Woman could be an opportunity to see how much things have changed – or how much they haven't.
A history of superhero movies at the Oscars
First superhero movie to win an Oscar: Superman, in 1979. Indeed, Superman was the first mainstream superhero movie ever to be nominated for an Oscar, period. It was up for the sound mixing, film editing, and original score prizes. But it only took home one – a non-competitive Special Achievement prize for its visual effects.
Most nominated superhero movie: The Dark Knight, with eight. And it's not even close. Superman, mentioned above, is in second place with three. (Not counting the Special Achievement prize, that is.)
Most common superhero movie nomination: Visual Effects. Superman apparently kicked off a trend of superhero movies getting recognized for their visual effects and nothing else. Of the eighteen Oscar-nominated superhero films, fourteen were up for visual effects – including seven that were only up for visual effects.
Most superhero movies nominated in one year: Three, in 2014. They were all up for (you guessed it) visual effects.
Total Oscars won by Marvel and DC movies: Six. That's one for Superman and two for The Dark Knight, plus Batman, Spider-Man 2, and Suicide Squad.
Topics Comics Oscars Wonder Woman
