The Academy Awards are the ultimate form of recognition in the film industry. Whether or not you agree with that statement, it’s indisputable that the films that get a nomination for an Oscar are considered to have achieved some level of excellence. This honour, for a long time, was considered to be biased, especially when it came to diversity in the film industry, but the Academy has been making strides over the last several years to eradicate that and be more inclusive. And turns out that inclusivity has extended itself to the superhero genre, with a certain ground breaking superhero film now being nominated for Best Picture. While the news is all the rage, it’s not the first time that a film in the superhero genre has been nominated for an academy award in general.
So today, we’re counting down the top 10 superhero movies that were nominated for an Oscar. 10 Superman Believe it or not, there’s been a handful of Superman films that have been nominated for Academy Awards, but perhaps the most endearing of them all is this one from 1941; a 10 minute animated short by the famous Max Fleischer simply titled Superman, in which the man of steel fights a mad scientist who is destroying Metropolis with an energy canon. What was it nominated for? Best animated short subject, of course. The Fleischer brothers did a whole lot for the superhero genre and animation as a whole, and their Superman cartoons are some of the earliest superhero cinematic adaptations, coming out during the Golden Age of comics.
They also were quite influential in establishing Superman in pop culture outside of those who read comics. 9 The Avengers You bet your butt the MCU has scored a handful of Oscar nominations over the years. This includes the 2012 The Avengers film, directed by Joss Whedon, which was nominated for best achievement in visual effects. It didn’t manage to win that year, but I don’t think Marvel Studios really minds in the long run, all things considered. It also isn’t the only MCU film that’s been nominated, either. Iron Man was nominated in 2008 for best sound editing and best visual effects. Visual Effects is a big category for MCU films; Iron Man 2, 3, Captain America the Winter solider, and Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1 were all nominated for best visual effects, and Gaurdians vol 1 also got a nom for makeup and hair.
8 Batman Forever Batman Forever was the first of the 90’s Batman cinematic franchise that director Joel Schumacher made. While it’s successor, Batman and Robin, would face a ton of ridiculue and be the butt of many a joke…cough…cough.. bat nips… Batman Forever wasn’t all that shabby, and turns out the Academy didn’t frown upon the film like some comic book fans did. It was nominated for best cinematography, best sound, and best sound effects editing.
It starred Val Kilmer as Batman after Michael Keaton walked after having an unfavorable meeting with Schumacher, not liking the direction the film was going in. Kilmer apparently found out he got the role while in an actual bat cave while he was doing research for the film The Ghost and the Darkness. But from one Batman film to the next- 7 Batman Back in 1989, a much darker cinematic version of Batman than the previous 60’s adaptation of the caped crusader hit the big screen, directed by none other than Tim Burton.
Burton had managed to craft a Gotham City that was pretty darn fitting of the craziness many comic book fans expected, all while tailoring the movie to mass audiences. It told the tale of the Dark Knight beginning his war on crime and coming face to face with his arch nemesis, the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson. The film seemed to resonate with the Academy, too. It won best art direction at the Oscars that year; a style that had Burton written all over it. 6 Superman The Max Fleischer Superman short wasn’t the only man of steel adaptation that has managed to score an Oscar in the past. The 1978 film starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando scored a special achievement award for visual effects, and was nominated for best sound, best film editing and best music original score.
Not too shabby at all! The classic 1978 Superman is often considered to still be the best live action Superman film made to date. Christopher Reeve, who played the man of steel himself, was initially believed to be too skinny to play Superman, but had blown away the director and producers with his screen test, so he was cast. He ended buffing up from 170 pounds to 212 prior to principal photography, and the bodybuilder he had trained with, David Prowse, had actually tried out for the role of Superman but was turned down because he wasn’t American. 5 Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse Spider-Man into the spider-verse is arguably much more than a superhero film.
Take one look at it and it’s clear that it’s a revolutionary film in terms of animation and how the form is used. Because of this, and many other reasons, the film has managed to score itself a nomination for the Oscars this year for Best Animation. And it has a pretty solid chance at winning, too; Into the Spider-Verse won the Golden Globe for best animation this year, so taking home an Oscar doesn’t seem impossible after all. Fingers crossed! 4 Spider-Man 2 It seems like the first Spider-Man trilogy happened so long ago. And technically, it did; the first Spoder-Man film starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker came out back in 2002. While that film was nominated for two academy awards, best sound and best visual effects, it was it’s successor which pinned Spidey up against Doctor Otto Octavius, the second film in the trilogy, that really made an impact at the Oscars two years later. It won an Oscar for best visual effects, and was nominated for best sound mixing and best sound editing.
3 The Incredibles The Incredibles is one of the only superhero films to have ever scored an Academy nomination in a writing category; director and writer Brad Bird was nominated for Best Writing Original Screenplay for the 2004 animated feature. That wasn’t the only nom The Incredibles got either. The film was nominated for achievement in sound mixing. But, even better, it won two Oscars that year as well; Best animated Feature film and best achievement in sound editing. 2 The Dark Knight Many consider Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy to be the best cinematic take on the Dark Knight and his rogue gallery to date. The second film in that trilogy, 2008’s The Dark Knight, is arguably the best of the three, and has the accolades to prove it. It was nominated for multiple academy awards, including best cinematography, best film editing, best art direction, best makeup, best sound mixing and best visual effects. But perhaps the most famous story that many of you will remember is about the category that the film did win at the Oscars that year; Heath Ledger won Best supporting actor, post humously.
Ledger played the Joker and revolutionized the way we saw the clown prince of crime up on the big screen, but ultimately passed away after the film had wrapped, with many believing that playing the Joker and going method was ultimately what pushed him over the edge and killed him. In addition to that, the film also won an Oscar for achievement in sound editing. 1 Black Panther Black Panther is the first superhero film EVER to be nominated in the best picture category. Black Panther is the MCU film that keeps on giving when it comes to making history.
For starters, it featured the first black superhero protagonist, and spoke to millions and millions of fans out there, regardless of whether or not they had followed T’Challa in the comics. In addition to that, it also made over a whooping 700 million dollars at the box office, beating out Avengers Infinity War on several different fronts. So to see it be nominated for Best Picture is a pretty big deal, and goes to show that the Academy is finally giving films of all genres starring all races the credit they deserve. In addition to this, Black Panther is nominated for a slew of other academy awards this year, too. This includes Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. There we have it friends! What other superhero films do you think in the past were deserving of a best picture nomination? Or even a best direction nomination? Give us a shout in those comments below and let us know what you think! If you dug this video, spread the love, hit that like button, and be sure to subscribe to top 10 nerd for more lists just like this one.
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