Marvel Studios has had a banner year at the box office with 3 films grossing over $300 Millions domestic & over $840 Million worldwide. We'll have to see if 2017 will finally be the year in which the studio takes home some Oscar® Gold, but one category just got a little tougher. Only one of Marvel’s 3 2017 releases, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is still in contention for Best Visual Effects.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is actually the only superhero movie to make the Academy’s final 10 contenders in the category. Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Homecoming & Thor: Ragnarok, Warner Bros. & DC’s Wonder Woman & Justice League, & Fox’s Logan were all on the previous shortlist, but failed to make the most recent cut.
Making the final 10 is a huge honor, but it doesn't guarantee Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 safe passage onto the final list of nominees. There nine other contenders left in the category and they are all very strong. Here is the full list, in alphabetical order.
- Alien: Covenant
- Blade Runner 2049
- Dunkirk
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Kong: Skull Island
- Okja
- The Shape of Water
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
- War for the Planet of the Apes
There is no way Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be denied a nomination while Dunkirk will likely be this year’s “real-life” VFX nominee. That leaves only 3 spots that are realistically up for grabs & 2 of those could easily be spoken for by War for the Planet of the Apes & The Shape of Water. I would consider Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 a favorite over the rest of the list, but the Academy might feel differently.
Visual effects isn't the only category in which Marvel Studios can compete for a nomination, but that is where the studio has picked up 7 of their 9 Academy Award® nominations. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will also be a contender for makeup & hairstylin', & possibly costume design. Thor: Ragnarok would also pull off a nomination in those categories.
And of course, Oscar® nominations, while servin' as nice recognition for those who have made the movies, ain't needed to validate the success of a film, or the studio that made it. Marvel Studios has had an amazin' 2017 & any potential Oscar® nominations would juzt be icing on the cake.