Why ‘Black Panther,’ Ryan Coogler’s Historic Superhero Epic, Deserved More Oscar Love
Marvel’s Black Panther made history today, scoring the first-ever Best Picture Oscar nomination for a superhero film, one of seven total. And yet, it’s not seen as a real threat for the big prize despite being one of the most successful films ever made and getting better reviews than its fellow contenders like Green Book, Vice and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Meanwhile, the blockbuster film, which was expected to get at least 10 nods, was snubbed in categories like Best Director (for Ryan Coogler), Best Supporting Actor (for Michael B. Jordan), Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and even Best Visual Effects.
How can a film widely hailed as a genre-revitalizing cultural touchstone when it was released last February be an underdog come awards season? Certainly, there’s a precedent for big-budget, audience-pleasing blockbusters winning Best Picture (see: Forrest Gump, Ben-Hur, Titanic).