The only superhero movies to win an Oscar
As sequels and Marvel superheroes dominate mainstream cinema, the debate around their value in the cinematic canon persists. Since the release of Iron Man in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a titan in Hollywood, releasing 31 more films and obtaining almost $30 billion at the international box office. Three of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time come from the Avengers series alone. But while big-budget superhero movies are guaranteed commercial success and acclaim from devoted fans, their artistic merit has often been brought into question.
Most notably, one of the defining directors of our time, Palme d’Or and Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese, has criticised the comic book movement. He told The Guardian that Marvel films are “not cinema”, comparing them instead to amusement parks: “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks,” he said. “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
The presence of superhero blockbusters at award shows has also become a point of contention. Marvel and DC releases have often been confined to technical categories like ‘Best Visual Effects’ and ‘Best Makeup and Hairstyling’, but in the last few years, they’ve started to gain wider recognition in award season. The number of comic book movies with Oscars to their name is only rising, and over ten have now received recognition from the Academy.
The first superhero movie to win an Oscar was the 1977 Superman starring Christopher Reeve. Paving the way for the future of the genre, the film won an award for its visual effects. Long before the MCU existed, comic book movies were much more few and far between. It was over a decade before another superhero movie would gain recognition from the Academy, coming in the form of the 1989 Tim Burton version of Batman. The film won for ‘Best Art Direction’.
2005 saw two superhero films receive Oscars, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 2 for its visual effects and Disney’s The Incredibles for sound editing and ‘Best Animated Feature’. But the first live-action break into the non-technical categories came with Heath Ledger’s performance in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for his supporting actor appearance as the Joker, and the film was also recognised for its sound editing.
Following in The Incredibles’ footsteps, Disney’s Marvel adaptation Big Hero 6 won the ‘Best Animated Feature’ award in 2015. DC’s anti-hero ensemble film Suicide Squad won for makeup and hairstyling just a year later.
In 2019, a Marvel film won in more than one category for the first time. The pioneering Black Panther won three awards across music, costume, and production design. In the same year, the animated Spider-Man adaptation Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won ‘Best Animated Feature’.
Following the award successes of DC’s anti-heroes, Joaquin Phoenix’s depiction of the Joker in the film of the same name gained him the title of ‘Best Actor’ in 2020. The film pushed the number of comic book films with Academy Awards into the double digits. It also gained recognition for its original score. After award season briefly distanced itself from superhero movies in 2021, the Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, won ‘Best Costume Design’ last year.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever brought the count of superhero movies with Oscars up to 11 but demonstrated that their recognition by the Academy remains primarily in the technical sphere. Just two performances have managed to secure acting wins, while only animated additions to the genre have gained feature film wins.
The increasing presence of comic book movies in award season can also be attributed to their increase in volume over the last decade. Since 2017, with the exception of 2020, Marvel has released at least three superhero films a year. Considering how prolific their output is, comic book movies are yet to dominate award season the way they dominate the box office. The goal of comic book movies is rarely to produce art or secure critical acclaim but rather to service an existing fanbase and make money.
The only superhero movies to win Oscars:
- Superman – ‘Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects’ (Richard Donner, 1978)
- Batman – ‘Best Art Direction’ (Tim Burton, 1989)
- Spider-Man 2 – ‘Best Visual Effects’ (Sam Raimi, 2004)
- The Incredibles – ‘Best Animated Feature’ and ‘Best Sound Editing’ (Brad Bird, 2004)
- The Dark Knight – Heath Ledger, ‘Best Supporting Actor’ (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
- Big Hero 6 – ‘Best Animated Feature’ (Don Hall and Chris Williams, 2014)
- Suicide Squad – ‘Best Makeup and Hairstyling’ (David Ayer, 2016)
- Black Panther – ‘Best Production Design’, ‘Best Music Written for Motion Pictures’, and ‘Best Costume Design’ (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – ‘Best Animated Feature’ (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman, 2018)
- Joker – Joaquin Phoenix, ‘Best Actor’ (Todd Phillips, 2019)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – ‘Best Costume Design’ (Ryan Coogler, 2022)
