Black Panther earns historic Best Picture nomination at the Oscars
The Ryan Coogler-directed Marvel movie is the first superhero film ever to be up for the Academy’s highest honour – and with Netflix’s Roma picking up a swathe of nominations, it’s far from the only gamechanger
Marvel’s Black Panther has made history after being named as one of the nominees for Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards, the first superhero movie ever to be in the running for Best Picture.
For many, the nomination will be a long time coming. Famously, the exclusion of critically-acclaimed Batman movie The Dark Knight from the Best Picture shortlist at the 2009 Oscars inspired a change in the rules that allowed for more nominees in the category, which seems to have paid dividends for Marvel 10 years on (this year, eight films are up for the coveted prize).
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But Black Panther wasn’t the only once-unlikely contender making waves at the nominations. While, as expected, Olivia Colman-starring period piece The Favourite picked up a raft of nods (10 in total), it was matched by Roma, Netflix’s Spanish-language ode to director Alfonso Cuaron’s childhood.
By some margin, Roma’s 10 nominations in the acting, screenplay and other categories make for Netflix’s strongest showing in the Oscar race yet, and could finally end the debate on whether the streaming service’s homegrown movies rank alongside more traditional cinema.
Other films with high nomination counts included Adam McKay’s Dick Cheney biopic Vice and Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born (which picked up eight apiece, the joint third highest after the Favourite and Roma), Black Panther (which landed seven nominations) Spike Lee’s BlackkKlansman (with six) and Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (five).
It was also a good day for Brits with veteran character actors like Olivia Colman and Richard E Grant (who both coincidentally guest starred in the BBC’s Doctor Who) picking up nominations for leading and supporting actor accordingly.
But perhaps the person with most to gain in next month’s ceremony is costume designer Sandy Powell, nominated twice in the same category for her work in both Mary Poppins Returns and The Favourite. Hopefully she gets given an extra portion of champagne on the night.
The Academy Awards will air on February 24th – here's how to watch
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
