Comic book movies have long gone underrepresented at the infamous Oscars and other award ceremonies as only a few select movies have seen any significant recognition beyond the usual visual effects nominations. Black Panther made history in 2019 as the first superhero movie to receive a Best Picture nomination and was followed by Joker in the 2020 awards. Since then, Marvel Studios made an unsuccessful push for Avengers: Endgame, but that won't stop Sony from trying for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Despite proving popular among fans and critics alike, comic book movies rarely reach the caliber required to earn any recognition in these prestigious awards and categories. To this day, no comic book movie has taken home the Best Picture prize with the genre's biggest Oscar wins being Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix's Jokers.
Spider-Man: No Way Home has been no exception as calls from some fans have led Sony to begin mapping out its Oscar campaign for the Multiverse blockbuster.
Sony's No Way Home Oscar Strategy
The Hollywood Reporter revealed Sony Pictures' strategy to push Spider-Man: No Way Home for Oscar nominations and awards.
The studio reportedly intends to release the Multiverse blockbuster on the Academy's private streaming service to encourage convenient at-home viewing. But before then, Sony will continue to push for big-screen viewing as it offers Academy members - and one guest - free tickets from Monday to Thursday at commercial theater chains.
On top of that, some of the box office revenue generated so far will be allocated to "For Your Consideration" advertising to popular industry outlets. Additionally, Sony is reportedly willing to do "traditional dog-and-pony show stuff" with interviews, specific screenings, and Q&As.
Sony producer Amy Pascal discussed the Oscar push, revealing Sony has been "very generous and supportive" of the move as they look to do "anything that makes people aware of the movie:"
“Anything that makes people aware of the movie is something that, obviously, we’re all going to give our all to. And the studio has been very generous and supportive. They seem really gung-ho.”
Titular star Tom Holland went on to reveal his pride in the accomplishments of the cast and crew - particularly referencing Pascal and director Jon Watts - saying that "these people deserve the recognition:"
“I’m so proud of what everyone’s achieved, Jon Watts especially, and even the likes of Amy Pascal. We had a wonderful day the other day. I went over to her house and we watched a couple of movies together, and she really opened up about her career and the changes in her career and a lot of the controversy that she went through [related to the Sony hack]. So to see her where she is now, a different Amy to the Amy I’m sure she was years ago? These people deserve the recognition."
Does No Way Home Stand a Chance?
Sony Pictures rarely manages to earn itself any substantial Oscar nominations, so it isn't surprising that it'll be taking full advantage of Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Marvel Studios movie receiving an Academy Award push in anything except VFX is truly a special occasion with Avengers: Endgame and Black Panther being the prime examples.
The Oscar nominations will be announced on February 8, 2022, before the award ceremony itself takes place on March 27, 2022. In the coming months, Sony will begin to push No Way Home to Academy voters, and it will become increasingly clear which areas it may target nominations in.
Based on early speculation, the studio may push for recognition in Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Tom Holland), and Best Supporting Actor (for Willem Dafoe). Additionally, Sony will probably target other less widely discussed categories such as visual effects, editing, score, screenplay, and plenty more.
Fans should prepare for No Way Home to only receive recognition for its visual effects just as Endgame previously did after pushing for an expansive list of awards. Black Panther was a rare exception as its significance in Black representation in blockbusters earned it recognition in categories that are traditionally unobtainable for a comic book movie such as Best Picture.
In the coming months, fans ought to get a better idea of No Way Home's Oscar chances as the competition becomes clearer and Sony reveals which categories it will be pushing for.
In the meantime, Spider-Man: No Way Home is playing now in theaters around the world.
