The entertainment world is only a few short weeks away from the 94th Academy Awards, where the best of the best from 2021's theatrical offerings will be up for recognition. This also includes a new fan-voted chance at Oscars glory for some of the biggest blockbusters of the last few decades. Films like Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Suicide Squad, and more will have their moment in the spotlight, even though it may not earn them a golden statue.
Marvel and DC fans have expressed their disappointment at superhero movies not being recognized amongst cinema's best for a long time, as have studio executives like Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. While this may not change in an official capacity, for the time being, both comic book movie mainstays are finally being showcased as part of an awards category not voted on by the Academy.
Avengers: Endgame and Zack Snyder's Justice League were nominated for the first annual "Movies Cheer Moment," and there's also the Oscars Fan Favorite contest for the movies released in 2021. With voting having taken place over the last few weeks, both Marvel and DC find themselves with a chance at Oscars glory this year.
Spider-Man and Suicide Squad in Oscars Contention
The Academy revealed its leader board for the Oscars Fan Favorite recognition, which will be presented at the 2021 Oscars awards show, on Twitter. Included in the top ten were James Gunn's new DC entry The Suicide Squad and Jon Watts' MCU epic Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The rest of the top ten are listed below in alphabetical order:
- Army of the Dead
- Cinderella
- Dune
- Minamata
- The Power of the Dog
- Sing 2
- Tick, Tick…Boom
Fans can vote for the Oscars Fan Favorite award at OscarsFanFavoirte.com.
Marvel and DC Making Oscars History
While Marvel and DC have both won a handful of awards at past Oscars awards shows, both of them will make their mark going against each other for this new fan-voted award.
Even though The Suicide Squad struggled at the box office upon its August 2021 release, the film put James Gunn into the upper echelon of directors thanks to his work with DC's team of villains. Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and John Cena's Peacemaker shone amongst a massive ensemble cast, which helped tell a brutal and emotional story as part of the DCEU's resurgence.
Then, Spider-Man: No Way Home joined a league of its own when it debuted in December 2021, earning some of the best reviews of all time, while becoming the sixth-highest grossing movie ever made. With a trio of Spider-Man and a quintet of villains doing battle for the fate of the Multiverse, fans flocked to see this one-of-a-kind movie that tied three generations of Spidey movies together.
As of the most recent polling, Camilla Cabello's Cinderella sits at the top of the pack with just under a month until the winner is picked. That still leaves plenty of time for Spider-Man 3 and The Suicide Squad to push forward with their own campaigns, and it's clear that superhero movie fans will make their voices heard to help push the films to success.
The Suicide Squad is available to stream on HBO Max. Spider-Man: No Way Home is still playing in theaters and will be available via home release starting on March 22, 2022.
