Spider-Man: No Way Home received an overwhelmingly positive reception from fans and critics ever since its worldwide premiere. The Tom Holland-led movie brought three generations of Spider-Men together in one movie, with villains and heroes returning for an epic big-screen adventure. While Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, and Jamie Foxx's Electro made their presence felt in the threequel, it was the surprise comeback of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's respective web-slingers that earned wild reactions from fans across the globe.
On top of its raving reviews, No Way Home is also breaking records, with it slowly climbing into the ranks of Hollywood's all-time box office list. The Marvel film's success led many to believe that it could be in the running for several awards, such as the highly-coveted Oscars.
Variety previously reported that No Way Home is included on the Oscar shortlist for "Best Sound" and "Best Visual Effects" categories. In addition, Sony Pictures also revealed a 4-point strategy to help the film win an Oscar, which includes private theater screenings, "For Your Consideration" advertising, and "traditional dog-and-pony show stuff" with interviews, specific screenings, and Q&As.
Now, Holland shared his honest take on No Way Home's Oscar chances.
Tom Holland on No Way Home's Oscar Run
Spider-Man star Tom Holland sat down with Fox 5's Kevin McCarthy to talk about the Oscar run of No Way Home.
McCarthy first described the MCU threequel as a "masterpiece," citing Holland's impressive performance.
When the Fox reporter asked the Marvel actor about his thoughts on why everyone is having a hard time recognizing superhero movies for Oscars consideration, Holland was truthful about how winning an Oscar is "not how we like to validate ourselves," instead, they lean toward the love of the general public:
"Well, thank you Kevin, I really appreciate that mate, and I’m sure everyone at Marvel and Sony, especially Jon Watts, would love to hear that, you know, we’re all incredibly proud of the film. It would obviously be a huge honor if it was nominated for an Oscar, but I think that’s not how we like to validate ourselves. We like to validate ourselves with the love we received from the general public and, so far, that has been through the roof."
Holland continued by recalling his amazement at fan reactions to seeing Andrew Garfield's portal entrance, pointing out that It was an "emotional" experience for him:
"So for me, with this film and this character, I’ve already achieved everything. You see these fan reactions of people seeing Andrew come through that portal and I’ve never seen anything like that at the theater before. I’ve never seen that kind of audience reaction and to be a part of that was so emotional, like I can’t watch those videos without getting really, really emotional. At the premiere, I was in floods of tears at the end of that movie and it was a combination of how proud I am of the movie, how great the movie was, how emotional I was about the kind of end of this chapter and what we’d all achieved."
Holland ended with a strong statement that solidifies his love for No Way Home, with or without an Oscar:
"So whether it is an Oscar movie or not, it sort of has no bearing on me. It would be amazing if it is, but if it’s not, you know, I’m so proud of what Jon Watts has achieved. I would love that."
Will No Way Home Nab an Oscar?
Tom Holland's latest comments indicate that he will be at peace with any outcome regarding No Way Home's Oscar chances.
Many would agree that this is a fitting reaction, especially after Holland admitted that awards are not the barometer of a film's success. Instead, it's the genuine reaction of fans that seemingly fuels his passion for his craft.
Superhero movies are often left out in major award-giving bodies such as the Oscars. Still, some films managed to nab an Academy Award in the past years, such as Spider-Man 2 (visual effects) and the MCU's Black Panther (Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Production Design).
Despite that, no superhero film has won the Best Picture award, but No Way Home's emotional narrative coupled with incredible performances from its stellar cast could change that.
Holland's remark about being proud of the film regardless of what happens should further cement No Way Home's triumph. Based on the fan reactions and the outpouring of love on social media, it's safe to say that the threequel is already a success, with or without an Academy Award.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters worldwide.
