How Marvel's Spider-Man or Shang-Chi Could Make Oscar History This Weekend

This Sunday will be the 94th Academy Awards and though the films from Marvel Studios and DC Films aren't up for the top prize there is still the potential for history to be made this weekend, specifically for Marvel. The first way that this could happen is by taking home the Oscars Fan Favorite awards, a brand new distinction that is being decided by Twitter vote in two categories, the Fan Favorite movie and Oscars Cheer Moment, both of which it seems potentially poised to win but neither of which will come with a golden statue. Should Marvel actually win an Oscar though is where it will break a surprising drought. 

Prior to Black Panther's seven nominations and three wins back in 2018, Marvel Studios had never won an Academy Award. The films from the House of Ideas had been nominated many times, almost exclusive to the Visual Effects category, but Black Panther managed to break out in a big way and actual expand into others, including Best Picture, before winning the prizes for Best Original Score, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design. This year Marvel has two movies up for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Should either win it would make history for Marvel, making it the first victory for the studio since Black Panther but also their only win in Best Visual Effects despite ten previous nominations.

There's another way that Spider-Man: No Way Home could make history with a win as well. By taking home Oscar gold on Sunday it would become just the second live-action Spider-Man movie and the third Spider-Man movie overall to win an Academy Award. Previously Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 is the only other live-action film to win, winning Best Visual Effects in 2005; while Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse earned the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2019. Raimi's original Spider-Man was nominated for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects back in 2003, but lost to Chicago and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, respectively. 

The Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.