The 2019 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards Nominations for Movies

Now that the year 2020 has arrived, before we all get ahead of ourselves with New Year’s resolutions and gym memberships we won’t use, it’s good to take a little time to reflect on the year we’ve just had. 2019 was one of the biggest years for movies in recent memory, especially when it comes to comic book and genre films. Avengers: Endgame brought Marvel’s Infinity Saga to a close with the biggest movie in box office history, Joker became the first R-rated film to ever cross the $1-billion mark at the box office, and Toy Story 4 delivered an emotional and satisfying conclusion to one of the world’s most popular animated franchises.

So much happened in movies last year and we want to celebrate everything we loved most about them. That brings us to the 2019 Golden Issue Awards, where the ComicBook.com staff votes on the best movies, TV, video games, and comics from the last 365 days.

Here we’re just going to be focusing on the movie portion of the awards, and we’ve got all of our nominations set. As you can probably guess, these nominations won’t look like other awards lists at the end of the year, as we’re focusing solely on the comic book, sci-fi, and genre films that we’ve been writing about since January.

Below, we’ve got the full list of nominations for Best Movie, Best Comic Book Movie, Best Animated Movie, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Comic Book Director, Best Fight Scene, Best Post-Credits Scene, and Best First Appearance. Stay tuned for the reveal of the winners!

Best Movie

There have been a lot of movies in theaters and on streaming services throughout 2019. Some of have been breathtaking. Some of been frustrating. A few genre films rose about the rest, though, and they’re vying for the Best Movie Golden Issue Award.

The nominees are:

• Avengers: Endgame
• Joker
• Knives Out
• John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
• Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
• Us
• IT CHAPTER TWO

Best Comic Book Movie

It’s time to celebrate the movies that aren’t just genre-specific, but that were directly inspired by comic books. There were some great comic-based films throughout 2019, and these five represent the best of the best.

The nominees are:

• Avengers: Endgame
• Joker
• Shazam!
• Captain Marvel
• Spider-Man: Far From Home

Best Director

It takes a village to make any movie, good or bad, but it’s up to a director to get the most out of that village and tell a great story with it. Plenty of directors were up to the challenge this year, five of which earned nominations for the Best Director Golden Issue Award.

The nominees are:

• Rian Johnson (Knives Out)
• Todd Phillips (Joker)
• Chad Stahelski (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum)
• Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame)
• Jordan Peele (Us)

Best Comic Book Movie Director

Just as we did with the movie categories, we wanted to offer up a separate category specifically to celebrate the directors who turned our favorite comic books into live-action adventures.

The nominees are:

• Todd Phillips (Joker)
• Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame)
• David Sandberg (Shazam!)
• Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel)
• Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Far From Home)

Best Animated Movie

As Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proved last year, and Pixar has spent more than two decades showing us, some of the best movies around can be animated. Just because real people aren’t on the screen doesn’t mean a film can’t deliver on adventure, excitement, humor, or emotion.

The nominees are:

• Toy Story 4
• Frozen 2
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
• Abominable
• Missing Link

Best Actor

Some movies utilize massive ensemble casts of talented performers, while others hinge on the performance of just one. Either way, a great actor can take a good movie to elevate it to something else entirely. 

The nominees are:

• Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
• Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Endgame)
• Chris Evans (Avengers: Endgame, Knives Out)
• Keanu Reeves (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum)
• Zachary Levi (Shazam!)
• Bill Skarsgard (IT CHAPTER TWO)

Best Actress

A great performance from a great actress can completely transform a film, and we’ve seen that very thing happen on several occasions this year. Every genre, from horror to superhero movies to comedy, had some stellar performances from incredible women.

The nominees are:

• Lupita Nyong’o (Us)
• Brie Larson (Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel)
• Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Endgame, Jojo Rabbit)
• Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Fighting With My Family)
• Ana de Armas (Knives Out)
• Samara Weaving (Ready or Not)

Best Fight Scene

Not every movie is packed with hard-hitting, stylish action scenes, but those that are each have at least one truly memorable fight sequence that left us talking about it days after leaving the theater. Whether they were army-sized clashes or one-on-hone brawls, these are the fights we can’t forget from 2019.

The nominees are:

• Final Battle (Avengers: Endgame)
• Cap vs. Cap: America’s Ass (Avengers: Endgame)
• The Library Fight (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum)
• Mysterio’s Mind Tricks (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
• Samoan Showdown (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw)
• Shazam Family vs. Seven Deadly Sins (Shazam!)

Best Post-Credits Scene

If you haven’t learned by now, it’s best to stick around through every minute of the credits once a movie is done, especially when it comes to genre movies. It’s always worth staying put to show your support for all of the people that worked hard to make a movie come to life, but sometimes there are also surprises awaiting the loyal fans still in their seats.

The nominees are:

• J. Jonah Jameson’s MCU Debut (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
• Captain Marvel Meets the Avengers (Captain Marvel)
• Superman Show and Tell (Shazam!)
• Ryan Reynolds Annoys the Rock (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw)
• Bill Murray Kills Zombies (Zombieland: Double Tap)

Best First Appearance

2019 will always be remembered for its endings. Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker all told the final chapter of their stories. However, this year also brought the beginnings of several beloved characters that we’ll likely be following for a long time. These are the best First Appearances of the year.

The nominees are:

• Billy Batson/Shazam (Shazam!)
• Mysterio (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
• Captain Marvel (Captain Marvel)
• Sofia [Halle Berry] (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum)
• Forky (Toy Story 4)