How Many Oscar Nominations And Wins MCU Movies Have Had

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a unique filmmaking achievement, weaving complex storylines and interlinked characters together across dozens of blockbuster films (and now, TV shows), so why hasn’t the Academy Awards recognized the MCU with Oscars? Despite nearly every film in the MCU being dominant at the box-office, since 2008’s Iron Man, and many receiving critical acclaim, few of Marvel’s films have gone on to be nominated or win Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe contains the storylines of hundreds of characters drawn from Marvel Comics, a rich source material that is still being created today itself. Its heroes, themselves icons, are portrayed by some of the most recognizable film stars today, including Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, and Chadwick Boseman. Many Oscar winners play characters in the MCU, including Brie Larson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Anthony Hopkins. So why don’t the Oscars recognize Marvel Studios and these superhero films as worthy of awards? It might boil down to the fact that there’s a just whole lot of other cinema out there that’s more worthy of recognition.

The Academy Awards voters have always shied away from genre films, not only those focusing on superheroes or based on comic books. There are exceptions – the main one being The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which won all 11 statuettes it was nominated for – but the Academy generally focuses on films that suit certain categories. Sequels generally don’t do well, and you could consider every MCU film after Iron Man a sequel of sorts. They also favor auteur directors (including Return of the King‘s Peter Jackson) – a mega-franchise by its nature depreciates a director’s vision so a production fits with the whole. And, while actors like Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix are exceptions to this, the character-studded films of the MCU often leave insufficient room for an actor to shine in the way Academy voters appreciate. That said, the MCU has had decent success in garnering nominations in technical categories and even picked up several wins for one film – Black Panther.

How Many Academy Award Nominations Does The MCU Have?

Across all 23 films released to date (and excluding MCU TV shows as obviously ineligible for Oscars) the MCU has received 19 Academy Award Nominations. It’s been most successful in the Best Visual Effects category, with 10 nominations (Iron Man, The Avengers, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.) Iron Man was also nominated for Best Sound Editing, and Guardians of the Galaxy was also nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

The rest of the nominations are for Marvel’s most-recognized production by the Oscars: Black Panther. Standing out among its peers as a true director’s vision with quality storytelling, acting, and production design, it received nominations in seven categories: Best Picture, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing. Black Panther was also the first MCU film to win an Academy Award, taking three home – Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson; Best Production Design for Hannah Beachler (Production Design) and Jay Hart (Set Decoration); and Best Costume Design for Ruth E. Carter.

Black Panther clearly stood out for a number of reasons to the Academy, with its those who worked on it able to make their own mark on the MCU, even if it went unrewarded in the major producing, directing, and acting categories. Black Panther was the first movie to be nominated for a Best Picture nod at cinema’s night of nights, but it wasn’t the last. Since then, Joker has gone on to receive 11 nominations, despite its DC Comics origin, with a win in Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix. It may be that the MCU is eyeing more big prizes for the future, with more auteur directors and Oscar nominees joining or returning to the director ranks, including Chloe Zhao, Ryan Coogler, and Nia Dacosta. Perhaps there are more Oscars nominations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in store.

About The Author

Mitch Brook
(75 Articles Published)

Mitch Brook is Features Editor for film and TV at Screen Rant. He’s a writer and editor with a history in a range of media, including as editor for travel and lifestyle titles. The movies he always comes back to are Little Women (2019), Orlando, A Single Man, and The Lord of the Rings.

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