Black Panther: The first comic book film to be nominated for Best Picture

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther has scored an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, making it the first comic book movie to ever join the category.

Marvel had a successful 2018, and that success only carried into 2019 with the highly anticipated Oscar Award Nominees which were announced this morning. Marvel secured a whopping nine nominations from Best Animated Feature Film to Costume Design. The real stunner of the nominees was Black Panther, which scored seven out of the nine nominations.

Black Panther not only told the story of a beloved Marvel comic book hero, but it was a film that connected with an audience and had beautiful representation. The nominations for Black Panther are not only well deserved but mark a massive cultural milestone.

The Oscars made history this year, with a diverse group of talented winners across the board, but Black Panther means so much more to the general public.

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The last superhero film that was nominated for an Oscar(s) was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight  in 2009, where it scored eight nominations, winning two. Even then it did not score a Best Picture nomination. Prior to that, Batman Begins scored a nomination in 2006 for Best Cinematography and even Men in Black in 1997, and even Superman in 1978 and its animated counterpart back in 1941. But again, no Best Picture. Black Panther has made history by not only being culturally relevant and important but by being the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture by The Academy.

As Brian Truitt of USA Today discussed Batman’s Oscar Snub:

"“One was a really great “Batman” movie; the other’s a populist movement. This is the one we’ve been waiting for, folks.”"

The same thinking is relevant today. Some Marvel fans were shocked that Black Panther‘s studio competitor, Infinity War wasn’t given a nomination for Best Picture; but Infinity War wasn’t a groundbreaking movie that made you feel something. (Besides the emotional distress many went through after seeing their favorite characters turn to dust.)

All in all, 2018 was a great year for cinema, and it is very admirable to see amazing talents recognized for their work. The 91st Annual Academy Awards will take place live at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on February 24th.