A critically accliamed R-rated blockbuster, Warner’s Joker topped the list of Oscar nominations on Monday, becoming the rare comic book film to resonate with awards voters.
The best picture contender earned a leading 11 nominations.
But once again OscarSoWhite. There’s lack of diversity among the leading nominees and the exclusion of female filmmakers.
“Joker” will vie for top honors at the 92nd Academy Awards with “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “The Irishman,” and “1917,” all of which earned 10 nominations.
There are nine best picture contenders in total — a group that also includes “Ford v Ferrari,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Little Women,” “Marriage Story,” and “Parasite.”
Joker: Laughing All the Way to the Bank and to Oscar Gold
Joker, which has earned over $1 billion at the global box office, was recognized for Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as a failed comic who turns to crime and for Todd Phillips’ directing.
It is only the second comic-book movie to ever earn Best Picture nod, joining Black Panther.
Though superhero movies have dominated the box office for over a decade, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been reluctant to acknowledge the merits of this genre.
In 2009, Oscar voters snubbed The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s hugely influential Batman epic, though Heath Ledger earned a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
That scandalous controversy over that move influenced the Oscars to expand the list of best picture nominees from five to a possible 10, with the goal of introducing more populist fare into the proceedings.
Superhero movies have been a subject of fierce debate this awards season. In a series of interviews, Scorsese decried their cinematic merits, dismissing Marvel films as “theme park rides” and admitting he only saw “clips” of “Joker,” a film that plays like a homage to “Taxi Driver.”