Green Book was a controversial recipient for the Best Picture Oscar for many reasons, but for Marvel fans, the result proved particularly painful for the victory it denied Black Panther.
As the highest-grossing film of 2018 domestically and the second highest-grossing globally, Ryan Coogler’s latest effort didn’t exactly need any Academy Awards to be considered a success, and even on the night of the ceremony, Marvel Studios found much to be happy about, with the feature becoming the first superhero movie to take home as many as three Oscars.
Nonetheless, as the first of its genre to compete in the Best Picture category, many were hoping that Black Panther could go all the way and nab the main prize. Evidently, it wasn’t meant to be, and so fans took to Twitter to express their outrage and disappointment:
It's official. "Black Panther" won Best Picture.
In my heart.
But it lost thanks to the actual voters (idiots) at the Academy😫
— Nigel G Mitchell (@nigelgmitchell) February 25, 2019
Green Book winning Best Picture over Black Panther is giving me flashbacks to Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain; the Academy voted for the “safe” option over the right one
— Allie (@AlleyCat_Allie) February 25, 2019
The Academy tipped its hand when it tried to create that Popular Film category a few months ago. They knew Black Panther wasn’t going to win Best Picture. 😒😒 #Oscars
— Nicha (@thart_0023) February 25, 2019
#BohemianRhapsody & #BlackPanther in my mind will be the true best picture winners of #Oscars2019.I said my peace. Bye! pic.twitter.com/ClthSiyi5w
— KelleyLi⁷ ❂⟬⟭ ⟭⟬💜༄₊❈˚⁴ˣ⁴‧ ₊✜˚ MOA⁷『+✶𖧵』Tzen¹²⁷ (@KelleyLi1974) February 25, 2019
My prediction: None of these Best Picture nominees will be greatly remembered in five years, other than Black Panther. Remember when people got up in arms about Boyhood losing to Birdman? No?
— Unv.erified forever (@writer0076) February 25, 2019
Wow!! Green Book gets Best Picture. Loved it but Black Panther or Roma should have got it in my opinion. #Oscars
— MrsB66 (@msmoray66) February 25, 2019
Honestly, Green Book was good. Not “Best Picture” good, though. “The Favourite”, “Black Panther”, and “A Star is Born” were far superior.
— ⁝⁞⁝⁞ʕु•̫͡•ʔु☂⁝⁞⁝⁝ (@BurbyCottis) February 25, 2019
We all know #BlackPanther was the best movie of 2018. And honestly, the movie loses nothing without having a best picture #Oscar. But the Academy loses some of the respect it was gaining. Just how I feel about.
— Terrika (@SheKnowsSports) February 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/WOLFRAE__/status/1099893644495081475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1099893644495081475&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2019%2F02%2F25%2Foscars-black-panther-best-picture-snub%2F
greenbook won best picture?? when blackkklansman and black panther were right there??? pic.twitter.com/BCnQMGMlzA
— tj. (@musicoIogy) February 25, 2019
As saddened as fans were that Black Panther didn’t triumph in the Best Picture race, the fact that it was nominated at all in the category marks a first for superhero cinema. And seeing how prior to last night, Marvel Studios had exactly zero Oscars to its name, we can overall call it a pretty successful evening for the studio.
In fact, despite Avengers: Infinity War losing its sole nomination in the Best Visual Effects category to First Man, this could still be considered a pretty great year for the Marvel brand as a whole, with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse taking home the award for Best Animated Feature Film.
But as far as superhero movies go, the night very much belonged to Black Panther, ensuring that Ryan Coogler has some lofty expectations to live up to when he gets to work on the sequel. In the meantime, if the early buzz is anything to go by, then Captain Marvel is set to get Marvel Studios’ 2019 slate off to a strong start when it hits theaters on March 8th.
