Black Panther is, in every sense of the word, a triumph for Marvel Studios. It’s been blessed with an overwhelmingly positive response from both critics and fans and it’s continually earning more and more more at the box office – it might even beat out The Avengers to become the biggest MCU movie of the lot in terms of domestic gross.
Sure, part of Black Panther’s success is because it’s an entertaining and crowd-pleasing addition to an already beloved franchise. But it’s also, so far, the only film out of the current superhero trend with a black lead and cast, and it really gets to grips with the themes of black identity. Alongside its talk of vibranium and heart-shaped herbs, it sensitively explores race relations in America, and the effects of colonialism.
Black Panther has remained in the conversation because it’s a fresh and unique voice within the current crop of caped crusaders, and now, with all the success it’s been seeing, many are starting to wonder what its chances at some Oscar gold may be. Granted, any awards talk is still a long, long ways away, and with the vasty majority of 2018 still ahead of us, the pic will no doubt face some stiff competition. But when all is said and done, and the year comes to a close, it could be in a good position to pick up a few accolades.
At the very least, Disney is going to be doing everything they can to make sure of that. Though it’s only February, Deadline reports that the studio is already planning to make a big push complete with a full awards campaign. That means they’re gunning for a Best Picture nod at the Academy Awards, something no other superhero movie has achieved before. Whether they’ll get one or not obviously remains to be seen, but there are definitely several other categories it can receive some attention in.
From cinematography to costume/production design and even score, Black Panther is a strong candidate for a number of technical nods at the Oscars, and with any luck, maybe even Chadwick Boseman or Michael B. Jordan will see some love. Then again, like we said before, there are still a ton of movies coming down the pipeline in 2018 and though Marvel’s latest is one of the best of the year right now, who knows how things will look come December. Not to mention that while it’s dominating all conversation at the moment, that’ll surely die down soon.
Even if it doesn’t end up with any Oscar gold though, no one can deny what a smashing success Black Panther has been and given how well crafted and executed it is, we’ve got nothing but a huge smile on our face as we watch it continue to claw its way to box office glory.
