Oscars 2020: Is ‘Avengers: Endgame’ the First Marvel Movie to Earn an Academy Award Nomination?

Whether you stood in line to buy tickets in 2019 or you’re binge-watching on Disney+ in 2020, Avengers: Endgame is one of Marvel’s most successful superhero movies. What Oscars category is Avengers: Endgame nominated in? And would this be the first Marvel movie with an Oscar win? Here’s what we know about Marvel’s blockbuster.

‘Avengers: Endgame’ earned an Oscar nomination

When Avengers: Endgame premiered in 2019, it became one of Marvel Studios’ most successful films, earning praise from fans and critics alike. There were talks of Robert Downey Jr. earning an Oscar nomination for his role, though the actor reportedly didn’t want any recognition for his role as Tony Stark.

Already the winner of the Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Feature Film, Avengers: Endgame is heading into the 2020 Academy Awards with one nomination under its belt. Marvel’s blockbuster is nominated under the Best Visual Effects category, along with The Irishman, The Lion King, 1917, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Is this record-breaking film the first Marvel movie to earn an Academy Award nomination?

Even though Avengers: Endgame became the movie with the highest box office sales, the film only earned the one Academy Award nomination. However, there have been multiple other Marvel movies with Oscar nominations and wins.

According to Next Best Picture, a handful of Marvel movies earned Oscar nominations in the Best Visual Effects category. That includes Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers​, Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. And the first Marvel movie to score big at the Academy Awards was the 2018 release, Black Panther.

‘Black Panther’ won Marvel Studios its first Academy Award in 2019

Black Panther took home three awards at the 2019 Oscars: for Costume Design, Production Design, and Original Score. It was nominated in seven categories — most notably for Best Picture.

“Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king,” costume designer Ruth E. Carter said during her Academy Award acceptance speech.

“It’s been my life’s honor to create costumes,” she continued. “Thank you to the academy. Thank you for honoring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead onscreen.”

Many of Marvel’s Academy Award-nominated films, including Avengers: Endgame, are available with a subscription to Disney+.

The Academy Awards take place on Feb. 9, 2020.