Logan is the first screener sent to Academy voters

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

When LOGAN came out this last March the film blew people away by working more as a character-driven western than a comic book movie, earning some of the best reviews of any film in the genre and earning $616 million globally. The movie still stands as one of the most loved of the year, and Fox is hoping to capitalize on the goodwill and is the first studio to send out DVD screeners of the film to Academy voters, thus kicking off the Oscar race.

Deadline got the scoop that Fox jumped at the chance to be the first studio to send out special screeners to Academy voters, and they chose LOGAN to be the first film out of the gate. The film currently stands at a 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and the studio hopes the drama angle – as well as Hugh Jackman’s farewell performance as Wolverine – will make it stand out from other blockbusters of the year.

The award it has the best chance of napping is for Jackman in the Best Actor category, and possibly even for Patrick Stewart for Best Supporting Actor, but chances are Fox will also be vying for Best Picture and Best Director (James Mangold) nods too. The road to claim these nominations will be long and hard, though, because, despite great reviews and hefty box office, the movie has a major factor working against it: it’s March release.

It’s almost unheard of for movies that came out that early in the year to get major nominations, with Deadline pointing out that only two movies since 2000 have been released in the early months and gotten BP nominations – ERIN BROCKOVICH and THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. All the fall releases simply bury the early movies in the minds of Oscar voters, making them hard to stand out. This will also prove hard for another early film to make waves – GET OUT – which will get a major campaign from Universal.

As well, no matter how different LOGAN seems from every other comic book movie, it is still a comic book movie. No matter how close they get to snagging major nominations at the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc, (THE DARK KNIGHT, DEADPOOL) they always seem to come up short of the big-tickets categories. On top of that, this summer’s WONDER WOMAN stole a lot of thunder from LOGAN, and if any comic book movie is to get a Best Picture nomination, chances are it will be that one. Warner Bros. is already planning on giving it a big awards push and screened the movie in theaters for Academy voters during the summer.

Nevertheless, the film is a strong contender, as voters love great character dramas and westerns, and after all the films this year, LOGAN has managed to stand out with his violent nature, fantastic performances, and nuanced style. It does something different with the genre and voters will be sure to take notice – thanks especially to Jackman’s Oscar-worthy performance. Jackman could lose to himself in the Best Actor race if THE GREATEST SHOWMAN wins praises this December, but it’s too early to tell if that will be the case.

When I saw LOGAN this year I knew instantly it had potential to break through the Oscar race like no other comic book movie had. Like DARK KNIGHT, it doesn’t feel like a comic adaptation, working more to tell a gripping, adult story with comic book characters. Oscar voters can rally behind this, and the actor's branch will especially take notice of Jackman and Stewart. Do I think it will get through to Best Picture? No. Fall releases may prove too weak, which could work in LOGAN’s favor, but the odds of it being a strong presence in Oscar voters’ minds for that long is a long shot. But, if you ask me, Stewart deserves an Oscar for just being the king of F-bombs,