WONDER WOMAN rocked the box office and lassoed up some amazing reviews almost two months ago, and the movie is still finding new ways to get into the headlines. The superhero film with Gal Gadot recently made the news after it surpassed GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY at the domestic box office to win the summer crown, and now it’s doing it again as word begins to spread that the folks at Warner Bros. are hunting for a different kind of gold – Oscar gold.
Variety got the scoop that the people at WB are planning – but have not officially announced – a massive Oscar campaign for WONDER WOMAN in which they will be pushing for Best Director (Patty Jenkins) and Best Picture. The movie already had a screening an Academy screening near its release date that was met with a terrific reception and WB hopes to “reintroduce” the movie to voters this fall.
This will include screenings, sending out special watermarked DVDs, flying out the cast and crew to give interviews, etc. The endeavor will be expensive, and the movie has a massive uphill battle ahead of it as Academy voters still have yet to recognize comic book movies for Best Picture or Director. Movies like THE DARK KNIGHT (nominated for seven Oscars) and DEADPOOL (no Oscar noms, but had a presence at the Golden Globes and several Guild awards) have gotten closest, but after the Academy added tons of new faces to the voting pool in an attempt to expand their diversity the people behind the campaign believe they now have a better shot than movies in the past.
Having made $780 million globally as of the writing, WONDER WOMAN is the highest-grossing movie ever directed by a woman, and the movie’s powerful display of feminism in a male dominated genre will work very heavily in its favor and could help break yet another ceiling for comic book movies. On top of that, the movie’s overall inspiring story is one about hope, love and justice in a time when the world seems to be on the brink of collapse. It’s the kind of rousing story that anyone can get behind, and one that’s basically catnip for Oscar voters.
Even if WONDER WOMAN doesn’t get any major awards the movie has already proven a massive success and has inspired millions around the world. That in of itself is the best award. But the cheesy crap aside, how badass would it be if WOMAN got nominated for Best Picture? What a deserving movie it is, and it would be a complete 180 after BATMAN V. SUPERMAN was nominated for several Razzies this year. On that note, the only thing really standing in WOMAN’s way is JUSTICE LEAGUE. If the movie gets skewered by critics it could dampen the positive vibes WOMAN gave off. But hopefully, the reshoots went well enough to make the movie something worthwhile. No more pressure, guys.
WONDER WOMAN is still in theaters.