Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two was the first big blockbuster of 2024 and one of the best sci-fi adaptations of all time. Based on the novel by Frank Herbert, Villeneuve’s vision was praised by many and it was also a commercial blockbuster. While the filmmaker was famously snubbed for this year’s Oscars, the film itself has been nominated for Best Picture.
Villeneuve has been one of the most interesting and unique filmmakers to be working at the moment. His previous sci-fi epic Blade Runner 2049 was also highly praised despite not being a box office hit. While it got the legendary Roger Deakins his first Oscar, Villeneuve believed that a lack of a Best Picture nomination was due to its box office performance.
Denis Villeneuve’s reasoning for Blade Runner 2049 snub might not work for Dune 2
Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 was an intense and slow-burn exploration of what it means to be human in a futuristic world that still has synthetic human beings called Replicants. Told through the eyes of a Blade Runner named K, the film followed the events of the original 1982 film and also starred Harrison Ford in a pivotal role.
Despite being a sequel to a legacy franchise and receiving positive responses, the film only earned a meager $276 million worldwide against a $150 to $180 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). The film has since developed a cult following and was even nominated in a few categories at the Oscars, winning Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins.
However, Villeneuve and the film remained unnominated despite genuinely being one of the best of the year (2017 was a banger year for cinema). The filmmaker theorized that the film’s box office performance might be the reason for its Best Picture snub. He said to Cinema Blend,
It’s very uncommon for a movie that didn’t do well at the box office in the United States to get a nomination for best picture.
That is not entirely true as many of the other Best Picture nominees of the year including winner The Shape of Water significantly less than Blade Runner 2049. However, Villeneuve might mean that a film of that scale had to have better margins to be considered successful and receive investment for the Oscar campaign.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two was nominated for Best Picture this year and while it may not win the coveted trophy, it was a huge box-office success, earning over $714 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). Its success might not lead to its victory though as competition is stiff.
Academy voters reportedly angry with Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar snub
With the Oscars on the horizon, many industry insiders have been providing scoops about which could be the best possible winner ahead of the ceremony. While films such as Conclave and A Real Pain (which have earned less than Dune: Part Two, by the way) seem to be frontrunners, Denis Villeneuve’s snub for Best Director seems to have angered many.
Fans had already outraged against the Academy for the snub while dicey options like Emilia Perez secured 13 nominations. However, the anger is reportedly not limited to just the fans but to the members of the Academy too. A voter reportedly told Variety that they voted for the Arrival filmmaker’s sci-fi epic.
I voted for the first part in almost every category last time. How has Denis not won four Oscars already? I don’t understand how the studio and, quite frankly, us Oscar voters f*ck this up so bad?
Another voter reportedly said that Dune: Part Two should have been nominated for more categories despite them hating sci-fi. While Villeneuve’s box office success theory may have been proved wrong for its nomination, the Academy’s view of blockbusters definitely takes it out of serious consideration.
Dune: Part Two is available to stream on Max.
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