Disney Cashes In With Oscar Nominations

 by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

February 8, 2022

 

Oscar nominations are a win-win for any movie studio. That is, it’s a win from the perspective of artistic recognition (if one considers the Oscars to provide this), and it’s a win commercially, as films with Academy Award nominations often experience some additional life at the box office, via Blu-Rays or digital purchases, and/or streaming eyes.

 

Disney got a lot of win-wins by racking up 23 Oscar nominations, as announced on Tuesday (February 8) morning.

Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

The big winner for Disney in terms of nominations was Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. Among its seven nominations were nods for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Ariana DeBose, and Best Directing for Spielberg. I certainly hope that these nods give West Side Story some added attention with audiences. This marvelous film deserved much more at the box office.

 

Nightmare Alley earned four nominations, including one for Best Picture.

Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

In addition, Jessica Chastain earned a Best Lead Actress nomination for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

 

On the animation front, Encanto, Luca and Raya and the Last Dragon all received nominations for Best Animated Feature Film. So, it wound up that Disney produced three of the five films nominated in this category.

Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

As for Marvel superheroes, Sony’s (and Marvel’s) Spider-Man: No Way Home received a nomination for Best Visual Effects. As a Sony release, this is not counted among Disney’s 23 nominations. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings also received a Best Visual Effects nomination, as did Free Guy. If one counts Spider-Man, Disney/Marvel claimed three of the five nominations for visual effects.

 

The Academy Awards will be televised on Disney’s ABC network on the night of March 27.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Get more out of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use. 

 

Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13^th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” Best MCU Movie Since “Endgame”

 by Ray Keating

Review (SPOILER FREE)

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 23, 2021

 

DisneyBizJournal.com Movie Rating: 4 stars out of 5

DisneyBizJournal.com Box Office Rating:  $$$$ out of $$$$

 

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has to grow up, and moviegoers are enjoying, and should enjoy, going with Peter Parker on nearly all of the 148 minutes of this journey. In fact, Spider-Man: No Way Home ranks as the best MCU movie since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

 

Unfortunately, given dubious recent endeavors, one has to actually pause to give a thumbs up to the filmmakers – director Jon Watts, and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers – for simply serving up a blockbuster story that makes sense, and isn’t riddled by story and/or character inconsistencies. 

Thankfully, though, No Way Home goes well beyond such barebones expectations. While the film starts off kind of pokey, moviegoers soon find themselves immersed in a story jammed with consequences, and packed with so many emotional wallops that I eventually lost count. (Writing a spoiler-free review of this movie is a mighty challenge.)

 

Watery eyes and a tear here and there were part of the viewing experience. There’s also a nice amount of humor sprinkled in, but a marked step up in wit and quips from some other recent efforts. Indeed, No Way Home is that rare superhero movie that is rich in both laughs and tears.

 

There’s a lot going on in this film, and that isn’t something to be criticized, but instead, it’s worth savoring.

 

Along the way, there’s plenty of action one expects from a superhero movie, but notably improved upon compared to recent MCU films like Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Unlike those two previous movies, even during times of mayhem the CGI holds up in No Way Home. This is rip-roaring good stuff.

 

No Way Home also rates as a full movie in a way that perhaps some other superhero films come up a bit short, including, to a certain degree, the previous Tom Holland Spider-Man movies – Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far from Home. That is, Peter Parker/Spider-Man goes on a full character arch, with game-changing consequences to decisions and actions along the way.

 

Finally, No Way Home serves up a more traditional – in the best sense of the word – take on superheroes and what they’re supposed to be about, that is, trying to do the right thing, trying to save others, and sometimes having to sacrifice to achieve such lofty goals. Yes, with great power comes great responsibility.

 

As for the business side of No Way Home, this film is turning out to be the biggest box-office hit of 2021. As of this writing (December 23), the film, which was released in the U.S. on December 17, had hit a global box office of $751 million.

 

It looks likely that No Way Home will top $1 billion during the Christmas weekend. That will make it the first and probably the only 2021 release to top the billion-dollar mark – and deservedly so. 

 

With a reported production budget of $200 million, that’s quite a Christmas gift for Sony, as well as for Disney and Marvel in that No Way Home is proving that audiences aren’t growing tired of superhero movies, and specifically, MCU movies. But given the under-performance of Eternals, for example, perhaps audiences are ramping up their demands for higher quality superhero movies. We can all hope that is the case.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

For you and a great gift! The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution is here! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use. 

 

Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13^th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.