We had two films release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

The Suicide Squad

Superhero films and comic book adaptations have, for ages, been popular with audiences, but they’ve seldom gained the respectability that comes with non-genre pictures. Sure, many of them had strong responses from critics, but awards organizations have always treated them with a hands-off approach. Apart from the original Batman film in 1989 and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, these kinds films just didn’t win Oscars unless they were exceedingly high in quality with a lot of critical support.

That changed with the release of Suicide Squad in 2016, which became the first of the superhero “universe” films to win an Oscar. For the DC Extended Universe, Suicide Squad took home the Oscar for Best Makeup & Hairstyling. Apart from that, none of the official DCEU films have managed an Oscar win and many of them were even ignored for nominations. This film might change that calculus a little, but with its dismal box office performance, I’m not so certain.

In any event, the film is likely to compete in only three categories: Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound, and Visual Effects. Lightning could possibly strike twice, but there’s far too much competition this year to think that the film can even get nominated, better yet win.

Annette

French filmmaker Leos Carax has, to date, directed six feature length films since his first feature, Boy Meets Girl in 1984. His last film, Holy Motors, came out in 2012. Although he’s received much praise across his career, Holy Motors was his first major feature to win countless precursors and build a strong case towards an Oscar nomination. That never materialized in spite of a combination of 71 nominations and 29 awards during the 2012 Oscar season.

Like Holy Motors before it, Annette did well at the Cannes International Film Festival, taking home the Palme d’Or while Carax himself was named Best Director. The film is a musical starring Oscar nominees Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver with Driver receiving plenty of attention for his performance. Will its off-beat style be a good fit for Oscar voters? They’ve shown a willingness in recent years to spread their interests, but it will definitely be a tough shift for them.

That said, Driver’s performance earned just enough attention to make him a contender this year, but he’s going to have to compete against himself in House of Gucci to determine which of these two films will be his primary vehicle. Ridley Scott is a more accessible filmmaker, which suggests that Gucci will probably win out, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him earn a handful of awards for his Annette performance, and some critics groups might even give him prizes for his body of work or for both performances, as has been a historical tradition.