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

Captain Marvel

Disney/Marvel has had an off-again, on-again relationship with the Oscars. Captain Marvel hopes to be more like Black Panther than like any other film in the Marvel Cinematic Unvierse.

Marvel’s first female-led superhero film looks at Carol Danvers as she becomes Captain Marvel, one of the all-time most powerful superheroes in the Marvel universe. The film, set in the 1990s, wants to follow a trajectory that led Black Panther to become the first superhero film ever nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and haul in the same number of Oscars.

The issue for Captain Marvel is that while it is the first female-led film, Black Panther is often cited in the upper echelons of the Marvel universe while Captain Marvel is well reviewed, but not nearly to the degree that Black Panther was. Although Panther was set in the modern era, its design award citations were largely for the inventiveness of the designs rather than their period nature. Further, Captain Marvel is set in the not-too-distant past of the 1990s, meaning that it doesn’t have the same cachet Panther did.

Although the film is sure to compete in the sound and visual effects categories, I suspect that it could even come up empty-handed in terms of nominations and will definitely not take home any Oscars.

Gloria Bell

Having earned a string of five Oscar nominations before finally winning the Oscar on her fifth for Still Alice, Julianne Moore is considered one of the best working actresses today.

In her latest adventure on the big screen, Moore takes on the role of a woman seeking emotional release on the dance floors of 1950s Los Angeles. The film released to rapturous reviews (98% at Rotten Tomatoes and 81 at MetaCritic) citing Moore’s stunning performance with consistency. That positions her as a potential Best Actress contender at this year’s Oscars, the first such contender so far this year.

Moore’s long history with the Academy will help bolster her chances, though her recent will will surely put a damper on her potential second Oscar. The far-too-early release may also create some issues as we’re a full eight months out before anyone will even be thinking about the year’s best performance. That doesn’t mean she’ll be forgotten, but it does complicate matters just a bit.