We had one film release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Now that Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier have broken the Iron Man hold on the Oscars (no film in the Disney/Marvey Cinematic Universe had been nominated for an Oscar unless it featured Iron Man), it should be much easier for these types of films to make a play at the Oscar. The thing is, that mold didn’t have to be broken for Avengers: Age of Ultron to become a huge player at the Oscars.

The first film was nominated for Best Visual Effects and I see little reason to believe this one won’t be again. This time, it’s possible that the film will compete in several other categories as well including Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. Other than that, I cannot see a scenario where Avengers goes beyond.

Of course, the first film failed to win the Oscar. So, too, will the second. While the Academy’s tech branches have no problem recognizing Marvel, the Academy as a whole hasn’t embraced it much. In spite of intense critical acclaim and lots of foreshadowing, Guardians of the Galaxy went home empty handed. That will hold true this year, but not because of the Academy’s anti-superhero bias, but because they have a much bigger franchise to recognize, one which is no stranger to Oscar glory. Thankfully for Disney, it’s one of their properties as well: Star Wars: The Force Awakens.