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

Tomorrowland

With two impressive films under his belt, The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, director Brad Bird seemed to be moving through Hollywood like the second coming of Steven Spielberg, a fantastic, inventive director with a penchant for fantasy and creativity. It was thought that Tomorrowland would be another bright feather in his cap and early previews suggested a film with plenty of visual splendor and inventiveness to make it a success.

However, locked within the confines of the Disney Machine, Bird was saddled with a script co-written by perennially awful screenwriter Damon Lindelof and the result was a miserable 59% at Rotten Tomatoes and an equally disappointing tally at Meta Critic with 60. While critics don’t typically harpoon major populist whale, a lackluster B CinemaScore shows that audiences, many of who went out specifically to see this film on opening night, were less-than-impressed. That means the film isn’t going to have much in terms of box office legs and without that support, its Oscar chance are imperiled.

The film was previously considered a strong contender in the tech categories of Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Visual Effects. With Michael Giacchino on board, it was also a possiblity for Best Original Score. Add to that the pristine and vibrant art direction and you had a potential of five nominations. With no support from critics, a bountiful array of competition and a lack of “Blockbuster” status and its chances are diminished to three categories, all of which are meager at best.