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

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

With their fourth Ghostbusters feature, this is a film that had a lot of hopes riding on it. Some of the original film’s fans were incensed by the idea of the franchise being hijacked by women with 2016’s all-female team. That reticence to support the film allowed Paul Feig’s to struggle at the box office and thereby ensure no direct sequels were ever made. After five years, the latest attempt to reinvigorate the franchise has made it to the big screen with Jason Reitman at the helm, son of the original film’s maker, Ivan Reitman. The big question is how will Oscar voters approach the film.

Ghostbusters scored two Oscar nominations in 1984, one for Best Visual Effects and one for the original song by Ray Parker Jr. The second film in 1989 got nothing. Neither did 2016’s version, in spite of some stellar visual effects. This suggests that in spite of the quality of production, Oscar voters aren’t particularly enamored with the franchise as a whole. And with no one able to create something as iconic as Parker Jr.’s song, the only places the film could even possibly contend are Best Visual Effects and Best Sound. Yet, history isn’t kind to the franchise and the likelihood of fancier versions of 1984’s graphics aren’t going to be all that popular in the end.

King Richard

Will Smith has been chomping at the bit for an Oscar for years now. After the critical success he received for Six Degrees of Separation, he’s been mixing in independent dramas with his attempts at blockbuster stardom for more than two decades now. He’s a solid actor and has scored two prior nominations, for Ali in 2001 and The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006. With King Richard, he’s once again entered the Oscar conversation for a Best Actor nomination, a citation some think he might well bring forward to an Oscar win. Though, he will have to fend off Denzel Washington, though, who is pushing for his third for The Tragedy of Macbeth later this year.

The film has earned decent reviews in its festival run with critics praising Smith and the film itself for subverting expectations for a sports biopic. Yet, the film hasn’t seemed to have gained too much traction recently and its prospects have faded a bit. The anemic box office tally this weekend (a terrible $5.7 million) will not do the film any favors and for a film like this, immense popularity is required to carry over to broader Oscar acceptance. Still, there are few films in competition this year from Black filmmakers, which might give the film a little boost when it comes to the Oscars. Still, Smith’s nomination seems certain, but the rest of the film’s success doesn’t.

C’mon C’mon

Mike Mills’ new film has earned a lot of praise, especially for Joaquin Phoenix’s performance. Mills was nominated for an Oscar for writing 20th Century Women 5 years ago, that film’s only nomination. Before that, his sophomore effort Beginners in 2010 also managed a single nomination for Christopher Plummer’s performance, one that would earn him his only Oscar. Going back another five years, and his debut feature film, Thumbsucker, was completely ignored in spite of some solid plaudits from critics.

This is his fourth film and historically, he’s got a chance of earning a single nomination, but whether that’s for star Phoenix or his screenplay remains to be seen. The film is shot in black-and-white, which might impress the Cinematography branch, though they have The Tragedy of Macbeth and Passing as options this year as well. I can’t imagine the film being a crossover Oscar success beyond those three categories, especially since the film is not one of the 15 most prominent of the year, which pushes it out of competition in most places.