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

San Andreas

The Academy has a long and loving history with the disaster genre. Several popular, all-star casts help bolster an era when films like Airport and The Towering Inferno were Best Picture nominees and others like Earthquake and The Poseidon Adventure were below-the-line nominees. As that celebrity-heavy genre petered out in the late 1970’s, so too did Oscar’s interest.

In the 1990’s, a new breed of disaster film, epitomized by the likes of Independence Day and Twister also became Oscar fodder, though in a much more muted, tech-only way. That trend also abated and so too did Oscar contention. In recent years, a revitalized genre has rebuilt, but many of them such as 2012 haven’t managed to pique Oscar’s interest, largely because the bountiful array of other visual effects-heavy and sound-dominated films are out there to give them some strong and accessible competition.

San Andreas is likely to be another in a long line of films that just don’t have what it takes to earn Oscar’s attention. However, the film has hope. Being a blockbuster will help and having wall-to-wall effects will also give it a boost. Will Oscar voters take notice? I’m doubtful, but at this point I wouldn’t entirely rule out the possibility.