DC Had The Very First Oscar-Nominated Superhero Movie 46 Years Ago

46 years ago, 1978’s Superman became the very first DC Comics film to be nominated for an Academy Award. Superman had already been a major pop culture icon for decades, making him the natural first choice for what was, at the time, somewhat of a gamble. 1978’s Superman needed to prove that a comic book superhero property could be taken relatively seriously and make a sufficient profit on film, and thanks to the film’s extremely talented filmmakers, cast, and special effects artists, it thankfully succeeded, paving the way for other successes like Superman II and 1989’s Batman.

Directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve as Superman, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, Superman is a straightforward epic depicting Kal-El’s origin and pitting him against his greatest enemy. While the film is beloved for its accurate and earnest take on Superman himself, it also added elements to the Superman mythos, such as Superman’s logo representing the House of El and having Smallville set in Kansas. The film is both the first major superhero movie and deservedly considered one of the genre’s best films, earning several Oscar nominations and winning one.

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Superman (1978) Earned The First Academy Award For A Superhero Movie

1978’s Superman was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. Superman also won the Special Achievement Award for its visual effects, as the Best Visual Effects category had not yet existed. Superman’s famous tagline was “You’ll believe a man can fly,” a promise the film kept, adhering to Richard Donner’s policy of verisimilitude, both in effects and in the portrayals of the film’s world and characters.

Other DC Movies That Have Won Oscars Since

Superman may have been the first DC movie to win an Oscar, but it would not be the last. 1989’s Batman, another film that helped establish the modern superhero blockbuster, won an Oscar for Best Art Direction, thanks to the phenomenal work of Anton Furst and Peter Young. 2008’s The Dark Knight, which is also considered one of the superhero genre’s best films, won two Oscars, one posthumous Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger, and Best Sound Editing for Richard King.

Although 2016’s Suicide Squad was critically panned, the film did win an Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. 2019’s Joker, however, had a far better critical reception, and the film won two Oscars: Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir. Thanks in part to the overwhelming success of 1978’s Superman, superhero movies remain a beloved and mainstream film genre.