Star Wars: The Force Awakens Skipping Some Awards Shows

There’s no doubt that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be a box office phenomenon. It could even become the highest-grossing movie of all time. It’s hard to say how the film will do during awards season, though. We’ll likely see it recognized at the Oscars in various technical categories, but could it actually score big with a Best Picture nomination? The original Star Wars was a Best Picture nominee back in 1977, ultimately losing to Annie Hall. Sure, there’s still an extreme possibility that The Force Awakens will be every bit as disappointing as the prequel trilogy. If it actually earns comparison to the classics, however, a Best Picture nomination may not be out of the question.

Unfortunately, predecessor awards aren’t going to give us much indication if The Force Awakens is Best Picture quality. According to The Wrap, Disney and Lucasfilm aren’t rushing to submit The Force Awakens for awards consideration. They’re more interested in protecting the plot until opening day. As a result, the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association won’t be able to see the film in time.

Although The Force Awakens will be missing out on these early awards, there’s a strong possibility it could go on to follow in the same footsteps of Avatar. Prior to its release, James Cameron’s film didn’t generate much buzz from many award shows. Once it slowly started to become the biggest movie since Titanic, though, it started to get much more recognition. The blockbuster ultimately went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Picture and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture too.

It should also be noted that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is opening on December 18th, the same day Avatar opened six years ago. The Force Awakens is likely to open bigger than Avatar. If it can hold onto the number one box office spot for several weeks in a row, the Academy may feel it’s too big too ignore. Of course there’s still the question of whether or not The Force Awakens will be any good at all. We’ll just have to wait and see.