May 15, 2025 12:11 PM IST
While Avengers: Endgame became a global box office phenomenon, earning nearly $2.8 billion, its recognition from the Academy was limited to a single nomination.
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson is still frustrated with the Oscars for overlooking Avengers: Endgame (2019), one of the biggest blockbusters in film history. The 40-year-old recently expressed her disbelief that the Marvel film didn’t land a nomination for Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards.
“How did this film not get nominated for an Oscar?” Scarlett said in an interview with Vanity Fair. “It was an impossible movie that should not have worked, that really works as a film — and also, it’s one of the most successful films of all time,” she added.
Despite grossing nearly $2.8 billion worldwide and breaking several box office records, Avengers: Endgame received only a single Oscar nomination — in the Visual Effects category. So far, Black Panther remains the only Marvel Cinematic Universe film to be nominated for Best Picture. In total, the MCU has taken home just four Oscars across its 36 films: three for Black Panther (Costume Design, Original Score, and Production Design) and one for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Costume Design).
The Lost in Translation star also shared her thoughts on this year’s Oscars ceremony, where she appeared onstage with 95-year-old actor June Squibb, the star of Scarlett’s upcoming directorial debut, Eleanor the Great. Although she enjoyed the ceremony— “It was exciting” — she was critical of the show’s runtime. “Why was it so long?” she asked.
When asked about the divisive James Bond tribute as a potential reason for the lengthy runtime, Scarlett opted not to comment directly, but added: “It felt like an ad placement. What a weird thing. People were like, ‘What the hell was that?’”
While she continues to look back on her time in the MCU fondly, Scarlett made it clear she has no intention of returning as Black Widow. “It would be very hard for me to understand in what capacity [returning] would make sense for me, for the character that I play,” she said. “I miss my buddies and really would love to be with them forever, but what works about the character is that her story is complete. I don’t want to mess with that.”
