Tom's Film Hub

Last Week, the Academy of Arts and Sciences announced that at the 100th show in 2028, they will be introducing a new category for Best Stunt Design. It’s a long-overdue announcement, but it’s incredibly exciting to see the essential aspect of filmmaking recognized. For fun, I decided to look back at the last 25 shows and pick what I think the nominees and winners could have been.

For how I chose the films, I looked at a few criteria. If the film received other nominations at the Oscars that year, if the film was acclaimed by critics, the film was a box office hit, and of course, how impressive the stunt choreography was.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has had their own award for stunt ensembles, which they have been awarding since 2007. It is a great guide to what films were in the discussion.

Final note on housekeeping: It is unclear whether the Academy will include musical choreography in this award category (though SAG does include it). For simplicity, I will exclude musicals from this list and focus solely on action stunt choreography. The main reason is that I’m not sure how to differentiate between the two or judge which is better, so for now, musicals are left out.

Bold indicates winner*

2000

Nominees:

• Gladiator
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Mission Impossible II
• The Perfect Storm
• Gone in 60 Seconds

While Gladiator, in the end, took home Best Picture, I feel Crouching Tiger wins here. The choreography of its martial arts was seen as revolutionary and was a strong driver of its awards campaign.

For the rest of the category, The Perfect Storm received multiple other nominations, so it can get in here. The last two spots are tough, as 2000 was a weak year for blockbusters. Neither Gone in 60 Seconds or Mission Impossible II were particularly acclaimed, but they were hits and are filled with enough car and motorcycle stunts they break through.

2001

Nominees:

• Black Hawk Down
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Pearl Harbor
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
• The Fast and the Furious

As the only best picture nominee, Fellowship wins (remember the entire academy votes for winners). Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor (as despised as it was) make sense, and they received multiple other nominations.

Next up is The Fast and the Furious, as it was a hit and is filled with car stunts. A fun exercise for me is trying to guess how many of the subsequent 9 films the Academy would also recognize.

For the final slot, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider doesn’t scream Oscars, but the rest of the slate (Rush Hour 2, The Mummy Returns, Planet of the Apes) isn’t much better. Maybe they could have been bold, but the Academy in the early 2000s wasn’t as susceptible to indie and international cinema that was not pushed by a wealthy distributor. So, Lara Croft perseveres as one of the biggest films of the year.

2002

Nominees:

• The Bourne Identity
• Gangs of New York
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• Spider-man
• Minority Report

Remember how I just said Best Picture Nominees win because the entire Academy votes for them? Well, I’m going to break that rule this year. While The Two Towers and Gangs of New York were both nominated for Best Picture, neither were racking up wins. The Two Towers was consistently passed over as the middle installment of a trilogy, and Gangs of New York was met with general apathy, going 0/10 at the ceremony. Instead, I’d Doug Liman’s The Bourne Identity takes it. The handheld close-quarter choreography was revolutionary in 2002, and I can see the passion to propel it to a win.

Minority Report is an easy fourth as an acclaimed sci-fi action film. Finally, is the massively successful Spider-Man. Spider-man is the first superhero film to earn a nomination, and spoiler alert: it won’t be the last.

2003

Nominees:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• The Last Samurai
• Kill Bill: Volume 1

The Return of the King won everything else this year, so why not add this one to the pile? It also would have been a record-breaking 12th Oscar win. Master and Commander is an easy inclusion as an action-adjacent Best Picture nominee. Pirates of the Caribbean and The Last Samurai each earned multiple technical nominations, so they make the cut as well.

The last spot is trickier, but Quentin Tarantino’s blood-soaked Kill Bill Volume 1 was a hit and featured some of the year’s most memorable action sequences, so it earns its place.

2004

Nominees:

• Collateral
• House of Flying Daggers
• Spiderman 2
• The Bourne Supremacy
• Troy

2004 was a year when the Academy shied away from recognizing the best action in major categories. It makes it tricky, but for the win, House of Flying Daggers stands out, with its Best Cinematography nomination and incredible martial arts choreography. Collateral is a close second, earning other Oscar nods, including Best Editing.

The Bourne Supremacy and Spider-Man 2 didn’t get other nominations, but both were massive hits and were more acclaimed than their predecessors (which in this world were already nominated for their stunts). As for Troy, while it wasn’t universally beloved, the sheer scale of its battle sequences gets it a spot.

2005

Nominees:

• Batman Begins
• King Kong
• War of the Worlds
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• V For Vendetta

Welcome to the party, Christopher Nolan. We’ll be seeing him a lot going forward. While Batman Begins wasn’t the biggest contender here, it does have other nominations and was easily the most beloved of this list. King Kong and War of the Worlds are massive blockbusters from Academy Award winners, so they’ll get in.

For the other two spots, The Chronicles of Narnia was a solid hit and had a few tech nominations. While V for Vendetta wasn’t nominated anywhere else, its action sequences, especially the coordination of V, were acclaimed, and it has a solid name behind it in the Wachowskis.

2006

Nominees:

• Casino Royale
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
• Apocalypto
• Children of Men
• Letters from Iwo Jima

It’s hard to say Casino Royale doesn’t win, but it was surprisingly blanked by the academy, so I’d say the best-pictured nominee, Letters from Iwo Jima, upsets it. For the other nominees, Dead Man’s Chest was a massive hit and earned several technical nominations. Children of Men and Apocalypto were big tech players, and both were visually striking with intense action.

2007

Nominees:

• The Bourne Ultimatum
• 300
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
• The Golden Compass
• 3:10 to Yuma

2nd win for Mr. Bourne, as The Bourne Ultimatum breaks through in the stunt category just as it did in multiple other categories. 3:10 to Yuma was a well-acclaimed Western and feels like a safe pick. None of At World’s End, The Golden Compass, or 300 were universally acclaimed, but all made money and received some other Academy recognition, so they take the remaining spots.

2008

Nominees:

• The Dark Knight
• Iron Man
• Wanted
• The Forbidden Kingdom
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Easy win for The Dark Knight, the most loved and strongest contender of the five. Wanted received two sound nominations, and with its unique gunplay, it’s an easy choice. Iron Man is Marvel’s first nomination, and, similar to Best Visual Effects, this will be a category they quickly become familiar with.

Hellboy II wasn’t a huge hit, but it was seen as a step up from the first and did land a makeup nomination. The last spot is harder, but I’d say it goes to The Forbidden Kingdom, which was a surprise international success and would be a fun way to recognize martial arts legend Jet Li.

2009

Nominees:

• Avatar
• District 9
• Star Trek
• The Hurt Locker
• Public Enemies

While motion capture might make voters hesitant to vote for Avatar (it wasn’t even nominated at SAG), I’m banking on its overwhelming support in the Academy to push it through. The Hurt Locker and District 9 don’t scream stunts, but this is a weak year for action and with both being Best Picture nominees, they can get in. Star Trek is a lock with a win at SAG. Public Enemies isn’t well regarded, but it was nominated at SAG and has enough classic Michael Mann filmmaking to take a weak last spot.

2010

Nominees:

• Inception
• Green Zone
• The Town
• Jackass 3
• Iron Man 2

Nolan’s third win in a row, and again, it isn’t close. Green Zone has been somewhat forgotten, but it was a solid Matt Damon-led hit and earned a SAG nomination. While The Town wasn’t a massive awards player, it did well all season and is a slick heist film. Iron Man 2 was a huge blockbuster hit. It’s a tough sell to say a Jackass film would be Oscar-nominated, and it’s a very different type of stunt, but Jackass 3 was a massive hit in 2010, and I think the legions of fans could campaign it.

2011

Nominees:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2
• Warrior
• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
• Fast Five
• The Raid

Another year with no other Best Picture nominees, Deathly Hallows — Part 2 takes the win as a massive success, and the Academy gave it wins in other categories. This win would feel like a recognition of the series as a whole for its stunt work. Warrior was a well-received sports drama, was nominated in other categories, and has many choreographed fight scenes. None of the other three received Oscar nominations (or nominations at SAG), but it’s hard to imagine any being left out, given the level of stunt work in them. So, I might be too optimistic to predict them (especially The Raid), but I’d rather not imagine Transformers: Dark of the Moon or Cowboys & Aliens making it in.

2012

Nominees:

• The Avengers
• Django Unchained
• Skyfall
• The Dark Knight Rises
• Zero Dark Thirty

Nolan’s streak ends with the lukewarm reception to The Dark Knight Rises. Instead, Bond wins with multiple other nominations, unlike its predecessor Casino Royale. Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty aren’t action extravaganzas, but each has a long, incredibly memorable action sequence that will push them in. The Avengers takes the final spot as the most successful film of 2012.

2013

Nominees:

• Rush
• Lone Survivor
• Pacific Rim
• The Wolverine
• Star Trek: Into Darkness

Lone Survivor wasn’t a major awards player but did receive two nominations, and combined with a SAG win, it feels like the frontrunner in this field. Rush was shut out at the Academy Awards, but its practical racing scenes make it feel like a shoo-in here. Pacific Rim and Star Trek are box office successes with nominations in other categories. Fifth spot goes to The Wolverine, which received a SAG nomination and has enough hand-to-hand combat combined with a very memorable action sequence on a train.

2014

Nominees:

• Fury
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Unbroken

Sticking with the SAG winner again. While not in best picture, Unbroken feels like it was just on the outside, and it’s a big war film with multiple action sequences. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was one of the most acclaimed blockbusters of 2014, and with another nomination in VFX, it gets a spot. Fury was received well enough and got a SAG nomination. Surprisingly, neither of the Marvel offerings were nominated at SAG, but both were acclaimed and received other nominations at the Academy Awards, so I’d say both would still get in.

2015

Nominees:

• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Furious 7
• Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• The Revenant

Fury Road is as close to a lock to win as you can get. The Revenant would likely win this category in any other year. The Academy showered The Force Awakens with 5 nominations, so this is an easy add-on. Fast and Furious returns with its biggest hit and most well-acclaimed seventh entry. Fifth spot goes to a category fave in MI — Rogue Nation.

2016

Nominees:

• Hacksaw Ridge
• Captain America: Civil War
• Rogue One
• Doctor Strange
• Jason Bourne

Hacksaw Ridge won SAG and was a Best Picture nominee, an easy win. Marvel is back with Civil War and Doctor Strange. So is Star Wars with Rogue One. The fifth spot is surprisingly weak, and there is an argument for the surprise hit Deadpool, but I’d bet they’d go with an old favorite in Jason Bourne. Even though its reception was mixed, its practical stunt work feels more easily received.

2017

Nominees:

• Baby Driver
• Logan
• Wonder Woman
• Dunkirk
• War for the Planet of the Apes

A very competitive year, with Baby Driver and Wonder Woman (which shockingly won the SAG) both making strong cases as critical favorites, but I’d bet Nolan storms back and takes the win. Obviously Dunkirk was a stronger contender, but the focus on practical stunts and the use of real ships and planes feels like it would take it in the end. Logan is a solid four as it was a surprise awards darling and even received a screenplay nomination. War for the Planet of the Apes wasn’t as much of a success as Dawn, but it had enough passion behind it and a large-scale action set piece at the end. It takes the fifth spot.

2018

Nominees:

• Black Panther
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Mission: Impossible — Fallout
• First Man
• Upgrade

There’s a real chance that Marvel could have 3 of the 5 nominees this year with Antman as a potential five (it happened at SAG), but because that would be quite a monopoly. I’ll say that the branch doesn’t allow it to happen. They will finally pick up their first win with the awards favorite Black Panther, edging out Mission: Impossible — Fallout. First Man was a disappointment in that year’s awards race but still received a couple of tech nominations, and it has incredibly impressive stunts. More than likely, the fifth spot would have gone to another category fav in Solo: A Star Wars Story, but with the already oversaturation of Disney in the category, let’s have fun and say they instead nominated Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade. A modest hit and very acclaimed sci-fi action film with tremendous hand-to-hand combat.

2019

Nominees:

• Avengers: Endgame
• Joker
• Ford v Ferrari
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• 1917

A clash between the two big tech players of this year’s award show: 1917 and Ford V Ferrari. Ford V Ferrari just edges it out with a nomination at SAG. Endgame won at SAG and was the highest-grossing film of 2019. Joker led in nominations, so even with its minimal action, it still feels like a sure bet. The fifth spot is tough, but I think it goes to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with its action-filled final act and general strength as an awards player. It’s also about a stuntman, so why not?

2020

Nominees:

• Extraction
• Mulan
• News of the World
• Tenet
• Wonder Woman 1984

The year where almost all of the major blockbusters were delayed makes it a tricky one to predict. Tenet, for some reason, wasn’t even nominated at SAG, but it still feels heads and shoulders above the rest, so I say it wins. Both Mulan and Wonder Woman 1984 were panned by critics, but in a year so barren, they still find a way in. News of the World doesn’t have much action, but it was a solid tech player and did receive a SAG nomination. Finally, Extraction, the Netflix film, doesn’t feel like a typical awards player, but the choreography in the film is easily on the level of the other contenders, and it did great numbers for Netflix, so why not?

2021

Nominees:

• No Time to Die
• Dune Part I
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Spiderman: No Way Home
• The Matrix Resurrections

While Dune won almost every tech category this year, No Time to Die has much more traditional action stunt choreography, giving Mr. Bond his second win in the category. Shang-Chi and Spiderman are easy box office hits in a year where many fell short. The Matrix Resurrections wasn’t a huge hit but was nominated at SAG, and its large amount of hand-to-hand action makes it more appetizing than the other options.

2022

Nominees:

• Top Gun: Maverick
• All Quiet on the Western Front
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• The Batman

While the Everything Everywhere sweep could have taken this category as well, Top Gun: Maverick won at SAG, and its win in Sound showed there was love for it within the Academy. All Quiet on the Western Front was nominated in almost every tech category, so it’s hard to see it being left out. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Batman are easy blockbuster nominations, especially with how they performed in other categories.

2023

Nominees:

• Barbie
• Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
• The Creator
• John Wick: Chapter 4
• Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3

You may have been wondering where Mr. Wick has been so far, but surprisingly, none of the first three films were recognized at SAG. The Academy could have easily corrected this oversight before the fourth installment, but it feels like the franchise just wasn’t respected by awards yet. However, John Wick doesn’t win here, as Mission: Impossible finally takes its first win in the category with its two other tech nominations. For the other three, Barbie earned a SAG nomination and was a major contender. The Creator and Guardians were action with nominations in other categories..

2024

Nominees:

• The Fall Guy
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• Gladiator II
• Dune: Part II
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Finally, we have last year. The Fall Guy’s director, David Leitch, has been one of the leading advocates for the creation of this category. Unfortunately, he doesn’t win just yet. While he made a film ABOUT a stuntman, Dune Part II being much more action-focused than the first, and its Best Picture nomination makes it hard to pass up. While neither of the first two Deadpool films were nominated, its outrageous box office haul makes it undeniable this time around. Gladiator II was a bit of a flop, but the Coliseum choreography is enough. I might be a fool for saying Furiosa would get a nomination, considering how it performed with the rest of the Academy, but it just seems foolish to say stunt coordinators would choose other options over it.