A History Of Movies About Space Travel At The Oscars

By Will Mavity 

With James Gray’s interstellar sci-fi film “Ad Astra” receiving positive reviews as it opens in theaters this past weekend, there is, as always, the question of Oscar potential. While it is a default to say “The Academy” doesn’t go for sci-fi, that is not entirely true. Certainly, AMPAS are more predisposed to lean towards a period piece in Best Picture than it is a sci-fi, but across all 24 categories, especially in the below the line categories, sci-fi is better represented than one might expect. While it would be excessive to attempt to list “every sci-fi film ever nominated for ANY Oscar,” it is feasible to look at every movie about space travel ever nominated for an Oscar.

I have been liberal in my definition of space travel (IE is the film primarily set on one planet, but the protagonists had to travel through space to reach the planet, that would count). I will not include films set in “cyberspace” (“Ready Player One”) or films involving encounters with aliens who were merely hidden on earth (“The Abyss”). There needs to be some degree of actual travel through space in the film in order to qualify here. Films that are not sci-fi (“First Man” & “Apollo 13”) count, since they involve space travel, even if the space travel is not fictional. Finally, I will not be counting “special achievement” Oscars, but only competitive ones.

With all that said, here are the biggest takeaways.

Unsurprisingly, given that it is difficult to actually film in space, the category with the most “space travel” films present is “Best Visual Effects.” There are a whopping 45 films about space travel that have been nominated for visual effects, and there would certainly have been more if the category had expanded to 5 nominees earlier. Last year, 3/5 Best Visual Effects Oscar nominees involved space travel. In short, the visual effects branch loves movies about space travel. Good news for “Ad Astra” there. 
 
Up next, again, not too surprisingly, given the requirements of creating and balancing an enormous variety of unusual sounds in a space travel film are the sound categories. Best Sound Mixing has a whopping 36 films nominated, while Best Sound Editing has 24. Although sound nominations often overlap with space travel films that have been nominated for visual effects, they are also often a spot to throw a lone nomination to space travel films that are well-liked by voters, but not enough to show up elsewhere (Think “Contact” & “Space Cowboys”). “Ad Astra” has explosions, gunshots, and other interstellar noises, so again…good news for it.
 
Closely following the sound categories is Best Production Design. 23 space travel films have been nominated for Best Production Design. AMPAS appears equally generous to films that opt for realistic space designs (“Gravity” & “First Man”) and films that opt for more fanciful ones (“Aliens” & “Star Wars”).
 
The last category we can consider genuinely friendly to space travel films is Best Original Score, with 19 films nominated. Although nearly half of those films nominated were scored by John Williams, which may be more a testament to his ability to be nominated for almost any film he scores, as opposed to a statistically significant trend that would benefit the genre. Sadly, “Ad Astra’s” score will by Max Richter will be disqualified despite being widely praised due to contributions from other composers on the score.
 
Best Film Editing is moderately friendly to space travel films, however, 8 out of the 13 films nominated were also Best Picture Nominees, which no doubt gave them additional support here. 10 films about space travel have been nominated for Best Cinematography, although half of them were also Best Picture nominees.
 
Finally, 10 films about space travel have been nominated for Best Picture. Not a huge number, but maybe not as few as you might expect. Of those 10, only 5 were also nominated for Best Director. It is also worth noting that 6 out of 10 were nominated since the category expanded from 5, which suggests that space films have a stronger chance under the new voting rules. In the past, films like “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” which won Oscars and were nominated for Best Director likely would have been nominated for Best Picture had more than 5 nominees been allowed. 
 
In terms of wins, none of the categories offer particularly strong hopes for a win. Best Visual Effects has had 9 “space travel” visual effects winners, but 9 out of 45 isn’t a fantastic track record.

In short, “Ad Astra” may factor into the nomination races for four or five below the line categories, but its chances beyond that are thin based on precedent. Assuming it is nominated in those 4 to 5 categories, its chances of winning them are slim at best.
 
Where do you see “Ad Astra” factoring in?
 
See a complete category by category breakdown below of Space Travel films at the Oscars.

​* Indicates an Oscar win
 
Best Picture

1. Arrival
2. Hidden Figures
3. The Martian
4. Gravity
5. Avatar
6. District 9
7. Apollo 13
8. The Right Stuff
9. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
10. Star Wars

 
Best Director

1. Denis Villeneuve – Arrival
2. Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity*
3. James Cameron – Avatar
4. Steven Spielberg – ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
5. George Lucas – Star Wars
6. Steven Spielberg – Close Encounters of the Third Kind
7. Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey

 
Best Actress

1. Sandra Bullock – Gravity
2. Sigourney Weaver – Aliens

 
Best Actor

1. Matt Damon – The Martian
2. Jeff Bridges – Starman

 
Best Supporting Actress

1. Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures
2. Kathleen Quinlan – Apollo 13
3. Melinda Dillon – Close Encounters of the Third Kind

 
Best Supporting Actor

1. Ed Harris – Apollo 13
2. Don Ameche – Cocoon*
3. Sam Shepard – The Right Stuff
4. Alec Guinness – Star Wars

 
Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Arrival
2. Hidden Figures
3. The Martian
4. District 9
5. Apollo 13

 
Best Original Screenplay

1. Wall-E
2. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
3. Star Wars
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey

 
Best Film Editing

1. Arrival
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. Gravity*
4. Avatar
5. District 9
6. Apollo 13*
7. Aliens
8. The Right Stuff*
9. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
10. Superman
11. Star Wars*
12. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
13. War of the Worlds

 
Best Cinematography

1. Arrival
2. Gravity*
3. Avatar*
4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
5. The Right Stuff
6. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
7. The Black Hole
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind*
9. Marooned
10. When Worlds Collide

 
Best Production Design

1. First Man
2. Arrival
3. Passengers
4. The Martian
5. Interstellar
6. Gravity
7. Avatar*
8. Gattaca
9. Men in Black
10. Apollo 13
11. Aliens
12. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
13. The Right Stuff
14. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
15. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
16. Alien
17. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
18. Star Wars*
19. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
20. 2001: A Space Odyssey
21. Visit to a Small Planet
22. Destination Moon
23. Just Imagine

 
Best Costume Design

1. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
2. Star Wars*
3. Planet of the Apes

 
Best Original Score

1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
2. Passengers
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
4. Interstellar
5. Gravity*
6. Avatar
7. Wall-E
8. Men in Black
9. Apollo 13
10. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
11. The Right Stuff*
12. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
13. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial*
14. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
15. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
16. Superman
17. Star Wars*
18. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
19. Planet of the Apes

 
Best Original Song

1. Wall-E
2. Armageddon

 
Best Sound Mixing

1. First Man
2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
3. Arrival
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
5. The Martian
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
7. Interstellar
8. Gravity*
9. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
10. Avatar
11. Star Trek
12. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
13. Wall-E
14. Transformers
15. War of the Worlds
16. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
17. Armageddon
18. Contact
19. Independence Day
20. Apollo 13*
21. Total Recall
22. Aliens
23. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
24. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
25. Dune
26. The Right Stuff*
27. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
28. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial*
29. Outland
30. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back*
31. Meteor
32. Superman
33. Star Wars*
34. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
35. Marooned
36. War of the Worlds

 
Best Sound Editing

1. First Man
2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
3. Arrival*
4. The Martian
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
6. Interstellar
7. Gravity*
8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
9. Avatar
10. Star Trek
11. Wall-E
12. Transformers
13. War of the Worlds
14. Space Cowboys
15. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
16. Armageddon
17. The Fifth Element
18. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
19. Total Recall
20. Aliens*
21. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
22. The Right Stuff*
23. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
24. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial*

 
Best Visual Effects

1. First Man*
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Solo: A Star Wars Story
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
7. The Martian
8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
9. Interstellar*
10. Guardians of the Galaxy
11. Gravity*
12. Star Trek Into Darkness
13. Prometheus
14. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
15. Avatar*
16. District 9
17. Star Trek
18. Transformers
19. Superman Returns
20. War of the Worlds
21. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
22. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
23. Armageddon
24. Starship Troopers
25. Independence Day*
26. Apollo 13
27. Allen 3
28. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
29. Predator
30. Aliens*
31. Cocoon*
32. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
33. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial*
34. Alien*
35. The Black Hole
36. Moonraker
37. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
38. Star Wars*
39. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
40. Marooned*
41. 2001: A Space Odyssey
42. Forbidden Planet
43. War of the Worlds*
44. When Worlds Collide*
45. Destination Moon*

 
Best Makeup & Hairstyling

1. Star Trek Beyond
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Star Trek*
4. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
5. Men in Black*
6. Star Trek: First Contact
7. 2010: The Year We Make Contact

Best Animated Feature

1. Wall-E*
2. Lilo & Stitch
3. Treasure Planet
4. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

So what do you think? Do you think “Ad Astra” will be nominated for any Oscars this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.

​You can follow Will and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars & Film on Twitter at @mavericksmovies