Summary
Not every film trilogy deserves aLord of the Ringscomparison, but Denis Villeneuve’sDunemovies are an exception – even with the third and final installment still yet to come.Dune: Messiahis the closest thing this decade has to aReturn of the King-level film event, and an interesting Oscars trend suggests the same.
To be fair, Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy was more mainstream, and had a much bigger cultural impact thanDune’ssuccess today. However, Denis Villeneuve’s two epic space operas deserve praise for balancing high-budget spectacle with arthouse cinema-level storytelling. Now, all eyes are onDune: Messiahas it aims to close the trilogy on a high note, including a potential Academy Awards sweep.
How Many Oscars DidDune: Part TwoWin?
Fewer Wins & Nominations Compared ToPart One
Earlier this week,Dune: Part Twowon two Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. The Timothée Chalamet-Zendaya starrer was nominated in five categories, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design. The two technical wins deserve high praise, but the overall awards-to-nominations ratio was a big step down fromDune: Part One. The first film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning six, including acontroversial directing snub for Villeneuve.
4 / 13
2 / 6
6 / 10
Dune: Part Two(2024)
2 / 5
TheLord of the Ringsfilms faced a similar drop in Oscar wins and nominations within the series. The first film,The Fellowship of the Ring, won four Academy Awards from 13 nominations. However, the second film,The Two Towers, saw almost half that number, winning just two awards from six nominations – much like theDuneseries. But the trilogy finale,The Return of the King, won more than both previous movies combined, sweeping all 11 categories it was nominated for.
DuneMight Be FollowingThe Lord of the Rings’Path
CanDune: MessiahSweep The Oscars?
Dune: Messiahis expectedto follow in the footsteps ofThe Return of the King, and if things really work out, it could pull off a complete clean sweep at the Academy Awards that year. Even if winning a record-breaking number of Oscars sounds like asking for too much (though it isn’t all that crazy, considering Villeneuve’s high standards), the thirdDunefilm should at least outperform the awards tally of the first two movies. More than any other category, sci-fi fans are hoping Villeneuve finally wins an honor that has eluded him for years:the Oscar for Best Directing.
It all rests in the hands of Oscar voters, who may unknowingly be repeatingLord of the Ringshistorywith their ballot choices. Some industry analysts believeDune: Part Two’s relatively low number of wins might have been the result of voters collectively saving their recognition for a trilogy-ending finale. This kind of voting pattern was also observed in 2003 at the 75th Academy Awards, whenThe Two Towersexperienced an Oscar “downgrade” of sorts. However, this trend can’t be taken for granted just because it mirrors a past coincidence.
Dune 2’sOverall Oscars Snub Was Unfair
Some Academy Voters Skipped It Entirely
ComparingDune: Part OneandPart Two, it’s hard to objectively pick the better film, as they feel more like two halves of a single 5–6-hour movie. Judging by the Oscars trend, it seems more people may have preferred the first film, which is fine. But what’s not fine is voters not even watching either or both films and simply abstaining from voting for them. AnEntertainment Weeklyreportfrom February brought this problematic Oscars trend to light.
The first Dune, I couldn’t get through; I’m not rushing for another three hours of Dune. There’s still time to re-evaluate, but I really struggled.
The insider report revealed that some Academy voters skippedDune: Part Twoentirely, which may have contributed to its lower awards tally. The four anonymous Oscar voters quizzed in the report all admitted that they didn’t watch the film and, as a result, did not rank it on their Best Picture ballots, which include just 10 nominated films. This is a complete injustice totheDunefranchise, Denis Villeneuve, the film’s cast and crew of thousands, and the entire sci-fi genre, which the Oscars have long been infamous for snubbing.
As of 2024, the Academy has over 9,900 voting members, and if a significant number of them aren’t even watching the nominated films from the comfort of their own homes, it raises serious concerns. At this point, it might be time to rethink and revoke voting rights for those who neglect their responsibility. If not,Dune: Messiahmight suffer a similar fate in the future. No one wants it to become another film remembered years later as a classic that was ignored by the Academy at the time of its release.
Dune: Messiahfaces bigger challenges than just the Oscars in matchingThe Return of the King. The novel is more about political intrigue than large-scale battles, which are expected from a series finale. UnlikeThe Lord of the Rings, which adapted three separate books,Dune’sfirst two films came from a single novel, makingMessiaha completely different story. Denis Villeneuve must overcome these hurdles to create a cinematic masterpiece worthy of an Oscars clean sweep.
