Oscars 2020: ‘Joker’ makes history with 11 nominations for comic book movie

No joke — the controversial but acclaimed antihero film “Joker” is leading the Oscars pack with a historic 11 nods.

Nominations for the 2020 Academy Awards were announced Monday morning, delivering honors for the season’s best films — and snubbing more than a few of them, too.

But one film that certainly did not see any snubs was Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” which racked up 11 nods from the Academy, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix, 45.

The success of “Joker” is notable for a few reasons. First, Phillips scooped up double nominations for both the screenplay category and directing. Also, the film is now the most nominated “comic book movie” in Oscars history, according to IndieWire. (“Black Panther” is now in second place with seven nods and three wins in 2019.)

“Joker,” which received a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, also scored four Golden Globes nominations this year, and won Phoenix a Best Actor statue. Meanwhile, the divisive actor has kept a high profile in Hollywood, from helping the Globes go meatless to getting arrested at a Jane Fonda climate change protest.

If Phoenix takes home the Best Actor trophy, he would be the second actor to go gold as the Joker: Heath Ledger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing the iconic villain in 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”

In addition to mass critical acclaim, “Joker” is now the most profitable comic book movie ever, with more than $1 billion in worldwide box office receipts.

But not everyone was celebrating the movie’s historic success. Some film fans took to Twitter to voice their outrage at the disproportionate love for the flick, which raised fears of violence and mass shootings when it premiered in October 2019.

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