We had one film release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

Avengers: Infinity War

For a time, Tony Stark’s appearance in a film was a guarantee of the film’s Oscar chances. For only films starring Robert Downey Jr. ever made it to the Oscars. Then, when Captain America: The Winter Soldier finally broke the trend, it became a fact that nearly every film in which Downey Jr. didn’t star became an Oscar nominee. So what does that mean for Avengers: Infinity War? Maybe not much.

One of the reasons films like Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy and likely this year’s Black Panther finally made it to the Golden Race is that in the case of the latter two, they created unique and original properties filled with art and costumes that had not been actively seen before. In the former’s case, it was a much more traditional political action narrative that may have given it a boost rather than a semi-fantastical one as much of which the rest of the universe is comprised.

Bringing us back to Avengers: Infinity War, what gives it a bit of an edge this year is the sheer volume of visual effects. There are some stunning landscapes and situations created by visual effects in the film. Yet, there are also some terrible and flat effects in places (think Mark Ruffalo and the Hulkbuster). It’s possible the film earns a nomination, but it’s also possible the film gets lost in the shuffle because there are a lot of films this year with massive amounts of effects and many of them will be in contention. Flaws of any kind will likely hinder its chances.