History was made at the 2023 Academy Award nominations as, for the first time ever, two sequels are nominated for Best Picture in the same year. Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick - also the year's two top-grossing movies, saving the worldwide box office from potential ruin - have both garnered nominations.

Top Gun is perhaps the more surprising of the two. Alongside Mad Max: Fury Road and Toy Story 3, it becomes only the third film in history to be nominated for an Oscar after its predecessors failed to receive one. Top Gun did receive four nods at the 1987 Oscars, and won for "Take My Breath Away" in Best Original Song. The Joseph Kosinski-helmed sequel, which brought back Tom Cruise to his legendary role of Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell was a stunning box office success, and critically acclaimed, ranking as many pundits' favorite film of the year in terms of a cinematic experience. It also received another unexpected nod for Best Adapted Screenplay.

13 years ago, the original Avatar looked to be favourite to take home the Oscar, having been not just a box office behemoth - taking home the title of the highest-grossing film of all time will give you some momentum - but also a smash hit with critics, due to its revolutionary use of visual effects and 3D filming, as well as being a breakthrough for IMAX - but it was beaten at the last leg by The Hurt Locker.

Kate Winslet as Ronal in Avatar The Way of Water
Image Via 20th Century Studios

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James Cameron's long-awaited sequel has recently crossed the $2 billion mark at the worldwide box office, giving him three of the top six films of all time. It has garnered four nominations in total this time, including Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song.

Historically, sequels have not always been looked on kindly by the Academy, with only a handful of true sequels ever being recognised. 1945's The Bells of St Mary was the first sequel to be nominated. The movie - starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman, was a sequel to Going My Way which also starred Crosby and saw him win the award for Best Actor - was nominated for a total of seven Oscars that year. The bad news for this pair is that two sequels have only won the Oscar for best picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Godfather: Part II. Still, hope springs eternal and bigger shocks have happened.

The 95th Oscars will air live on ABC on March 12. The telecast also will stream on ABC.com, Hulu Live TV and YouTubeTV. Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host.