Crazy Rich Asians Definitely Has Oscar Potential — 5 Categories It Could Win

The screenplay categories have always been consolation prizes for best picture snubs. Crazy Rich Asians picked up a historical Golden Globe nomination in the best motion picture in a comedy or musical category, but will it get the same critical acclaim at the Oscars?

Though I would love a win in the biggest category of the night, the main reason I can't see Crazy Rich Asians getting an Academy Award bid for best picture is because romantic comedies don't usually get their due credit alongside dramas. Even funny and romantic movies in the past best picture categories — La La Land, Midnight in Paris, and The Shape of Water, for example — have pretty serious undertones. If the Academy thoughtfully considered box-office hits after quickly nixing the best popular film category, Crazy Rich Asians, along with crowd-pleasers such as Black Panther, could potentially earn a best picture bid.

But I'm placing my bets on the movie becoming an adapted screenplay contender. Not too long ago, the 2017 rom-com The Big Sick received a nomination for best original screenplay. Nora Ephron, perhaps the queen of rom-coms herself, never saw any of her rom-com films in the running for best picture, but she was nominated several times for best original screenplay, including her scripts for When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. As Crazy Rich Asians is an adaptation of Kevin Kwan's novel, I can see it picking up attention for best adapted screenplay for cowriters Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli.

Each year, you'll see one or two actresses who get a Golden Globe nomination for the best actress in a comedy or musical category end up on the slate for best actress at the Oscars. Last year, we saw both Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie compete at the Oscars and the Golden Globes. With a Golden Globe nomination under her belt for portraying smart, grounded Rachel Chu, Constance Wu has a shot at an Academy Award nomination, although it's a slimmer chance just because the Oscars don't split the best actress category into two major genres. Her competition is tight, as we've seen excellent performances from dramas (an Oscar favorite) this year from Viola Davis (Widows), Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born), Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), and more.

If Wu were to get an Oscar nomination, this would be groundbreaking for the Asian-American community. The only Asian actress to receive a nomination in the past was Merle Oberon as Kitty Vane in the 1935 film The Dark Angel.

While Wu portrays the lead character in John Chu's film, Michelle Yeoh pulls the story together as the stern Young matriarch. It'd be refreshing to see Yeoh get an Oscar bid for her subtle but complicated performance. Not to forget Awkwafina or Gemma Chan, but it's really the relationship between Rachel and Eleanor that drives the tension in Crazy Rich Asians and makes it so unique. A nomination would be a first for Yeoh and a historical milestone for Asians, as there have only been four Asian women ever nominated for best supporting actress since 1957. Again, the competition is tight, with performances from Claire Foy (First Man), Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), and Emma Stone (The Favourite) this year.

Costume design usually includes both prestige and mainstream picks, featuring winners as different as Phantom Thread and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. We've seen many beautiful costumes this year in films such as Ocean's 8 and Black Panther. Crazy Rich Asians definitely looks beautiful, blending together old- and new-money looks with Versace and Dior under the watchful eye of designer Mary Vogt. Wu's floaty blue dress at Araminta's wedding is iconic, to say the very least. An Academy Award nomination would be a first for Vogt, whose long career includes working on sets such as Hocus Pocus and Kong: Skull Island.

Besides costume design, let's talk production design. Nelson Coates brought to life wealthy Singapore through a luxurious and colorful set. The movie has beaches and jungles, along with extravagant parties and decadent mansions. The most beautiful scene in the movie is undoubtedly Araminta's dazzling $40 million wedding, which is decked out with three-foot grass blades, eight-foot bamboo fans, and hand-painted lanterns. Coates is a veteran in the industry, earning an Emmy bid for The Stand in 1994 and recently helming production design in Fifty Shades Freed and On the Basis of Sex.

With powerful projects such as Roma, Crazy Rich Asians, and Widows, the members of the Academy Awards have a chance to meaningfully address and ameliorate the ongoing #OscarsSoWhite debacle by recognizing films by artists of color. That said, even if Crazy Rich Asians doesn't sweep the floor at the Oscars, it's raked in a whopping $237.9 million worldwide. This shows that Asians have stories to tell, and obviously people want to hear them.