‘Avengers: Endgame’s Joe Russo Says Harvey Weinstein Is the Reason Blockbusters Are Not Winning Major Awards
Joe Russo, one half of the famous Russo Brothers directing team, has sparked debate with his take on why big-budget movies rarely win major awards. Known for directing massive hits like Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, Russo points the finger at Harvey Weinstein. He claims Weinstein’s actions decades ago shifted how the film industry views blockbusters during awards season.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Russo explained his view. “This trend was started by Harvey Weinstein,” he said. “He vilified mainstream movies to champion the art films he pushed for Oscar campaigns. Popular films were winning Oscars before the mid-Nineties, then Weinstein started mudslinging campaigns.”
Russo believes this created a divide between popular films and the smaller, artsy movies that now dominate the Academy Awards. He added, “It affected how audiences view the Oscars because they’ve not seen most of the movies. We’re in a complicated place. Things we should all enjoy collectively we instead punch each other in the face over.”
Weinstein, once a powerful Hollywood producer, was known for turning films like Shakespeare in Love and Pulp Fiction into Oscar winners. Before his crimes sent him to prison, he aggressively promoted his projects, often favoring indie-style films over big blockbusters. Russo argues this strategy hurt the chances of mainstream movies getting serious awards attention.
But not everyone agrees with Russo’s theory. Critics on social media quickly pointed out that plenty of popular films have won big at the Oscars. Movies like The Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, Titanic, and last year’s Oppenheimer—which earned nearly $1 billion—prove blockbusters can still take home Best Picture. Even Green Book, a surprise winner, made over $320 million worldwide. These examples challenge Russo’s claim that Weinstein’s influence shut out mainstream films entirely.
Russo’s own career adds fuel to the discussion. With his brother Anthony, he’s delivered some of the biggest box office successes ever. Avengers: Endgame alone pulled in $2.8 billion globally, making it a cultural event. Yet, despite their popularity, these films rarely win top awards. Some argue it’s not about Weinstein but about quality.
Famed director Martin Scorsese once said of superhero films, “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” Still, Marvel hasn’t been ignored completely—Black Panther earned a Best Picture nod in 2019, and other MCU films often win technical awards like visual effects or sound.
Russo also touched on a bigger issue in Hollywood. “Like everything, the film space has become divisive,” he said. “Everything is about who can be the loudest, who can clickbait the most.” He sees the industry struggling with falling profits and new challenges like AI, worsened by a lack of unity.
Russo even defended Marvel’s role, saying, “Like this argument that Marvel movies were killing cinema. Well, Marvel movies seemed to be keeping cinemas open for quite a long time.”
Lately, though, the Russo Brothers have hit a rough patch. After Endgame, their films Cherry, The Gray Man, and The Electric State—a $320 million Netflix flop—disappointed critics and audiences. Some wonder if Russo’s comments stem from frustration, especially as he and Anthony return to Marvel for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. A few years back, Joe took a jab at Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon for its weaker box office, highlighting the tension between commercial success and critical praise.
So, does Russo have a point? Weinstein’s campaigns may have shifted tastes, but blockbusters still get their share of recognition. Maybe the real issue is that not every hit movie—however big—fits the Academy’s idea of award-worthy art.
