The 97th Academy Awards are upon us, and two films— and have the chance to make history by becoming the first musical to take home Best Picture in over 20 years. There are plenty of movie musicals that have earned Best Picture nominations over the past two and a half decades, like , , and , but Since the first Oscars' ceremony in 1929, , with Chicago’s win breaking a 34-year drought, and it's easy to see why. Based on the 1975 stage musical, Chicago earned thirteen Academy Award nominations and won six, including Best Supporting Actress for the scene-stealing . Outstanding lead performances, a star-studded ensemble cast, ambitious direction, and iconic musical numbers make Chicago stand out as one of the best movie musicals of the century

There have been several iconic musicals to win the Academy Award for Best Picture over the years, like and , but after won in 1968, And in the 22 years since Chicago won Best Picture at the 75th Academy Awards, there have been a number of movie musicals to snag a nomination and win other major awards before ultimately missing out on the biggest of the night. Movie musicals have fared particularly well in the Best Supporting Actress category after Catherine Zeta-Jones’ win, with (), (Les Misérables), and (West Side Story) taking home the award since then. won her first Oscar for La La Land, and actors like , , and have all been nominated for their musical roles. Of all the movie musicals that have been nominated for Best Picture since Chicago,

As for this year’s Best Picture nominees, along with , though the latter is more of a music biopic than a true musical. While Wicked is a crowd-pleasing blockbuster, Emilia Pérez has been one of the most controversial Oscar nominees in years, though both share some similarities with Chicago in terms of Oscar nominations. All three films were nominated for 10+ awards, and all three earned nominations in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories: and Zeta-Jones for Chicago, and for Wicked, and and for

Directed by , Chicago is from which it was adapted. Set during the Jazz Age, Chicago follows Roxie Hart (Zellweger), a murderous housewife with dreams of being a star, and explores fame, corruption, and ambition as Roxie clashes and ultimately teams up with vaudeville performer Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones). With a ridiculously talented ensemble cast including the likes of , , , and , Even ’s brief appearance as a killer heiress and Taye Digg’s role as the bandleader have an impact. While Chicago was Zellweger’s first musical role, Zeta-Jones’ West End experience is apparent on-screen, and she easily steals the show despite not being the lead.

Aside from the strong performances across the board, what really makes Chicago stand out among other Oscar-nominated musicals of the 21st century are its direction, editing, and meticulously crafted musical numbers. Using clever set design, Chicago impressively blends plot with fantastical musical numbers, overlapping two very different settings to reflect Roxie’s dreams versus her reality. Balancing humor, drama, and intrigue with exciting musical numbers that showcase its great performances, Chicago appeals to both musical lovers and casual moviegoers. The evolving dynamic between Roxie and Velma is fascinating, as both women are betrayed and exploited but selfish and conniving in their own right, and Zellweger and Zeta-Jones complement each other wonderfully. And even if you’ve never seen Chicago, you may be familiar with Cell Block Tango, a powerful, sultry musical number about revenge and female rage that is emblematic of everything that makes the film so great.

Chicago faced stiff competition in the 2003 Best Picture race, beating out The Pianist and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, but if there’s any movie musical in the past 25 years that deserved a Best Picture win, it’s Chicago.