Streaming Services’ Total Oscar Haul Falls Well Short Of Last Year’s Record Despite ‘CODA’ Capper

UPDATED with final results: While streaming had been poised to elbow traditional theatrical releases out of the Oscar spotlight, Sunday’s results at the 94th Academy Awards offered something of a rebuke to that narrative.

Best Picture honors did go to Apple’s CODA, marking a significant milestone in the history of the Oscars, and the three other streaming wins all came in major categories. Still, the total of four statuettes for streamers fell well short of last year’s record tally of nine. Along with Best Picture, CODA also took Adapted Screenplay for writer-director Siân Heder and Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur. Jane Campion was named Best Director for Netflix’s The Power of the Dog.

It was an underwhelming showing for Netflix, which led all studios and streamers with 27 total nominations and has piled up 86 over the past three years. The Power of the Dog paced this year’s field with 12 nominations but walked away with just the one.

Amazon’s Prime Video helped amp up the conversation about streaming Oscars in 2017 when it recorded three wins out of seven nominations for Manchester by the Sea and The Salesman. Netflix captured Best Documentary (Short Subject) that same year with The White Helmets. Those four wins were equaled in 2019, the year of Netflix’s Roma and Period. End of Sentence and Prime Video’s Cold War.

Defining what makes a “streaming movie” has gotten trickier due to Covid, of course. Last year, with the ceremony recognizing films that were largely unable to play theatrically due to the pandemic, the Academy waived the qualifying requirement that films be theatrically released. Last June, the board of governors extended that protection for this year’s show, but said future ceremonies could see a theatrical threshold re-established.

Business considerations had already factored into the distribution strategies of several contenders, resulting in the unusual fact that nearly all of them were available on streaming ahead of the ceremony. Citing concerns about safety and its intent to maintain supply for theaters, Warner Bros opted to put its entire 2021 slate (including Oscar winners Dune and King Richard) on HBO Max at the same time it hit theaters.

Disney went a step further and put films like the Oscar-nominated Luca on Disney+ without any domestic theatrical run. Best Animated Feature winner Encanto raked in $250 million at the box office but moved onto Disney+ last Christmas Eve after just 30 days in theaters. Its 10-week stint on the Nielsen streaming chart and the rise of its soundtrack to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 came about in large part due to streaming. Best Costumes recipient Cruella came out on Disney+ at a premium-priced Premier Access title at the same time it debuted in theaters.

One of this past year’s most high-profile day-and-date releases was CODA, which Apple put out last August. Although the film was a crowd-pleaser at Sundance, where standing ovations in theaters helped stimulate bidding, which Apple eventually won with a record $25 million, its commercial run peaked at about 100 theaters. With about $1.2 million in box office, it is the clearest statement yet by a streaming entity about theaters being immaterial to Oscar success.

Talks between major exhibitors and streaming giants like Netflix have yet to produce any overall agreement on windowing. The widely accepted 45-day theatrical exclusive is dramatically shorter than what theater owners seemed willing to consider before the pandemic.