Netflix wins just two Oscars at 92nd Academy Awards

It may seem like trouble, but after only winning two Oscars out of the 24 for which it was nominated, Netflix is still in a position to succeed.

In 2014, at the 86th Academy Awards, The Square was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. This marked the first-ever Oscar nomination for Netflix.

In each of the following two years, Netflix again received a lone nomination, followed by three in 2017, eight in 2018, 15 in 2019, and now 24 this year.

Yet, out of the streaming giant’s 53 total nominations, it only has seven Oscars wins.

Check out Sean Fennessey’s tweet about the streaming network’s Oscar history below.

So what gives?

While Netflix isn’t necessarily widely known for the quality of the content it produces, it certainly churns out large quantities of shows and movies. But this past year was a little bit different on that front.

The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes were the big names present at this year’s ceremony, while animated features I Lost My Body and Klaus and documentary features American Factory and The Edge of Democracy also generated much-deserved buzz and consideration.

Even still, with all of that supposed star power, just American Factory and Laura Dern’s performance in Marriage Story produced Netflix’s only winners, when it could be argued it deserved much more.

The quick conclusion based on these facts would be to say there is a bias against streaming services among those in Hollywood who still believe that the only correct way to view a movie is sitting in a theater. While this certainly could be a part of it, I think there’s more at play.

Looking at the rest of this year’s nominees, it would seem that Netflix really had a shot. It had seven nominations in the acting categories (including Dern’s win) and never had much hope in any of them. Renee Zellweger was seemingly crowned Best Actress months ago, leaving Scarlett Johansson’s Marriage Story performance in the dust.

Meanwhile, Brad Pitt had the power of a Quentin Tarantino movie behind him, and his acceptance speech lasted longer than the chances of Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Anthony Hopkins (the latter two neglected to even show up to the show!). And as great as Adam Driver’s Marriage Story performance is, Joaquin Phoenix had the award in the bag from the moment we first hear his laugh as the Joker.

In some of these cases, you could pass this off as the far reaches of a wide release for a movie like Joker, the $1 billion phenomenon. But without Netflix, something like Marriage Story wouldn’t have nearly the reach that it does, and you wouldn’t see a gif of Adam Driver punching a wall every time you log onto Twitter.

As for the other categories, Parasite was a runaway train in the Best Director, Picture, and Screenplay races, going up against Pixar for Best Animated Feature is never a good idea, and the technical categories were for the bigger movies this year. It isn’t that Netflix or its movies are bad – it’s that everything else is so good, too.

Last year was one of the best movie years of the decade, and Netflix films heavily contributed to it. The Irishman is quite significant given its visual effects and the fact that it brought together Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci, each of whom are absolute titans of cinema.

Marriage Story is a win for indie filmmakers such as Noah Baumbach and for Oscar hopefuls like Adam Driver. The Two Popes brings together two extraordinary and respected actors to just sit and talk about faith, and it’s gripping! The Laundromat, The King, Dolemite Is My Name, and High Flying Bird show that, even when it isn’t being nominated for awards, it can still go for prestige.

Always Be My Maybe, Murder Mystery, 6 Underground, and Triple Frontier show that Netflix can get big-name talent to make perfectly enjoyable, and even good, popcorn flicks.

Even in 2018, Roma was widely successful. Its status as a Foreign Language Film likely held it back more than the fact that it was a Netflix film. But more importantly, it primed the company to continue to make investments in big-time filmmakers that will allow them to hone their craft and make something wholly their own.

Netflix isn’t going anywhere. Disney+ isn’t the threat that it’s made out to be. Netflix still has its newfound prestige power.

Soon enough, a movie will come along that is just too good for the Academy to pass up and a Netflix film will be owning awards season.