Apple beats Netflix to historic Oscars streaming best picture win

The Oscars made history with a streaming service taking home the top gong. Only it wasn’t Netflix who emerged victorious.

Apple has beaten Netflix in a historic Oscars moment.

CODA, distributed by streamer Apple TV+, won Best Picture at the Oscars, the first time a streaming service has taken the top prize at the ceremony.

CODA is also the first Best Picture winner to climb the podium since 1932 without nominations for either directing or editing, two categories considered to be key to victory.

Apple’s triumph is a bitter pill for Netflix.

Netflix film The Power of the Dog was nominated 12 times to CODA’s three nods, and was considered the frontrunner for much of the Oscars campaign season but it couldn’t hold off a late surge from CODA.

Netflix has been knocking on Hollywood’s door and there’s no denying that the industry has barely been leaving that door ajar.

FILM – CODA – the Best Picture Oscar 2022 has narrowed down to two-horse race between The Power of the Dog and Coda. Picture: supplied

Traditional studios and the filmmakers who work within them have been aghast at the disruption caused by streamers, and as the most aggressive, Netflix’s logo has been firmly fixed on the bullseye of their dartboards.

Hollywood gatekeepers weren’t keen to reward the upstart who was eating their lunch, even as more and more of their colleagues started to cash in those heavy Netflix cheques.

Two years of pandemic closures have accelerated the transition from cinema-only releases to stream-at-home event films, and with a diversifying voting body, streamers are finally real contenders for the top prize.

It must smart for Netflix that despite all of its efforts and money spent, they were beaten to it by Apple, who has only been in the game for two years and change.

Netflix waded into original films in 2015 with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend and it’s had aspirations of Oscars glory since.

The Power of the Dog only picked up one win from its 12 nominations.

In the years since, Netflix has seduced world-class filmmakers to the platform, including Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion, Damien Chazelle, Spike Lee and the Coen brothers.

It’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars chasing those gold statuettes, reportedly $US100 million in 2020 and $US60 million in 2019.

And it came close. Roma was Netflix’s first original film that was considered to be a real Best Picture contender. Alfonso Cuaron’s epic yet intimate semi-autobiographical film racked up 10 nominations and was universally acclaimed.

While Cuaron took home three awards on that night in 2019, including Director, Cinematography and International Feature, Roma and Netflix were denied the Best Picture, controversially pipped by the divisive Green Book.

The popular narrative at the time was even if Roma was the better film, the industry was not yet at a place to award Netflix the Best Picture award. In the following years, Mank (two wins from 10 nominations) and The Irishman (zero wins from 10 nominations) both underperformed on the night.

Roma had been denied the Best Picture Oscar in 2019 despite universal acclaim. Supplied

Netflix has been diverting movie lovers from the theatres to their lounge rooms (or heavens forfend, their phone screens) and key to the resistance is the issue of “theatrical windows” which is industry speak for the period of time in which a movie is played exclusively in cinemas. Netflix generally only allows a two-week window for its award contenders.

Netflix hasn’t shied away from its Oscar ambitions. Its studio head Scott Stuber said in a BBC interview

When The Power of the Dog nabbed 12 nominations including Best Picture in a field of 10, which also included fellow Netflix movie Don’t Look Up, it was close to a lock for the win.

It hadn’t counted on the little-known CODA to come through on a late surge and sweep all three of its nominations, including Best Picture.

Now Apple gets to take home the Best Picture statuette Netflix so dearly wanted. Oh well, there’s always next year.