Netflix must be popping champagne.
The streaming leviathan rose above the nominations for the 93rd Oscar on Monday. Netflix won 35 nominations, breaking its own previous record of 24, set in 2020, when “The Irishman” and “Marriage Story” were among its main competitors.
This year, Netflix got 10 nominations for David Fincher’s “Mank,” a black and white ode to Hollywood that was also the most nominated feature film of the year. “Mank” was nominated for best film, along with acting nods to Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried and a directing nomination for Fincher.
The other candidate for the best Netflix movie, Aaron Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, received six nominations. He was also recognized for Sacha Baron Cohen’s supporting role as activist Abbie Hoffman and for Sorkin’s script.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” did not get a nomination for best film, but the adaptation of August Wilson’s classic play yielded five nods. Viola Davis was nominated for best actress for playing the blues singer who lent her name to the film, while Chadwick Boseman was nominated for a posthumous acting award. Boseman died in August, at the age of 43.
Other Netflix Oscar candidates include “The White Tiger”, the animated feature “Over the Moon”, and “Crip Camp”, a documentary by Higher Ground, the production company founded by former President Barack Obama and former Prime Dame Michelle Obama. Higher Ground signed a multi-year contract with Netflix in 2018 to produce movies and television shows with or without a script.
Netflix has done well at the Oscars since it received its first nomination in 2014 for the documentary “The Square”. But although he won awards for names like “Roma” and “Wedding Story”, he has so far failed to win the Oscar for best picture.
Netflix was not the only streaming service with something to celebrate on Monday. Amazon Studios also received its biggest Oscar nomination of all time, with 12 nods. The streaming service took “The Sound of Metal” to six nominations, including a nod to best picture and one to its star Riz Ahmed. He also won nominations for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “One Night at Miami”.
At the same time, it was a great day for Disney’s streaming efforts. Hulu was nominated to be the star of Andra Day in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday ”, while Disney Plus received its first Oscar nominations since its launch in 2019. The service received nods for best animated feature film for“ Avante ”and“ Alma ”, the last of which also received nominations for best soundtrack and sound. “Mulan”, another Disney Plus release, received nominations for costumes and visual effects, as well as the company’s “The One and Only Ivan”. “Nomadland”, which was produced by Disney-owned Searchlight, is currently being broadcast on Hulu.
Apple, which entered the cinema game just over a year ago, received its first nominations, receiving a nomination for best animated film for “Wolfwalkers” and best sound nod for “Greyhound”
Many of the films that these streaming services have generated for Oscar success have originated in traditional studios. Paramount intended to release “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, Universal was originally supposed to debut “Borat 2,” and “Greyhound” was a Sony release. COVID-19 changed those plans, prompting studios and filmmakers to look for alternative distribution strategies and to sell movies to Netflix and their peers.
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