02.10.20 - Netflix entered the 2020 Oscars with 24 nominations under its belt. This year was supposed to be the year in which Netflix cemented its position as a go-to place for high quality, original films and content. Netflix spent millions and millions of dollars to make prestige films for this awards season, plus many millions more on eye-popping marketing campaigns. At the end of the night, Netflix walked away with just two wins at the awards ceremony.
Laura Dern won the best supporting-actress award for her role in Marriage Story, the companies first acting nod, and American Factory took home the Oscar for best feature documentary. This is a far cry from the night Netflix was hoping for.
Breaking into the Oscars has been tougher than Netflix realized it would be. The company sees the Oscars as a means of keeping subscribers as the streaming service faces steeper competition from new rival services such as Disney+, but an Oscar is also viewed as a springboard to attract the top talent. But the road to the most elusive and prestigious Oscars has been tricky for Netflix.
In the previous year, Netflix landed multiple Oscars – most notably Alfonso Cuaron’s critically acclaimed film Roma took home the Oscar for best directing, cinematography, and best foreign-language film. But Roma ended up falling short of winning the ultimate prize for best picture. At the end of the 2020 Academy Awards, it lost out for best picture, director, two nominations for supporting actor, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, visual effects, costume design and production design.
