Netflix original films see a huge boost in viewership numbers after being nominated for the 2021 Academy Awards. The streamer has been slowly edging its way into the Oscar race ever since they began producing original films. 2019 saw Netflix break into the awards race in a big way with the Alfonso Cuarón-directed Roma making waves during awards season. Cuarón went on to win Best Director at that year's ceremony, marking the first time a major streamer scored an award of that caliber.
For the first time in 2020, Netflix became the studio with the most Oscar nominations. Martin Scorcese's mobster epic The Irishman earned 10 nominations but failed to walk away with any gold. Marriage Story garnered six nominations, with Laura Dern walking away with the Best Supporting Actress trophy. For the second year in a row now, Netflix is the most-nominated studio at the ceremony and, because of this, Netflix's originals are getting a huge boost.
Variety reports that Netflix originals saw an uptick in engagement after the nominations were announced. The metrics did not include households that had watched the films prior to the data collection. It only measured the project's engagement one week prior to the nominations and then one week after. Mank, David Fincher's return to the silver screen, saw a 702% increase in engagement. Other originals, like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Pieces of a Woman, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 saw increases in the 96% to 150% range.
Netflix scored 37 nominations at this year's ceremony. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom scored five, with Chadwick Boseman nominated posthumously for his role in the film. Boseman is the expected favorite for Best Supporting Actor. Mank scored 10 nominations, but it's currently looking like the film could repeat The Irishman's run and walk away with no trophies. A dark horse in the race, The Trial of the Chicago 7, earned six nominations.
Chloe Zhao is currently expected to walk away with Best Director and Best Picture for Nomadland, but Netflix could still earn several awards. The aforementioned Boseman seems to be locked in, as does Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7's screenplay. Once thought nearly impossible, Netflix is primed to hit it big again this year when the ceremony airs on April 25th without a host for the third straight year. The streamer has broken into the awards conversation in a big way and it looks like viewers are paying attention.
Source: Variety