The 2022 edition of the Academy Awards is almost here, and in a few days, voters will know all the nominees for the prestigious categories.
This year’s installment of the Oscars comes with a few changes to help return the award ceremony to its conventional methods. For one, the showrunners have announced that the 94th Academy Awards event will have an Oscar host since the controversial media firestorm that plagued the event in 2019.
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The ceremony will also return to the Dolby Theatre, its preferred location before the pandemic forced the showrunners to cut down the attendees in the previous edition. Away from the significant shift in the show, fans might get to see the acclaimed Netflix streaming service win a first Best Picture award on the night of the ceremony.
Netflix First Best Picture Win Is Long Overdue
Since its inception in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, Netflix has steadily built its rep to become one of the best streaming services in the world today. The fierce competition with rivals Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max has also helped keep the entertainment platform on its feet.
Netflix has a seemingly endless collection of films and TV series alongside documentaries and comedy shows. In addition, Netflix’s original offerings have given them the edge over their competitors and increased its subscribers.
Despite its growing success, getting a Best Picture Oscar win has eluded Netflix. The streaming service missed the award for three years consecutively, even after releasing outstanding films that could compete for the top spot.
The closest Netflix came was in 2019, earning its first Best Picture nomination with “Roma.” Subsequent releases also won nominations but fell short of the ultimate prize.
“Roma” Won Other Awards In 2019 Oscars.
“Roma” chronicled a year in the life of a middle-class family maid living in Mexico City. Alongside a backdrop in the 1970s, the film’s scenic scenes and beautiful videography quickly placed it in the running for multiple Oscar awards.
It garnered ten nominations at the 91st Academy Awards, among them Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and the Best Picture, ultimately winning three Academy Awards out of the array of nominations.
After “Roma’s” close call, other films like “The Irishman” and “Marriage Story” both made the nominated list for 2020. In 2021 “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” also battled to win Netflix’s first Best Picture award.
“The Power Of The Dog” Is Netflix’s Best Chance
Towards the end of 2021, Netflix released “The Power Of The Dog.” Since its premiere, the film has steadily gathered support to earn multiple award nominations at the 2022 Oscars.
The movie’s cast – Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and its director Jane Campion are all in the running to join the nomination list.
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With “The Power Of The Dog” competing in the Oscars on multiple fronts, one might be curious which one of the bunch serves as its best chance. According to Gold Derby, the film is ahead of its contenders Belfast, West Side Story, King Richard, and Dune, giving it is best possible odds to fetch the prize.
A Netflix Win Will Impact The Film Industry
The nominations for the Oscars 2022 ceremony will be dropped on February 8, 2022. Currently, “The Power of the Dog” is the leading contender and appears to be the bookies best bet for the Best Picture win.
Previous track records proved that predicted winners mostly end up as the actual winners. Therefore, at this moment, it makes more sense to envision how a win from “The Power of the Dog” will impact the film industry.
The Academy Awards has in the past appeared to favor non-streaming movies. However, this could change with the Campion film sweeping home the award. Certainly, it would imply that Hollywood has woken up to realize that streaming services are a part of the future and is here to stay.
