This year’s 92nd Oscars was led by Netflix with 24 nominations, surpassing any studio, expecting to dominate award season’s biggest night the same way it’s dominated the entertainment industry. Instead, Netflix walked away with practically zilch.
The streamer made out with just two awards: Best Documentary for American Factory (produced by President Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company) and Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern. Its biggest films — The Irishman and The Two Popes — all went home empty-handed.
Only just a week prior, Netflix’s studio chief Ted Sarandos rebuked claims that its lack of awards at previous award shows is part of a “backlash to a tech giant that is upending entertainment-industry business practices and threatening Hollywood power hierarchies,” as The New York Times wrote.
“A pushback? Nobody can say that with a straight face,” Sarandos said. “We got 24 nominations, the most of any studio. Our films have been honored across the board.”
Netflix’s Oscar push has been aggressive. Some industry competitors have estimated that Netflix spent approximately $70 million on its Oscars campaign — much higher than what most studios spend. Netflix hasn’t shied away from its Oscar ambitions, but the company is trying to increase its film output and become a full-fledged studio in 2020.
Award show prestige is important to the company — especially when it comes to drawing in the best talent, like Martin Scorsese. Netflix has proven over the last few years that it can secure the nominations, and even win from time-to-time, but getting the big wins are still a struggle. It’s clear that while Netflix moved from the kids’ table to sit with the adults, it’s still the odd one out right now.
Netflix’s night may not have gone as planned, but Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s did. The director and his team walked away with a number of major awards, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, and Best Director. Bong used his time on stage to praise his fellow director nominees, including Martin Scorsese, who received a standing ovation during Bong’s speech. How’s he planning on celebrating his historic win?
“I’m ready to drink tonight,” he joked onstage.
It was a beautiful moment during an otherwise pretty standard show. Not even CEO Bob Iger could hide his boredom whenever the camera panned to him! Brad Pitt, Taika Waititi, Renée Zellweger, and Dern continued their season of award winnings, taking home respective prizes for Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. 1917 and Ford v Ferrari both took home multiple awards for achieving excellence in technical categories like Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing. Elton John won the prize for Best Original Song for his work on Rocketman.
Perhaps the biggest upset? Joker, which earned the most nominations for any individual movie, only secured two awards: Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir. Although, depending on who you ask, maybe it’s not a total upset after all.
The full list of Oscar winners can be read below.
Best Picture:
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Lead Actor:
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Lead Actress:
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renee Zellweger, Judy
Supporting Actor:
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Supporting Actress:
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johannson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Director:
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Animated Short:
Dcera, Daria Kashcheeva
Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry
Kitbull, Rosana Sullivan
Memorable, Bruno Collet
Sister, Siqi Song
Adapted Screenplay:
The Irishman, Steven Zaillian
Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi
Joker, Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Little Women, Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten
Original Screenplay:
Knives Out, Rian Johnson
Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach
1917, Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino
Parasite, Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han
Cinematography:
The Irishman, Rodrigo Prieto
Joker, Lawrence Sher
The Lighthouse, Jarin Blaschke
1917, Roger Deakins
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Robert Richardson
Best Documentary Feature:
American Factory, Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
The Cave, Feras Fayyad
The Edge of Democracy, Petra Costa
For Sama, Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Best Documentary Short Subject:
In the Absence
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk Run Cha-Cha
Best Live Action Short Film:
Brotherhood, Meryam Joobeur
Nefta Football Club, Yves Piat
The Neighbors’ Window, Marshall Curry
Saria, Bryan Buckley
A Sister, Delphine Girard
Best Foreign Language Film:
Corpus Christi, Jan Komasa
Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Les Miserables, Ladj Ly
Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodovar
Parasite, Bong Joon Ho
Film Editing:
Ford v Ferrari, Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
The Irishman, Thelma Schoonmaker
Jojo Rabbit, Tom Eagles
Joker, Jeff Groth
Parasite, Jinmo Yang
Sound Editing:
Ford v Ferrari, Don Sylvester
Joker, Alan Robert Murray
1917, Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Wylie Stateman
Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker, Matthew Wood, David Acord
Sound Mixing:
Ad Astra
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Production Design:
The Irishman, Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
Jojo Rabbit, Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
1917, Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
Parasite, Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee
Original Score:
Joker, Hildur Guðnadóttir
Little Women, Alexandre Desplat
Marriage Story, Randy Newman
1917, Thomas Newman
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, John Williams
Original Song:
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2
“Stand Up,” Harriet
Makeup and Hair:
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917
Costume Design:
The Irishman, Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
Jojo Rabbit, Mayes C. Rubeo
Joker, Mark Bridges
Little Women, Jacqueline Durran
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Arianne Phillips
Visual Effects:
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
1917
The Lion King
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
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