After winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary, one each in 2017 and 2018, Netflix really broke the Oscar deadlock in 2019 with Roma awarded in three major categories (Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Foreign language Film). 2020 could really be Netflix’s breakout year at the Oscars though, as the streaming giant received 24 nods, including two in the Best Picture category, beating every major studio for most nominations.
Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman received 10 nods, just short of the Joker, which received 11 nominations thus leading this year’s Oscar race. Noah Baumbach’s highly praised Marriage Story won Netflix another six nominations, including one in the Best Picture category, and one each for Best Actress/Actor in a Leading Role.
As the following chart shows, Netflix’s growing content ambitions haven’t gone unnoticed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Since 2014, when the company won its first nomination for a documentary about Tahrir Square and its role in the Egyptian revolution, Netflix’s footprint at the Oscars has steadily grown, with 2020 marking a new record (for now).
