Netflix Nabs Record Oscar Haul But Misses Out On Big Wins

It was a big night for Netflix at the 93rd Oscars on Sunday, but in a way, it was also a disappointing one. Having led the way into this year’s ceremony with 35 nominations, including two nods for “Best Picture” and several in other “Big Five” categories, the streaming giant nabbed more awards than any other studio on Sunday, but missed out on the night’s biggest prizes.

Searchlight Pictures’ Nomadland emerged as the big winner from this year’s ceremony, winning Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. Winning her second Best Actress Oscar in four years and her third overall, Frances McDormand joined an elite circle by becoming only the third actor/actress beside Katherine Hepburn (4) and Daniel Day-Lewis (3) to win three Best Actor/Actress awards.

As the following chart shows, Netflix won seven awards overall, including Best Documentary for the surprise fan favorite My Octopus Teacher. Searchlight’s parent company Disney took home five awards in total, with Warner Bros., Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Classics the only other studios nabbing multiple prizes.

This year was a special year at the Oscars as films were not required to have had a theatrical run to be eligible for an award. This was not a concession to new distribution models, however, as much as it was a one-time exception caused by the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of the theatrical release model.