Netflix Lost a Lot of Oscars

The narrative of Hollywood for quite some time has focused on just how disruptive streaming services could be to the status quo. Could Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and their ilk give life to indie movies? Could they produce crowd-pleasing hits? Could they win prestigious awards? So far, the answer to all of those has been “yes.” But at last night’s Academy Awards, after a couple years of fairly steady upward trajectory, Netflix, which ponied up $50 million for Parasite director Bong Joon Ho’s last (criminally overlooked) movie Okja, hit a snag. After being nominated for a monumental 24 awards, up from 15 noms last year, the streaming service was only attached to two winners last night: Laura Dern’s Best Supporting Actress victory for Marriage Story and the Best Documentary Feature American Factory. (Last year, the streaming giant won three little gold men for Roma alone.)

Hey, sometimes it’s just not your year. But to see Netflix’s The Irishman directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci get shut out was quite the surprise. Despite all the Hollywood hoopla around the Oscars, this past weekend was a pretty slow one for moviegoers. The weekend only had one new wide release, and it came out on top. Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn, the DC flick starring Margot Robbie as her Suicide Squad antihero Harley Quinn, pulled in $33.3 million at the box office. That figure is about $20 million below expectations, but it's possible the solid reviews and some word-of-mouth could help it gain some traction. Meanwhile, amidst all the surprises of the Oscar wins, here’s some less shocking news: Cats leads this year’s Razzie nominations. The feline film is up for five awards, including Worst Picture. Also nominated: Sylvester Stallone (Rambo: Last Blood), John Travolta (The Fanatic and Trading Paint), and Tyler Perry (A Madea Family Funeral).