The Oscar nominations are in, and it’s clear that for studios, it’s one battle after another this award season. However, amid ongoing M&A, winning those battles is even more important.
The 98th Academy Awards are slated for March 15, with Conan O’Brien set to return as host. Last year’s awards saw a ratings boost to around 19.7 million viewers despite streaming glitches during the Oscars’ first year on Hulu and Anora, a relatively small film, emerging as the awards darling.
Now, with the nominations in thanks to a livestream hosted by Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) and Lewis Pullman (The Testament of Ann Lee), here are some quick takeaways that may clue viewers in on what to expect this time around.
Sinners sets record
Though it’s just the nominations, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is already the big winner, nabbing 16 nods—including Best Director and Best Picture—to set the all-time record. The previous record of 14 nominations was held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). The record for wins is 11, held by Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Meanwhile, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another racked up 13 nominations, joining Sinners in the Best Picture category, alongside Frankenstein, Bugonia, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, Train Dreams, F1, and The Secret Agent.
With Sinners, One Battle After Another, and F1—which had Warner Bros. Pictures behind distribution—being major players in this year’s Oscars, it may be Warner Bros. Discovery’s race to lose, which could mean higher stakes amid the uncertainty surrounding the studio’s future.
WBD is making a case for movies
With Netflix moving to close its $83 billion acquisition of WBD—and Paramount continuing to contest the deal—WBD made its case for theaters with its Oscars nods. The studio led all competitors with 30 nominations, largely thanks to the awards dominance of Sinners and One Battle After Another. Neon reportedly came in second place with 18 nominations, and Netflix was third with 16.
Netflix’s acquisition of WBD, announced in December, sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, largely due to the streamer’s long-standing aversion to the theatrical business, causing Cinema United, a trade association representing theater owners, to state it was “deeply concerned” about the transaction, consolidation, and its impact on jobs.
Interestingly, Netflix has recently changed its tune on theaters as its deal with WBD continues.
Directly following the deal announcement last year, co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted he’d like to see theatrical windows “evolve,” which caused a stir in the theater community as shorter windows and fewer releases would hurt the industry. However, as time has gone on—and WBD has, coincidentally, racked up awards and nominations—the Netflix co-CEO has taken a more conservative stance, stating that WBD movies would be given a standard 45-day window at the box office.
