As The Power of the Dog vied for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars, another Netflix movie was crowned Worst Picture.
You’ll likely read several headlines today proclaiming that streaming services were the real winners at this year’s Oscars ceremony – and that statement is, for the most part, true. The race for Best Picture was closely-fought between Apple’s CODA and Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, with the latter’s Don’t Look Up also ranking among the ten nominees for Hollywood’s most prestigious accolade. The acting categories, too, featured awards-worthy turns in streamer-produced movies The Lost Daughter, tick, tick… BOOM! and The Tragedy of Macbeth. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, this year’s on-demand Oscar winners (CODA, in particular) meant the 94th Academy Awards were a watershed moment for filmmaking, but it’s important to remember that streaming services are still finding their feet when it comes to producing consistently brilliant features. Lest we forget Diana the Musical, now officially the worst film of 2021. The day before the Oscars, the Golden Raspberry Awards (otherwise known as the Razzies) bestowed upon Netflix’s filmed version of the Broadway show the title of Worst Picture.
