CODA wins 2022 Best Picture Oscar, Apple topping Netflix in streaming history

The 2022 Oscars were a milestone for the streaming era — but not for the reasons anyone was expecting. After Netflix’s Dog Power paraded through awards season with frontrunner status, this year’s coveted Best Picture award went to CODAThe Apple TV Plus Family Drama. This marks the first streaming-exclusive film to win the Academy Awards’ top prize.

Based on the French film of 2014. La Famille Bélier, CODAThe 2022 Oscars Little Film That Could was selected. Pairing relative newcomer Emilia Jones with a number of Deaf actor veterans, including Troy Kotsur (honored at the 2022 Oscars with a Best Supporting Actor win) and Marlee Matlin (herself a previous Oscar winner for 1987’s Children of a Lower God(), it fell under the feel-good comedy category, which has since become an insult to Lifetime originals and others. But CODA clicked with audiences from the very beginning; writer-director Sian Heder began her awards-run at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where the film became the first premiere ever to win Sundance’s grand jury prize, directing prize, audience award, and a special jury prize for Best Ensemble.

CODAWhile the film didn’t make much of an impression with the critics or other award-season mile markers throughout the season it did get noticed by the right kinds of people once it was on Apple TV Plus. Despite only receiving a handful of Oscar nominations (not even those for Best Editing and Director, which typically boost a Best Picture win), momentum began to build after the film’s wins at the British BAFTAs SAG Awards, PGA Awards, and the British BAFTAs. However Dog PowerIt was highly anticipated, and the hard-to-chew drama brought the genuine emotions CODAYou have the potential to conquer the masses.

Netflix spent huge amounts of money the past few years trying to gain Oscar credibility. And to some degree, it’s worked: the streaming service’s movies have been nominated for Best Picture each year since 2019, and have won in categories like Best Supporting Actress, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary, and many of the shorts categories. But 2022 was looking like the year for a true sea change, in which Netflix — which pumps out hundreds of movies each year for a slate that rivals the Complete American studio industry — could finally become the home of a genuine Best Picture winner.

But that didn’t happen. Apple TV Plus’ streaming capabilities are still in their infancy, but the company swooped in to Sundance in order to get its services. CODAAs many Oscar forecasters have pointed out in recent weeks, they strategically spread it to maximise visibility. CODAThe film premiered in cinemas back in August 2021. But then, the conversation about it was relatively dead. Apple’s platform brought it back into play at just the right time, and now the tech giant owns this milestone in Oscar history. Apple TV Plus is the first streaming service to snag a Best Picture winner — but it certainly won’t be the last.