‘The Irishman’ Got Completely Shut Out At The 2020 Oscars, Leading Netflix To Ponder What Went Wrong

Speaking at the annual Academy Awards nominees luncheon last month, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos scoffed at the notion that there was a brewing pushback against his streaming service’s attempt to dominate the Oscars. “Nobody can say that with a straight face,” he told the New York Times. “We got 24 nominations, the most of any studio. Our films have been honored across the board.”

But despite the honor of being nominated, Netflix ended the 2020 Oscars with just two winners: Best Documentary for American Factory and Best Supporting Actress for Marriage Story star Laura Dern. It’s biggest (and most expensive) contender, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, was the only best picture nominee to leave the Oscars empty-handed. (Scorsese is the second filmmaker to have a film go zero-for-10 at the Academy Awards, an ignominious feat he turned previously with Gangs of New York.) With reports conservatively pegging the Netflix awards spend at close to $70 million and films from Scorsese and Noah Baumbach in the conversation all awards season long, there’s a sobering question staring Sarandos in the face when he looks in the mirror this morning: What the hell happened?

Here’s what one anonymous Oscar voter told Indiewire before the ceremony: “I’m supportive of Netflix movies as real movies, it’s a great slate. If I were king, I’d say that anyone who wants to be eligible for the Oscars has to report the grosses. Then you have a level playing field. It seems only fair. If you open The Irishman on 200 theaters for three to four weeks, I’d like to know, just say what the movie did. By the time the season is over, these Netflix movies in the last lap lose that last kick. It comes late. It doesn’t come early when they promote it. There’s no third or fourth gear on those Netflix movies.”

Recent history suggests the notion of a “last kick” being a major factor for Oscar wins is true — at least in the Best Picture race. Four years ago, Moonlight topped La La Land on the strength of a passionate fan base anecdotally moved by the world-at-large (Barry Jenkins’ film won right after Donald Trump was inaugurated). Last year, the discourse around Green Book peaked at the right time and left some observers feeling its victory was a push by the “old” Academy to reestablish its dominance following some more progressive wins. This year, front-runners Parasite and 1917 both hit strides right as Academy members were voting, with the former cresting in the public consciousness right as the latter was exploding at the box office. In the end, the timely Parasite won — sending a message of inclusion out into the world from an Academy that has frequently been criticized for being anything but.

That’s perhaps another reason Netflix’s best chances at winning Best Picture fell short in 2020: the campaigns for The Irishman and Marriage Story didn’t have a broader message on which to lean. What even the most casual observer should be able to recognize by looking at the last decade of best picture winners is that many spoke to a larger moment in time: Parasite, Green Book, Moonlight, Spotlight, and 12 Years a Slave were movies with the added heft of being culturally relevant. The Oscar campaign for 12 Years a Slave famously claimed, “It’s time.” (For Parasite, distributor Neon went with a similar, “If not now, when?” slogan.) 

For The Irishman and Marriage Story it wasn’t time — in more ways than one. Netflix couldn’t even rely on a “they’re due” campaign: Scorsese already has a Best Director and Best Picture winner on his resume; Baumbach, for all his accolades, is still relatively new to the Oscars circuit (the nod for writing Marriage Story was only his second). That left the studio, presumably, hoping the projects would carry the day, and with The Irishman being unjustly mocked for its length —Chris Rock told Martin Scorsese that he “loved the first season of The Irishman” near the top of the show— and Marriage Story becoming more meme fodder than anything else, it was good night the lights on awards season as louder theatrical releases took up the oxygen.

Adding insult to injury, two of Netflix’s prime nominees —Best Supporting Actor candidates Joe Pesci (The Irishman) and Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)— decided they had better places to be than the Dolby Theater and boycotted the show.

So, is the book closed on Netflix and its all out pursuit of Oscars gold? Hardly. Sarandos’ contention that there is no pushback against his company, despite the high cost of its awards campaign, feels accurate. “Obviously, there is one company that is spending more than the others, but that’s not going to affect how I will vote — nor do I think it will affect other members,” producer Hawk Koch told the New York Times last month. Then there’s the 2020 slate of Netflix films, which include Mank, David Fincher’s first movie since Gone Girl; Hillbilly Elegy, from director Ron Howard and starring two actresses still looking for a first Oscar, Amy Adams and Glenn Close; and Da 5 Bloods from director Spike Lee. It’s easy to imagine a variety of timely campaigns built around each. But if that doesn’t work Netflix will release Bradley Cooper’s follow-up to A Star Is Born in 2021. Who can even imagine what else the platform has in store after that? All roads eventually lead to Netflix, after all. It may have lost a battle on Sunday night, but expect it to eventually swallow the whole war.

Christopher Rosen is a writer and editor who lives in Maplewood, New Jersey and still thinks Lady Bird should have won best picture. Follow him on Twitter: @chrisjrosen

Stream Marriage Story on Netflix

Stream American Factory on Netflix