CODA won best picture tonight at the 94th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, becoming the first movie by a streaming service to take home a major Oscar award. CODA won three awards including Best Picture, becoming the first film distributed by a streaming service (Apple TV+) and featuring mostly Deaf actors in the lead roles to take home the former prize. With its title, CODA became the first film since 1932s The Grand Hotel to take home the top prize while receiving less than four overall Academy Award nominations. In winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards, the Apple TV+ movie became the first streaming movie to win best picture in the 94-year history of the Academy Awards.
In addition to winning Oscars Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor awards, The Apple TV+ movie won a trophy for its adaptation of the Sian Heder script. Sian Heders Three Crowns took home the Oscars Sunday, winning every category where CODA was nominated, including best screenplay for Heder.
Troy Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor – the first Deaf person to win an Oscar for acting – and the film won best adapted screenplay as well. Coda is the first movie starring an ensemble of mostly deaf actors to win the Troy Kotsur for Coda won the Best Supporting Actor award as well, becoming the first deaf man and just the second actor to win the Oscar, joining Marlee Matlin, who is still talking about the other moment. Its Troy Kotsur became the first deaf person to win a supporting acting award – his Coada co-star Marlee Matlin won best actress in 1987 – while Ariana DeBose won the supporting actress Oscar for Disneys West Side Story, playing the role of Anita, which was won by Rita Moreno in 1962.
She became only the second Latina actress to win an Academy Award, after Rita Moreno won in 1962 for playing Anita. Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) won for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first openly queer black woman to win an acting Oscar.
Jane Campion went home with the best director Oscar for The Power of the Dog, becoming just the third woman to ever win this award, following Kathryn Bigelow and Chloe Zhao. The critically acclaimed darling, however, led the way in the nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, racking up an incredible 12, but, following her win at the British Academy Awards for best film, ultimately won just one Oscar — that of Jane Campion for best director. The Apple TV+ movie won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, beating out The Awkward Dogs, along with West Side Story, Nightmare Alley, Belfast, King Richard, Dune, Drive My Car, Do not Look Up, and Licorice Pizza.
For the third time in the history of the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, Netflix led in nominations, with 27 total in all categories in which their films were nominated, two films (Do not Look Up and The Power of Dog) were nominated for Best Picture, while three films (Audible, Bring Me Home, and Three Songs for Benazir) were nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject. LOS ANGELES — Oscar named deaf family drama CoDA, the best picture on Sunday, handing Hollywoods top prize to a streaming service for the first time in a ceremony that saw the biggest dramas when Will Smith strode onstage and slapped Chris Rock. While Jane Campions The Power of the Dog, with a 12-nomination lead, appeared to be the front-runner for the Oscars top prize, Sian Heders CoDA rode a wave of goodwill prompted by CoDAs cast, including Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur of CoDA, Emilia Jones and Daniel Durant.
LOS ANGELES — Oscar named the deaf family drama CODA, best picture Sunday, handing Hollywoods top award to a streaming service for the first time in a ceremony that saw the greatest drama when Will Smith strode onstage and slapped Chris Rock While Jane Campions The Power of the Dog, with a leading 12 nominations, seemed like the frontrunner for the Oscars top prize, Sian Heders CODA rode a wave of goodwill driven by CODA cast including Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur of Coda, Emilia Jones and Daniel Durant. The film won Best Picture, and Will Smith and Jessica Chastain win Best Actors, and Jessica Chastain win Best Actors, Dune take home Best Actors, and Dune nabbed six Oscars, both of which were all for technical achievements. CODA was named Best Picture at Oscars 2022. Although CODA received just a handful of Oscar nominations in 2022 (and none of them were for things like best editing or director, which usually boosts the odds of winning best picture), the film began to gain steam following wins at British BAFTAs, SAG Awards, and the PGA awards. Most importantly, the victory was the first Best Picture victory for a streaming service, completing the emotional, decades-long process by which the Academy has come to embrace streaming films as deserving as theatrical films.
While I did not confirm with Oscar historians, this was certainly the first Best Picture victory that was met by an audience rising up in a standing ovation to silent applause. CODA is the first movie since 1981s Ordinary People to win without a single nomination under its belt, and it is also the first film in history to win without a nomination for best director or best editing, statistics that were once considered essential for winning the highest award. It is not a slight on CODA to point out that even those who have been most critical about a films chances at an Oscar will, if prodded, frequently acknowledge they actually do not think CODA is the best movie of the year; they simply enjoy it. Pairing relative newcomer Emilia Jones with a raft of Deaf actors veterans, including Troy Kotsur (honored with the best supporting actor award at the 2022 Oscars) and Marlee Matlin (sheself an Academy Award-winning actress in 1987s Child of a Lesser God), CODA falls in that feel-good dramedy category, which has in recent years become pejorative of original Lifetime originals and such.