Apple TV+ Movies Received Zero Oscar Nominations This Year
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Apple TV+ has produced several well-received movies in the last few years, even scoring a Best Picture award for CODA at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, making it the first film from a streaming service ever to win the coveted Top Oscar. However, the recent slate of nominations for the 97th Academy Awards left Apple completely shut out, with a grand total of zero Oscar nominations.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for the 97th Oscars on Thursday, and Apple’s original films didn’t receive a single nomination in any category.
Some of this year’s batch of Apple TV+ films could have scored a nomination or two had they received a longer run in theaters. There were several well-received films on the streaming service, including Blitz, from director Steve McQueen, critically praised documentary, The Last of the Sea Women, top-reviewed Fancy Dance, Fly Me to the Moon, and Wolfs, which starred George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
Most of these met the standards for Oscar eligibility and were on the list of qualified entrants. Academy rules only require a film to open in a commercial motion picture theater in one of six specific US metropolitan areas and run for seven consecutive days in that venue. However, several prominent names in Hollywood, such as Steven Spielberg, have spoken out against such “token” theatrical releases that amount to doing the bare minimum to qualify.
Apple TV+’s 2022 Best Picture win with CODA was a big deal, as not even well-established streaming services, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and others, had ever won a Best Picture Oscar.
However, Apple has changed its release strategy since then, spoiling its chances at an Oscar.
Apple may have considered its original plan to court Academy Awards by widely releasing its films to theaters before streaming them on its Apple TV+ streaming service too ambitious, changing direction last year to cut back on the big screen.
Apple had reportedly planned to spend $1 billion annually on big-budget movies that would play in theaters before streaming on Apple TV+. The company hoped to score at the box office with blockbuster films that would hopefully perform well financially while receiving good reviews from critics and create more buzz within Hollywood.
The company had financed several high-profile films, including Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle. Unfortunately, all three films underperformed at the box office.
Following those disappointing releases and a last-minute decision to skip a full theatrical release for Wolfs, Apple has changed its strategy, deciding to release only a few theatrical films and focusing more on streaming content.
Wolfs ran in a limited number of theaters for a short time before being offered on the streaming service. While the film received mostly positive reviews, the Cupertino company reportedly decided against a wide theatrical release due to the three less-than-profitable movies mentioned above. That theatrical run still met the eligibility requirements for the 97th Academy Awards, but it’s not hard to see how Academy members may have panned it for doing the bare minimum.
Reports indicate that while Apple is still committed to spending on content for its service, it is working to control costs. New plans include reducing the number of big theatrical releases while keeping a close eye on the budgets for its films, to keep the budgets for most films to $100 million or less for each film.
Apple has not entirely given up on blockbuster releases to theaters. Its next big movie will be the Brad Pitt-star vehicle F1, a film scheduled for a June 2025 release that it hopes will be a summer blockbuster. The film is believed to be the most expensive film Apple has released so far, with a production budget of over $300 million.
