Netflix doc ‘Octopus Teacher’ drives streamer to Oscars success

My Octopus Teacher

Disney and Netflix have emerged as the big winners at the Oscars, with the two companies sharing 12 statuettes between them.

Netflix, which last week revealed a shock decline in subscriber growth, took home seven prizes in total having been nominated for a record 36 awards.

The streamer – whose Oscars haul before yesterday’s event only stood at eight – won the Best Documentary Feature for My Octopus Teacher and Best Live Action Short for Two Distant Strangers.

The Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos-led firm also snagged the Best Animated Short for If Anything Happens I Love You, along with Best Hairstyling & Make-up for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Nomadland

The movie also won Best Costume Design and the streamer also took the Best Production Design and Best Cinematography for Mank.

Nomadland drives Disney success

The Mouse House, meanwhile, snagged five awards including the coveted Best Picture prize, which went to Nomadland.

The feature, which was produced by Searchlight, also made history for Chloé Zhao who won Best Director, becoming the first woman of colour and woman of Asian descent to win the illustrious prize.

Nomadland’s Frances McDormand took home the lead actress Oscar for the show, which is available in the US via Disney’s SVOD Hulu.

Disney-owned Pixar snagged the animated feature for Soul, which also took the Best Original Score prize.

Elsewhere, Anthony Hopkins caused an upset by taking Best Actor for his role in The Father – the feature also won Best Adapted Screenplay – while Warner Bros. saw success with Judas And The Black Messiah, after Daniel Kaluuya took the Best Supporting Actor award and Tenet snagged the visual effects Oscar.

Amazon’s 12 nominations translated into two wins, with Sound Of Metal taking the prizes for best sound and editing.