Clayton Davis Netflix has the right to flex after this weekend’s trio of big wins from the Directors Guild of America (DGA), BAFTA and Critics Choice Awards, where it won the top prizes with Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.” With its mighty 12 nomination haul, and the criticism from Oscar-nominee Sam Elliott over the movie’s homosexual themes, arguably helping it along, the film could be headed for B-E-S-T-P-I-C-T-U-R-E (so to speak).
However, with two 50/50 screenplay categories up for grabs — “Belfast” and “Licorice Pizza” battling for original, and “CODA” and “The Power of the Dog” angling for adapted — the answer to which film wins the Academy’s top prize is within those races.Walking into a ceremony with the most nominations is not always a given for Oscar success, shown by our last three tally leaders: “Mank” (2020), “Joker” (2019), “The Favourite” and “Roma” (2018).
Campion’s methodical drama has brought Netflix the closest it’s ever been to winning the top prize from the Academy, something that’s been an obvious focus for the streamer.
With final Oscar voting set to begin on Thursday and closing on March 22, massive momentum is in Netflix’s favor leading into the window.
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