The Oscars: Diversity, women, streaming dominate a season some think we'll 'never see again'

Alexandra Canal
·Senior Reporter
4 min read
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Oscar nominations were announced on Monday morning — and it was a strong year for women and diverse casts.

Overall, 9 actors of color were nominated — the most diverse acting slate in the Academy's history — with 70 women receiving 76 nominations.

For the first time ever, two women were nominated in the best director category: "Nomadland's" Chloe Zhao and "Promising Young Woman's" Emerald Fennell. Zhao, who won Best Director at this year's Golden Globes, is also the first woman of color to receive a nod in the category.

Best Director
Best Director

Other nomination standouts include "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom's" Viola Davis, whose Best Actress nod makes her the most nominated Black actress ever, along with "Minari's" Steven Yeun and "Sound of Metal's" Riz Ahmed for Best Actor. Yeun is the first Asian American to be nominated in the category, while Ahmed is the first Muslim Best Actor nominee.

"Diversity is key here," Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Yahoo Finance. He categorized this as an "anomaly of a year in terms of the way the nominees were presented," with the coronavirus shuttering the majority of U.S. theaters in 2020.

"This is a year like no other. I never think we will see an Oscars season like this again," he added.

'The year of hybrid releasing'

Streaming giants feasted on last year's dearth of tentpoles, with Netflix (NFLX) securing 35 nominations. The platform's original film "Mank" leads this year's pack with 10 total nods.

"This was the year of 'hybrid releasing.' The nominee list might have looked quite different had the box office experienced a more 'normal' Oscar season," Dergarabedian said, who warned that some COVID-19 industry trends could have lasting effects — such as the Academy's one-time rule change that allowed streaming-exclusive films into the fold.

"The traditional norms have been upended," he said.

"If that rule still holds, we will not see this many streaming service movies even considered. We'll have to wait and see what happens at the Oscars a year from now when we get back to a more normal marketplace."

People watch a movie in a cinema theatre, on March 14, 2021 in Nantes, as part of a nationwide action to reopen movie theatres closed since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.
People watch a movie in a cinema theatre, on March 14, 2021 in Nantes, as part of a nationwide action to reopen movie theatres closed since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic. (LOIC VENANCE via Getty Images)

Still, as theaters begin to reopen in key markets like New York City and Los Angeles, it could provide a unique opportunity for films to capitalize on a "box office bump" post-Oscar nomination — and for exhibitions to finally feature new content.

"I would think theaters would want some of these films [and] to use that Oscar nomination peg to draw in audiences," Dergarabedian told Yahoo Finance. "It would be interesting to see how consumers respond, but there's no question that the commercial prospect for any movie is heightened when the Oscars are involved."

Other possibilities could include streamers like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video (AMZN), which traditionally do not release viewership data, to be more transparent when it comes to Oscar-nominated content, in addition to heavily marketing their films.

"An Oscars' 'box office bump,' by virtue, is strong validation of a film's status, but in this very strange year, it's going to be a bobbing and weaving, so these studios will have to figure out how to make the most out of a nomination," he said.

'Reintroducing the movie experience'

As COVID-19 restrictions relax and more people receive the vaccine, expectations of a summer blockbuster season are higher than ever. On Monday, AMC (AMC) announced it was poised to reopen all of its shuttered California locations, which sent its stock on a tear.

"It looks like one of the strongest slates we've ever seen," IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond previously told Yahoo Finance — referencing this year's wide range of expected content from "Black Widow" and "Dune" to "No Time to Die" and "Top Gun: Maverick."

But Dergarabedian cautioned that it's just as important to remind consumers what they've been missing.

"There's been a lot of consumer confusion and theaters and studios are going to have to be very proactive when it comes to making consumers aware of what movies are coming, what theaters are open and what they can expect when they go," he explained.

"There needs to be a huge marketing push to reintroduce the movie theater experience," he concluded.

Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193

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