Plum Research has presented an analysis of Oscar nominees' streaming performance, asserting “Barbie” emerges as a clear winner; accumulating a far larger audience than any other nominated movie, right after the arrival to the platforms, far surpassing Netflix’s nominee, “Maestro” by 45%. In the first 7 days since release "Barbie" (Max) was viewed by 4.1 million unique viewers, compared to Maestro’s (Netflix) 2.8 million.
Of the 10 nominees in the Best Picture category, only five are currently available on the most popular streaming services: “Barbie”, “Maestro”, “Oppenheimer”, “The Holdovers” and “Killers of the Flower Moon”, while other films, like “Past Lives”, remain available only via pay windows.
Leading the set with 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director, “Oppenheimer” takes the crown for the most nominated film available on streaming at the moment. Following closely is “Killers of the Flower Moon”, with 11 nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director, followed closely by both “Maestro”, nominated in categories such as Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay, along with “Barbie”, which secures nominations including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, both films boasting a total of 7 nominations each. Only Peacock has more than one Best Picture nominee in its library.
In the realm of animation, three out of five films are accessible on streaming platforms:: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”, “Nimona”, and “Elemental”. The Spider-Man franchise’s latest instalment proves its dominance, attracting the most substantial audience, not only within the animated films category but also in comparison to the Best Picture nominees.
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Netflix emerges as the most relevant platform in terms of holding the Academy-Award favourites, with 11-nominated films in its library, showcasing its commitment to quality content across genres: in total Oscar nominated Netflix movies have been viewed by 87 million people until today on Netflix, with an average of 1.3 nominated movies per user.
Aside from the popular “Spider-Man” animated movie, the Spanish film nominated in the “International Feature Film” category, emerges as the runner up on boasting a broader audience after its platform debut, with 9.8 million Unique Viewers within its first 7 days. As a third spot is the animated film “Nimona”, trailing behind with about half, 4.6 million viewers.
As the audience metrics are relevant, popularity does not tell the whole story. The completion rate provides a deeper understanding of the cinematic impact, reflecting the audience’s engagement with the movies: Even though “The After” seems to take the crown, boasting a remarkable 90% of their first week’s audience completing the film, it’s worth noting it’s a short film of only 18 minutes long. When taking a look at feature films, it’s the animated film “Nimona” that claims the top spot for engagement. With a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes, the Netflix Original starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Riz Ahmed, has surpassed the engagement of highly popular and acclaimed nominees like “Spider-Man” or the one in the Best Picture category “Maestro”, achieving 81% of the 7-day’s audience to complete the entire film.
“Nyad”, a biographical film with nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, secures the second place, captivating an exceptional 76% completion rate to finish the two hours-length film.
In a surprising turn, only 51% of Netflix's Best Picture nominee viewers completed the film within the first 7-days of release. On the flip side, the Chilean film “El Conde”, nominated in the “Best Cinematography” category, struggles with less than 45% of its viewers completing the film, showing an opposite relationship in the viewers’ preferences and the Academy technical criteria.
"As the Oscars draw near, it becomes evident that popularity and engaged audiences do not always go hand-in-hand with critical acclaim, certainly when considering this year’s nominees. However, the question remains as to how much this popularity then influences the ultimate winners. The answer will be unveiled at the upcoming ceremony, slated for March 10th," said from Plum Research.