Balancing streaming and blockbusters, the Oscars are going to be “everything” at once.

The Oscars have always served as a celebration of movies, carving out time not devoted to the “And the Oscar goes to” part to cheerleading for Hollywood. Yet with movies in a state of flux amid the shift to streaming and a global pandemic that hobbled theaters, Academy voters appear to be trying to strike a balance between streaming and blockbusters, and whether they can be, if not everything everywhere all at once, all things to all people.
If the awards in the run-up to the Academy Awards hold true, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” will walk away with the most coveted hardware. Having amassed honors from the guilds representing directors, producers, writers, actors, and editors, its frontrunner status has been cemented in place.

If that forecast comes true, Oscar voters will honor a film that, despite appearing insignificant in comparison to the titans who have spearheaded a return in moviegoing, actually thrived at the box office, earning more than $100 million globally, a record for its independent distributor, A24.

Steven Spielberg congratulated Tom Cruise for “saving” Hollywood with “Top Gun: Maverick,” the long-delayed sequel that brought in roughly $1.5 billion globally at one of the aforementioned award ceremonies.
The same could be said about James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which, like its predecessor, surpassed the $2 billion global plateau to rank third in all-time box office receipts.

A mind-bending journey through a universe of possibilities, “Everything Everywhere” leans toward a more personal style of filmmaking despite its relative financial success, joining works like “Moonlight” and “Nomadland” in winning the Independent Spirit Award on its way to the Oscars.

Why your favorite blockbuster is unlikely to take home the best picture Oscar?

Notwithstanding the gratitude that Spielberg expressed, even huge studio films can get you a ticket to the Oscar party but definitely not a seat as the guest-of-honor.

And the ambivalence about commemorating major motion pictures reflects a persistent schism, if not outright hatred, in relation to the genre of cinema that has recently dominated the box office, particularly when it comes to superheroes and science fiction – A film believed to prioritize spectacle and experience at the expense of plot and story. The Academy has publicly questioned this dynamic, even flirting with introducing a “popular film” category a few years ago, but scrapped the idea. In an era when mass appeal and accolades were often followed by Best Picture for Gladiator and The Return of the Rings, such donations were not considered necessary.

Even just nominating a popular film can go a long way toward increasing interest in the ceremony and improving viewership, which is a great incentive. With total worldwide earnings of his $2.3 billion, Avatar tally is more than four times his combined tally of his other eight best picture contenders (excluding Top Gun). At the same time, Hollywood has embraced streaming as a viable option for awards without fully addressing the fact that movies meant to succeed on these platforms play a slightly different game. The pandemic has weakened that resistance, as evidenced by Apple TV+’s CODA and Hulu’s Nomadland winning Best Picture. Both produced “Avatar” for about the same amount of money, presumably with the catering budget.

Presence in Oscar awards ceremony

Even with a smaller presence at this year’s Oscars, the streaming service won’t be empty-handed. His two Netflix films, the Best Picture nominee ‘Silence on the Western Front’ and Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’, are strong contenders for Best International Feature Film and Animated Film respectively. In his analysis for Variety, awards expert Tim Gray said this year’s Oscar nominee cited a broad cross-section of films “from epic epics to intimate dramas,” many of which appealed to darker themes. Pointing out, I saw a half-full-glass scenario. I conclude with hope. That goes for the characters, and he for 21st century movies.
Set for a spring and summer theatrical release, the rebuilding process started by Avatar, Top Gun, and Spider-Man will continue. However, looking at the eclectic line-up of Oscar nominees, including numerous films that failed upon opening in theaters, the entertainment industry continues to be pulled in multiple directions without a clear plan for the future. It is also possible to attach In that regard, Oscar may end up proving that he can have “everything anywhere at once,” but he also can’t have cake and eat it.