Apple TV Plus 2021’s hit movie, CODA which stands for Child Of Deaf Adults has become the first film from a streaming service to win the Best Picture prize at Sunday’s Academy Awards.
CODA has managed this milestone despite being one of the least nominated films with only 3 nods heading into Sunday’s ceremony. Not since 1932’s Grand Hotel has a movie gone on to win Best Picture with less than four nominations.
It follows the story of one Ruby Rossi (played by Emilia Jones) as a child to deaf parents and the only hearing member of her family.
Upon discovering she has a talent & passion for music, Ruby is stuck between fulfilling her obligations to her family, helping her parents most especially in running the family’s fishing business and pursuing her own dreams in music.
Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin play Ruby’s father – Frank Rossi and mother – Jackie Rossi respectively. Daniel Durant, plays Ruby’s brother – Leo Rossi.
Ferdia Walsh Peelo, Eugenio Derbez, Kevin Chapman and Amy Forsyth also star.
CODA also took home two other awards namely; Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur and the Best Adapted Screenplay for its writer & director Siân Heder. Troy Kotsur is now the first deaf actor to win an acting Oscar since his CODA co-star Marlee Matlin took home Best Actress for her lead role in Children Of A Lesser God back in 1986.
The 3 Oscars CODA landed in total were Apple’s first ever prizes won at the annual film festival.
Where can I watch CODA?
The film is available to watch only on Apple TV Plus which hasn’t been the easiest to access on Android devices. Apple TV Plus isn’t readily available Android phones or tablets but you can access it through your Google Chrome or Firefox browser.
A crown ever so elusive to many
For as long as I can remember, several streaming platforms have been nominated for the highly prestigious Best Picture film category though none has ever scooped the trophy…until this past weekend. It’s commonly regarded as the Oscars’ most coveted film prize.
Netflix has had a couple of its films nominated for Best Picture in recent years including; The Irishman, Marriage Story, Mank, The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Roma, Don’t Look Up and most recently The Power Of The Dog which led the way for films with the most nominations with 12 nods this year.
Overall, the streamer racked up an impressive 27 nominations but only managed to win the Best Director category for Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog.
Netflix has won several Oscars over the years but the coveted crown for Best Picture has just eluded its grasp for yet another year.
Apple is prioritizing quality over quantity for its streaming content
Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook has acknowledged that the tech company is prioritizing the quality of content for its films and TV shows over making financial gain.
“We don’t make purely financial decisions about the content on Apple TV Plus.” Is what Mr. Cook told analysts and investors at Apple’s Earnings Call held on 27th January. He went on to add, “We try to find great content that has a reason for being.”
In an early Monday morning tweet, Tim Cook who attended the Academy Awards offered his congratulations to the entire cast and crew for the film for their outstanding work and success.
A step in the right direction for Apple TV Plus but still more work to be done
Being the first to nab an elusive Academy Award sure is great for Apple TV Plus but it isn’t necessarily a transformational moment.
Hulu for example, beat Netflix to win the Best Drama Series category in 2017’s Primetime Emmy Awards but has continued to live in the shadows of Netflix’s dominance since then. In comparison, Netflix has a record extending 221+Million global subscribers compared to Hulu’s 45Million.
Apple TV Plus had only 9 titles to watch when it launched back in 2019. In the two and a half years since then it has rapidly amassed more than 100 titles.
The Apple-owned streamer is still finding its footing in the noisy competitive field of today’s streaming services and has a long way left to go to catch up with the industry’s leaders; Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Perhaps Sunday’s big win might lure more people to subscribe to the platform, I think however, only time can tell.
Other stuff you should know of
Apple didn’t initially produce CODA, it instead coughed up $25Million (2.87Billion Kshs) last year to acquire distribution rights to the film from the Sundance Film Festival.
The Silicon Valley-based enterprise is reported to have spent more than $10Million (1.15Billion Kshs) on its Oscars campaign for CODA which is more than its entire production budget of less than $10Million. For what its worth, that investment is totally worth it since it paid off.
As for other events that went down at the 94th edition of the Oscars, unfortunately, the biggest talking point was not the actual prize offerings but Will Smith’s on-stage altercation with stand-up comedian Chris Rock.
