Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) broke a Hollywood record as the original drama it made for Apple TV+, CODA, became the first streaming-originated Best Picture winner ever, at the 94th Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded “CODA” three Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The winners were announced during the 94th Annual Academy Awards event in Los Angeles.
It has been deemed that Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), which had topped all studios in Oscar nominations for the third year in a row and whose film The Power of the Dog was considered a frontrunner for the top prize was beaten by this win of CODA. Netflix is the major competitor of Apple’s Apple TV+.
“CODA” is the first film to win Best Picture with an entirely Deaf cast; Troy Kotsur is the first Deaf male actor to earn Best Supporting Actor, and writer-director Siân Heder won her first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In addition to Academy Accolades, the film has garnered plenty of other awards since its release, including becoming the first motion picture with a completely Deaf cast to win a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Furthermore, Apple’s series and films have received 240 wins and 953 nominations since the launch of Apple TV+ just over two years ago, including awards from the Academy Awards, BAFTA Film Awards, SAG Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards, Critics Choice Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards and more.
Apple’s head of Worldwide Video, Jamie Erlicht, remarked that what a wonderful journey it has been from the minute we first watched ‘CODA’ to today’s historic Academy recognition. It has been a great privilege to see the good influence this story and its performers have had on people all across the world.