Why did we wait for a week to bring you this topic? Because in a year, no one will remember the winners of the 94th Academy Awards. Everyone will remember Will Smith’s slap that was heard around the world. It is what it is. It is hard for seasoned film critics to remember former Academy Awards winners, let alone for the general public. Especially if it’s some small indie movie or artsy project. But winning the Oscar for the Best Movie will still grant you some attention as we can see here, looking at the numbers during the days after the show.
King Richard had its peak at number one in the week before the Oscars, but it got a nice 88 % raise the day after the show. Not beating Dune, but still a strong showing. It gained 111 % on iTunes within 24 hours of Will Smith winning his awards for Best Actor. CODA, winning the most important category, gained a nice 46 %, but still ended up at the bottom of the top ten, being available only in 21 countries (compared to King Richard’s 55 markets). On Apple TV+ it was a different story. CODA’s viewership went up by 300% over the prior week to become the No. 1 most watched program on Apple TV+. The Power of the Dog on Netflix got only one statue from 12 nominations, but the buzz surrounding Jane Campion’s win was enough for 127 % day-to-day gain. Still not even enough for a place in the top ten. Netflix got that one coveted statue but people couldn’t care less about Benedict Cumberbatch in a grim western setting. With its 40 million dollars budget though, The Power of the Dog cost as much as any other Hollywood-made Oscar hotshot. That means we can expect even more Academy Awards hopefuls from VOD players in the upcoming years.