Why the future of the Oscars — like movie-going itself — remains uncertain
CNN
The Oscars have always been an ad for going to the movies, but as we head into this year's ceremony on Sunday, the future of movie-going and the Academy Awards themselves are as uncertain as they've ever been in the show's 93-year history.
Popular box-office hits have been few and far between when it comes to winning Best Picture in recent years, so the films that have won may not be as familiar to general audiences as they once were. Now — following a year that saw streaming emerge as a lifeline for studios with no other way to distribute their movies — that seems to be even more the case. Going forward, some of the biggest winners of an awards show that celebrates going to the movies may be films that never see the inside of a theater. This year, five of the eight movies vying for best picture premiered via streaming, on Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN), Hulu and HBO Max, which is owned by CNN's parent company WarnerMedia. Disney (DIS) also bypassed theaters with its nominee for best animated film, "Soul," as it dealt with the realities of lockdown and sought to built up its nascent streaming platform, Disney+.More Related News