Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix star in AppleTV+’s “Napoleon,” directed by Ridley Scott.
Apple Original Movies
LOS ANGELES – Apple Original Movies is a recent player on the Academy Award scene, however it’s already left an indelible — and historic — mark.
The studio, which has only been releasing movies since 2019, won best picture in 2022 for “CODA,” the primary time a streaming service has ever won the highest award. In total, Apple has received Oscar 10 nominations within the last three years, winning 4.
With acclaimed director Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” opening just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Apple is making one other push for Academy Award glory. The 2-hour and 38-minute epic stars Joaquin Phoenix as French leader and military commander Napoleon Bonaparte, who rose to prominence throughout the French Revolution. Sony is distributing the film.
Early reviews indicate that the film is “slyly funny,” striking a balance between playful humor and gruesome battle sequences. Nevertheless, the dichotomy could be polarizing for some and a few critics said the long run-time could make the film feel like a “chore.”
Even with critical praise for Phoenix and Scott, Apple faces steep competition for nominations, as a slew of Oscar contenders flood the market, even from its own studio.
Heading into November, the Academy Awards race gave the impression to be dominated by Warner Bros.‘ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer.” The combined “Barbenheimer” entered theaters ahead of the writers and actors strikes and captured critical attention in addition to record box office receipts.
With actors unable to advertise movies, many studios opted to postpone theatrical releases until later within the yr and even push until 2024. Warner Bros. and Legendary Studio’s “Dune: Part Two” won’t be a part of this yr’s Oscar race after departing to March of next yr.
Now, in the previous couple of weeks of the yr, Academy Award hopefuls are arriving en masse.
That features Apple’s other major Oscar contender is Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a 3 hour and 26-minute Western crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
Potential best picture nominees for 2024 Academy Awards
- “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
- “Barbie” (Warner Bros.)
- “American Fiction” (MGM)
- “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Movies/Paramount Pictures)
- “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
- “Maestro” (Netflix)
- “The Zone of Interest” (A24)
- “Origin” (Neon)
- “May December” (Netflix)
- “Napoleon” (Apple Original Movies/Sony Pictures)
- “Ferrari” (Neon)
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
- “Air” (Amazon MGM Studios)
- “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM Studios)
- “Priscilla” (A24)
- “Sound of Freedom” (Angel Studios)
“The short list of potential Oscar favorites is filling up fast,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “And with the actor strike settled and stars now capable of actively campaign for their movies, these latest Thanksgiving entries will profit not only from the freshness of their release, but in addition the power of the talent to turn out to be involved within the promotion of their movies as worthy and viable Oscar contenders.”
Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Phoenix is no stranger to acting nominations at the massive ceremony. He won best actor for his role in “Joker” throughout the 2020 Academy Awards and has previously been nominated for roles in Scott’s best picture winner, “Gladiator,” and later releases “Walk the Line” and “The Master.”
Scott has earned three best director nominations for “Thelma & Louise” in 1992, “Gladiator” in 2001 and “Black Hawk Down” in 2002. His 2015 film “The Martian” was nominated for best picture.
“Napoleon” is also in contention for best production design, costume design, sound and editing.
Box office analysts are also hopeful that the film will bring out the coveted adult moviegoing audience that has been slower to return to theaters. The film generated $3 million in Tuesday evening showings and is expected to tally around $22 million for the five-day Thanksgiving frame, which runs from Wednesday through Sunday.
“Napoleon is an intriguing position with its marquee solid and director, a widely known historical figure, and a story that is fit for the cinematic canvas,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst BoxOffice.com. “It arrives as older segments of the adult audience remain a part of a difficult equation for Hollywood to unravel. Some clear successes have shown that those moviegoers will prioritize theatrical viewings, however it’s more quality-and content-driven than ever before.”
Universal’s “Oppenheimer” is a chief example of a movie for mature audiences, based on real events, that was capable of capture audience attention. The film generated greater than $300 million domestically during its run in theaters and tallied greater than $950 million globally.
Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film was billed as a must-see picture on the massive screen, driving moviegoers across demographics out to cinemas.
“Napoleon” likely won’t reach the lofty heights of “Oppenheimer,” however it doesn’t must. Within the last decade streamers like Netflix, Apple and Amazon Prime Video have used the prestige related to Hollywood award nominations and demanding acclaim on the box office to encourage subscriber sign-ups or sign top talent.
Industry insiders see Apple, which has long partnered with the largest names in showbiz, using the prestige of Apple TV+ offerings to sell Apple products — not necessarily to garner a whole lot of tens of millions of subscribers.
Though streaming services generally provide limited metrics, Apple has been particularly quiet because it launched its streaming video platform in November 2019. Unlike many others within the space, the corporate doesn’t disclose data about financial performance, content spending or subscriber numbers for individual shows or the service as an entire.
“Apple’s ability to attract amazing creative talent is undisputed and given the financial resources and inventive freedom that they bestow upon a few of one of the best creatives on the planet, it should come as no surprise the corporate has turn out to be an awards season powerhouse lately,” said Dergarabedian.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “Oppenheimer.”