Will this be the year that Netflix finally does it? Once again, the streamer has a Best Picture nominee in contention — at the 2023 Oscars ceremony, coming this weekend — and, once again, the category is stacked with some serious competition that will probably make the streaming giant’s dream elusive for yet another year.
The 2023 Oscars ceremony will take place this Sunday, starting at 8 pm ET, and will be broadcast from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Curious about which film will walk away with the most prestigious award of them all? That’s what this post is all about.
Oscars 2023 Best Picture contenders
Below, we’ve included a quick snapshot of all 10 Best Picture nominees, including a summary as well as where you can either stream, rent, or buy each title — starting with Netflix’s staggeringly violent World War I film.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Summary: Artistically, technically, and visually — Edward Berger’s adaptation of the seminal WWI novel is simply a masterpiece on every score. The film puts viewers into the shoes of a German soldier on the front lines of a war that Hollywood tends to overlook in favor of the war that came after. Be warned, though: All Quiet on the Western Front is a nonstop amalgam of nightmarish, wanton violence.
Where it’s available: Streaming on Netflix
Avatar: The Way of Water
Summary: Since its release in December, director James Cameron’s long-awaited Avatar sequel has become the third highest-grossing film of all time — racking up more than $2.2 billion at the global box office.
Where it’s available: Avatar: The Way of Water’s first digital availability comes later this month, when the movie will be available to buy via video-on-demand channels on March 28. The ability to stream it on Disney+ will come at a later still-to-be-announced date.
The Banshees of Inisherin
Summary: From Searchlight Picture’s official description of director Martin McDonagh’s gem, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson: “Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.”
Where it’s available: Streaming on HBO Max
Elvis
Summary: Director Baz Luhrman and actor Austin Butler dramatize the music-filled rags-to-riches story of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley.
Where it’s available: Streaming on HBO Max
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Summary: Per A24, “Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.” It’s also a pretty standard family drama, with a tear-jerker of a mother-daughter story, wrapped up inside a visually stunning multiverse fantasy (Personal note: This is probably the film that deserves to win the 2023 Best Picture Oscar).
Where it’s available: You can buy the movie via VOD providers like Apple and Amazon, or stream it with a Showtime add-on to streamers like Hulu and Paramount+.
The Fabelmans
Summary: For Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, the legendary director takes on a much more ambitious story than any he’s ever told before — even more ambitious than the ones that included sharks, dinosaurs, and outsized figures from history. The Fablemans is a lightly fictionalized version of Spielberg’s own life story, and of the way that he fell in love with the magic of movies from a young age.
Where it’s available: Right now, the movie is available to buy via VOD. Eventually, it will be available to stream with a Peacock subscription.
Tar
Summary: Director Todd Field’s Tar stars Cate Blanchett as fictional orchestra conductor Lydia Tar. One of the gimmicks of the movie is that it takes such a deep dive into her life, that viewers might find themselves assuming Tar is based on a real conductor (it’s not).
Where it’s available: Streaming on Peacock
Top Gun: Maverick
Summary: Directed by Joseph Kosinski, this long-awaited sequel to the 1986 original grossed more than $1.4 billion at the global box office and became the second-highest-grossing film of 2022 (in addition to the highest-grossing of star Tom Cruise’s entire career).
Where it’s streaming: Streaming on Paramount+ (you can also buy or rent it via VOD)
Triangle of Sadness
Summary: From the film’s official synopsis: “In Ruben Östlund’s wickedly funny Palme d’Or winner, social hierarchy is turned upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power and beauty. Celebrity model couple, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival.”
Where it’s available: Streaming on Hulu
Women Talking
Summary: The movie is based on some pretty awful true events that happened in Bolivia in a Mennonite colony. Over a period of several years, a group of men from the colony horrifically abused women and girls in the community.
Where it’s available: As of this writing, it’s available to stream with a Prime Video subscription (though Amazon’s platform includes a note that it’s leaving in 5 days). It’s also available to rent or buy via video on demand.
