Oscars 2022: No Spider-Man, no Bond. Can streaming save the day?
CNN
The Oscars are about honoring the year's best movies, but they're also a TV show, devoted to attracting an audience that will benefit host network ABC and promote the movie business. And after record-low ratings in 2021, the old adage about the Lord helping those who help themselves comes to mind.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is surely feeling pressure to breathe some life back into ratings for the Oscars, and part of that plan has logically involved nominating movies that more people have actually seen. Yet despite expanding the best-picture category to 10 nominees, few of the major contenders in the nominations unveiled Tuesday morning meet that description -- especially if it means having seen those films in theaters.
Before the nominations, producer Cassian Elwes -- known for smaller-scale films like "Mudbound" and "Lee Daniels' The Butler" -- tweeted that it was "shortsighted" for the Producers Guild's awards to overlook "the two terrific movies that saved the theatrical business this year," "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "No Time to Die."
