There's no one like Angelina Jolie.
— Netflix (@netflix) December 16, 2024
MARIA, directed by Pablo Larraín, is now playing on Netflix in the US. pic.twitter.com/akUWSiTulb
How Does Netflix Solve a Problem Like ‘Maria’ (and Other Awards-Competing Films)? https://t.co/0IR9ntHyok via @IndieWire
— Tom Brueggemann (@TomBrueggemann) December 16, 2024
Pablo Larraín’s opera biopic “Maria” is the latest and last of this year’s Netflix‘s Oscar top Best Picture and acting contender films to stream on the service. And like “The Piano Lesson” (six days in their domestic movie top 10, highest #5) and “Emilia Pérez” (never listed), “Maria” had a short shelf life among top-viewed titles. It debuted at #4, placed for two more days, then dropped off before this weekend. (The weekly foreign charts come out on Tuesdays, so it’s possible better results elsewhere).
The streamer continues to do very well in Oscar nominations and has won top prizes. But Netflix has so far failed to win Best Picture or either lead acting prizes. The company’s top contenders always get some theatrical play (more than they are given credit for due to their decision to hide the grosses, but less than if top circuits like AMC would agree to play them). But in that absence, how they do on the site remains a gauge of how popular they are, and public interest is always a nice arrow for any awards campaign to have in its quiver.
With a very crowded Best Actress field, the quick in-and-out for “Maria” won’t likely be a boost for Angelina Jolie’s chances, though based on past history perhaps not a negative either. Same with “Piano Lesson,” even more so with “Emilia Pérez” with its high-end acclaim and international appeal.
But following Netflix’s online promotion, compared to how theatrical distributors push visibility for their contenders, is eye-opening. Since “Emilia” debuted two weeks ago, the Netflix homepage has given it minimal advertising. Even its surprise record haul in Golden Globe nominations hasn’t managed to rise to the level of mentioning, at least from a daily check since their announcement.
Netflix originals not named “Maria” take up six of the slots on their current top 10, led by veteran action director Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Carry-On.” The Amblin Productions thriller actually got better reviews than “Maria,” though it is not among the 24 films listed on Netflix’s awards For Your Consideration webpage. That it’s more popular than “Maria” isn’t that big a surprise. What is though is that it knocked out Sony’s “It Ends with Us,” which, as expected, opened at #1, but by Saturday, was replaced by “Carry-On.”
