The 2023 BAFTA nominations have been revealed – and Netflix executives will be patting themselves on the back for a job well done.
The world’s best streaming service garnered 21 nominations ahead of this year’s ceremony, while Netflix All Quiet on the Western Front alone garnered an astounding 14 nominations, including a pick for Best Picture and Best Director. A German foreign language film also made BAFTA history with 14 nominations, equaling 2001’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as the most nominated foreign language film in Academy history.
Other Netflix nominees include Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – who earned three nominations – Blonde, The Good Nurse, The Swimmers and The Wonder, who all earned one nomination each. These movies have also appeared on our list of the best Netflix movies in the last 12 months, so we clearly know our stuff.
While these nominations are well-deserved, Netflix’s hard work isn’t over yet. Actually, it’s only just begun. how is it? Because the streaming giant actually needs to win a few BAFTAs if it wants to be seen as a true titan of the entertainment industry.
Needless to say, Netflix has had problems over the last year. From losing millions of subscribers to canceling fan favorite shows, the streaming company has received a lot of criticism from fans and the media. Add to that the financial troubles it suffered from viewer cancellations, and Netflix endured a rough year in 2022. Well, except for some mega-hits like Stranger Things season 4, Dahmer and Wednesday, all of which appear on our top shows list Netflix.
So Netflix could use a few more wins – and the 2023 BAFTAs are the perfect opportunity to prove it can work with the world’s biggest studios.
The problem for Netflix, however, is that its success rate at past BAFTA ceremonies is – frankly – extremely poor. Ahead of the 2023 ceremony, Netflix’s in-house TV shows and movies garnered 107 BAFTA nominations. However, these nominations have only been turned into actual triumphs 14 times – a win rate of just 12%. To make matters worse, Netflix has never won a single BAFTA film award and instead won 14 trophies for titles on its TV show.
So this year’s BAFTAs are a real chance for Netflix to prove itself on the world stage (at least from an awards point of view). The streaming giant has been chasing the coveted Best Picture Oscar for some time, but lost out to Apple TV Plus drama CODA for Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars. This shocking failure certainly still worries the Netflix executive team, so a couple of 2023 BAFTAs – especially in the Best Picture category – would help ease that pain to some extent.
Moreover, a few big wins would prove Netflix has the ability to stick to the big guns of the industry. Huge amounts of money are being pumped into streaming services – according to a June 2022 article Hollywood reporter (opens in a new tab)Disney was expected to spend $33 billion on its Disney Plus 2022 slate, while Netflix spent $17 billion. However, the streaming industry is still seen (in some circles) as the little brother of the film sector and traditional television. This is despite some of the world’s biggest movies and TV series being available to stream anywhere, anytime on platforms like Prime Video, HBO Max, and Paramount Plus.
If Netflix wants to be definitely seen as one of the leaders in the entertainment industry, it needs to start winning more awards. As soon as he starts receiving awards regularly at the world’s most prestigious awards ceremonies, he will be taken more seriously by naysayers who still expect the streaming industry to implode over the next decade. With an exciting and stacked 2023 movie slate that includes Zack Snyder’s highly anticipated Rebel Moon movie, Netflix will be hoping that doesn’t happen any time soon.
With 21 nominations at BAFTA 2023 – 23 if you count Matilda the Musical, which Netflix distributed outside the UK – Netflix will have no better chance of standing out from its rivals. So it remains to be hoped that on Sunday, February 19, the Western Front will not be so quiet (metaphorically speaking).
For more on Netflix, read the best Netflix documentaries, the best Netflix shorts, all the new Netflix movies and all the canceled Netflix shows so far.