As the 2022 Oscars approaches, Netflix’s popular movie The Power of the Dog has largely been considered 2022’s Best Picture frontrunner. While this is still the case, an unexpected rival in Apple TV’s CODA has made headway in the 2022 Oscars race after its recent streak of cleaning up at major awards events.
The criteria for winning Best Picture, not to mention being nominated, has changed in previous years, with the competition continuing to grow as streaming services like Netflix make their bids for prestigious Academy Award wins. Following Nomadland’s Best Picture win in 2021, the race for the Academy’s top award is even fiercer in 2022, which may be partially attributed to the delays in major films due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ten films nominated for the 2022 Best Picture Oscar are Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story.
Alongside Don’t Look Up and Nightmare Alley, CODA has largely been considered an underdog in the Best Picture competition. Don’t Look Up’s polarizing nature and mixed reviews give it fairly low odds in the race, while Nightmare Alley has garnered relatively little buzz after its box-office bomb. CODA, while a film that brings an important representation of deaf families to the screen, has long been considered the biggest underdog for Best Picture due to its stature as a coming-of-age dramedy. Although its initial odds would have been low, CODA's inspiring story is now one of the top frontrunners for 2022’s Best Picture Oscars award, which is becoming a divisive subject for audiences at home.
What CODA's Story Is About
Apple TV’s CODA follows the story of Ruby Rossi, a teenage child of deaf adults (CODA), who is the only hearing member of her family, which includes her culturally Deaf parents Frank and Jackie, and older brother Leo. The film depicts Ruby’s growth as a reserved, shy teen whose hearing may have been seen as a blessing, but led her to grow up much faster than she intended, while also making her hear the many insults and jokes about her family growing up. CODA sees Ruby finally find her voice as she s the choir at her high school, with many learning that she’s an exceptionally talented singer. When Ruby is presented with the opportunity to leave town and the responsibilities of being her family's primary communicator, the lead-up to CODA's emotional ending sees her grapple with the dilemma of putting her own dreams in front of her obligations to her family’s fishing business.
What Are CODA's Odds To Win Best Picture At The Oscars
The odds of CODA winning Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars have drastically increased, making it the second-favorite to win the top award on many odds counters after Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, are far behind CODA in of winning chances, meaning the race for the 2022 Oscars Best Picture Award is now neck-and-neck with The Power of the Dog and CODA.
Why CODA Winning Best Picture Is Now A Real Possibility (After Seeming Unlikely)
The odds for CODA even being nominated for Best Picture were fairly low coming into the awards season, with many being surprised once it sealed the 2022 nomination. Now that CODA is a frontrunner, audiences who habitually pay attention to the awards circuit are now questioning the should-be underdog. As a smaller film that premiered on Apple TV+, one of the most divisive major streaming services, CODA didn’t receive much buzz upon its August 2021 release, which is uncommon for most Best Picture nominees.
CODA also breaks type for Best Picture frontrunners by virtue of being a coming-of-age dramedy. The Academy isn’t known for giving major nods to coming-of-age stories – Paul Thomas Anderon's Licorice Pizza and Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird stand out as more mature, art-house film exceptions – especially those that premiere on less popular streaming services with a relatively unknown director and cast. The feel-good premise of CODA's story with its significant representation of deaf communities touched many audiences, but it didn’t appear to be a likely contender for Best Picture.
Just a week before the Oscars, CODA flipped a switch to become a front-runner for Best Picture, with the quick boost in odds being chopped up to its impressive slate of prestigious awards wins. CODA took home the top prize of Best Theatrical Motion Picture at the Producers Guild Awards, with the winner of this honor typically having the best chances at the Oscars. Since 2007, only three winners of the top awards for the PGAs and Oscars didn’t align, with the only major differences at the former being The Big Short, La La Land, and the Oscars 2020 nominee 1917. The PGAs remain one of the best predictors for Best Picture Oscars success, which is why it's primarily responsible for the greatest increase in CODA’s probability to win. Similarly, CODA took home the top honors at the WGAs for Best Adapted Screenplay and the SAG Awards for Best Cast.
How & Where To Watch CODA Online Before The Oscars
CODA is only available to watch on Apple TV+ ahead of the 2022 Oscars, which will be held on Sunday, March 27 at 5 pm PT. With its availability only on Apple TV+ streaming, viewers will need to have a subscription to the service in order to enjoy the Best Picture front-runner before the awards ceremony. This is a common case for trying to watch the 2022 Best Picture Oscar nominees, as most are backed or produced by one streaming service, which makes them less widely available to viewers at home.
