Netflix to break 85-year-old Best Picture record at Oscars 2021?

Theatres are closed. Major releases have been pushed back. Amid the pandemic, cinema industries around the world have been incurring heavy losses with film-goers cooped up at home. 

Netflix, on the other hand, is having the most extraordinary time. Launched initially as a DVD rental company, critics sniggered when the company decided to have a go at the streaming business with 'House of Cards.' 

Well, no one is laughing now. With six major Best Picture contenders, Netflix is all set to break an 85-year-old record next year, as of today held by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which bagged five Best Picture nominations in 1937 Academy Awards. 

MGM, at the peak of its success, bragged about having 'more stars than the heavens' with talents like Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and many more attached to the studio.

Right now, Netflix is on its way to beat MGM studio in 2021 with its formidable arsenal of content. 

Here are the six Netflix features deserving of a Best Picture nod - 

Mank (David Fincher)

"1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish Citizen Kane."

Trial of Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkins)

“What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale—were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.”

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (George C Wolfe)

Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), her ambitious horn player (Chadwick Boseman), and the white management determined to control the legendary “Mother of the Blues.” Based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play.

Da 5 Bloods (Spike Lee)

The story of four African-American Vets — Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) — who return to Vietnam. Searching for the remains of their fallen Squad Leader (Chadwick Boseman) and the promise of buried treasure, our heroes, joined by Paul's concerned son (Jonathan Majors), battle forces of Man and Nature — while confronted by the lasting ravages of The Immorality of The Vietnam War.

Pieces of a Woman (Kornél Mundruczó)

From award-winning executive producer Martin Scorsese, Pieces of a Woman is a deeply personal, searing, and ultimately transcendent story of a woman (Vanessa Kirby -  Best Actress Winner, Venice Film Festival 2020) learning to live alongside her loss.

The Midnight Sky (George Clooney)

This post-apocalyptic tale follows Augustine (George Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, as he races to stop Sully (Felicity Jones) and her fellow astronauts from returning home to Earth, where a mysterious global catastrophe has taken place.  Clooney directs the adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton’s acclaimed novel Good Morning, Midnight, co-starring David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir and Tiffany Boone.