Oscar nominations 2020: Joker and Netflix's Irishman lead the nominees

Black actors and actresses were largely overlooked, with the British-Nigerian actress Cynthia Erivo ("Harriet") as the sole nominee

Netflix’s poor showing at the recent Golden Globes prompted madcap delight in Hollywood’s more conventional quarters. Too bad, so sad: Perhaps try releasing your films in more than a handful of theaters next year, Big Tech.

But the hard-campaigning streaming giant resumed its awards-season onslaught on Monday.

Netflix was rewarded with more than 20 nominations, with some categories (like supporting actor) stacked three deep with contenders. The Irishman, Martin Scorsese’s latest gangster opus, and Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach’s navel-gazing portrait of divorce, both of which belong to Netflix, received nominations for best picture. Netflix also landed nominations for two animated films, a documentary and the Vatican succession drama The Two Popes. Like the Globes, however, the 92nd Academy Awards will be a showdown between old and new Hollywood.

Read: Golden Globe: Joaquin wins Best Actor for Joker; 1917 bags best film prize

Oscar voters showered nominations on traditional films. Joker led the field with 11 nominations, including ones for best picture, director, actor and score. “1917” and “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood each received 10. The best-picture category can have as many as 10 or as few as five nominees, depending on how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences spreads its support; this year there were nine: 1917, Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, and Parasite. The other takeaway may involve representation. Once again, the academy excluded women from the directing race. 

Black actors and actresses were also largely overlooked, with the British-Nigerian actress Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”) as the sole nominee.

The academy has mounted an effort to double female and minority membership, in large part by inviting in more film professionals from overseas. But even after four years of the initiative, the organization remains 68 percent male and 84 percent white.