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This morning’s Oscar nominations suggest a rethink — or at least a collective hitting of the pause button — on the status of streaming in the awards conversation. Netflix‘s _The Power of the

Dog_ led the field with 12 nominations and Apple broke through with six nominations, including one for Best Picture for _CODA_. Yet major studios, specialty distributors and, yes,

theatrical rollouts generally prevailed despite 2021 being marked by Covid, exhibition closures and an explosion of films available at home. Netflix’s total of 27 nominations represented a

significant dropoff from its 36 last year. Apple managed six, up from two, while Amazon fell to just four, down from a dozen. Hulu equaled its year-ago tally with one. Heading into this

year, Netflix had been gaining steam in the Oscar race as it stepped up its overall investment in original films. (It also has spent lavishly on campaigns.) In 2019, paced by _Roma_, it had

15 nominations. In 2020, led by _The Irishman_ and _Marriage Story_, it recorded 24. Last year, _The Trial of the Chicago 7_, _Mank,_ _Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom_ and other releases racked up

a combined 36 noms, That haul was more than just a high-water mark in the streaming era — it was also either the second- or third-most by any distributor in Oscar history, depending on how

you count it. WATCH ON DEADLINE Because of the pandemic and also dramatic changes in the industry landscape, pure streaming distributors weren’t the only ones embracing digital distribution

in 2021. The Oscar field overall featured a wide array of films going day-and-date on streaming, and even some (like _Luca_ in Best Animated Feature) that skipped theaters altogether. All

major studios relied on hybrid models, and Warner Bros even put its entire 2021 slate on HBO Max at the same time it hit theaters, including _Dune_, which captured 10 nominations. (_King

Richard_, another Warner title, landed six noms, including one for Best Picture.) The group of 10 nominees for Best Picture in many ways reflects the debate roiling the industry over how

movies should best reach audiences given the transformation of the landscape. About half of the field — films like_ Licorice Pizza_, _Belfast_ and _Drive My Car_ — represent traditional

methods, albeit with some tweaks. The other half are films that had little to no theatrical presence. _Coda_ debuted on Apple TV+ at the same time it played in a smattering of theatres.

_Don’t Look Up_ and _The Power of the Dog_ had Netflix’s usual circumscribed theatrical runs, with no box office numbers reported, despite their abundant star power. While_ Don’t Look Up_

opened in more than 750 locations in December, like other releases by the streaming giant it was restrained from being in four or five times as many theaters by Netflix’s ongoing impasse

with major exhibitors AMC and Regal. Other categories delivered a different message. Only one nominee for Best Director, for example, was from a streaming film, Jane Campion for Netflix’s

_The Power of the Dog_. Visual Effects belonged to a quintet of nominees that all spent weeks in theaters before moving to streaming. (_Spider-Man: No Way Home_ is a box office behemoth that

still can only be seen on the big screen.) The marketplace has been so rearranged by the pandemic that no less a theatrical standard-bearer than Pixar has seen its last three releases go

directly to Disney+. Some major contenders also had remarkably short windows, if any at all. One Apple title with multiple nominations, _The Tragedy of Macbeth_, spent just three weeks on

the big screen during the holiday period. It was out of the damned spot, for the most part, despite being a co-production with theatrical true believer A24, author of months-long platform

releases for _Ladybird_, _Moonlight_ and other pre-pandemic titles. Another way to look at the Oscar race, though, is to appreciate that a lot has blossomed for tech companies in just five

years’ time. In 2017, Amazon Studios became the first streamer to nab an Oscar nom for Best Picture for _Manchester by the Sea_. The three statuettes captured by the film were the first wins

by a streaming service in narrative categories. Netflix got on the board that year with a win for Best Documentary – Short Subject for _The White Helmets_. In blazing that path, the pure

streamers have shown traditional companies, which still derive billions from traditional home entertainment and ancillaries, a new playbook for Oscar contenders.