“The Irishman” and “Marriage Story” were nominated for the Academy Award for best picture, giving Netflix Inc. its best chance yet to win Hollywood’s most coveted prize.

In all, nine films will vie for best picture, including “Ford v Ferrari,” “Little Women,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Joker,” “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,” “Parasite” and “1917,” which won the top film award at the Golden Globes on Jan. 5. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the nominees Monday morning online.

Last year, Netflix’s “Roma” was seen as a favourite to win the top Oscar but lost to “Green Book,” from Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures. This year, Netflix’s “The Two Popes” was seen as a potential best-picture nominee but didn’t make the cut.

By winning in 2020, Netflix would prove it has ascended into rarefied Hollywood air that it has at times struggled to reach. The online service, now the largest movie studio in the world by volume, has been mostly shut out of the biggest prizes. Earlier this month Netflix was the most nominated studio at the Golden Globe Awards but lost in all the major categories, including best drama and best director.

 

Netflix in Awards Season

FILM NOMINATIONS & WINS
The Irishman  10 Oscar nominations incl. Best Picture 
5 Golden Globes nominations; 0 wins
4 Screen Actors Guild incl. Ensemble
14 Critics' Choice nominations; 1 win
Writers Guild, Producers Guild, Directors Guild nominations
10 British Film Award (BAFTA) noms incl. Picture, Director
Marriage Story  6 Oscar nominations incl. Best Picture
6 Golden Globes nominations; 1 win (Supporting Actress)
4 Screen Actors Guild incl. Actor, Actress
8 Critics' Choice nominations; 1 win

Writers Guild, Producers Guild nominations
5 British Film Award (BAFTA) noms incl. Actor, Actress
The Two Popes  3 Oscar nominations incl. Best Actor
4 Golden Globes incl. Picture (Drama); 0 wins
2 Critics' Choice nominations; 0 wins

5 British Film Award (BAFTA) noms incl. Actor, Best British Film

Women were nearly absent from the top awards categories, after being overlooked at both the Golden Globes and the U.K.’s top film prizes, known as the Baftas. All the best-director nominees are men, and the story lines of most of the top films are driven by male characters. The acting and directing awards contenders are largely white, although Cynthia Erivo was nominated for the title role of Harriet Tubman in “Harriet.”

Major awards shows have come under fire for failing to recognize work from women and people of color. Ricky Gervais, who hosted this year’s Golden Globes for the fifth time, skewered the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for failing to diversify. “There’s a lot of controversy about our next category because no female directors were nominated this year. Not one. I mean, that’s bad,” he said.

Once a showcase for emcees such as Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, the Oscars won’t have a host for this year, for the second time in a row. Last year, Kevin Hart stepped down as host after old, homophobic tweets surfaced and he declined to apologize. Hart later said he acted “immature.”

The major nominations include:

Best Picture

“Ford v Ferrari”

“The Irishman”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Joker”

“Little Women”

“Marriage Story”

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”

“Parasite”

Best Director

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Todd Phillips, “Joker”

Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”

Sam Mendes, “1917”

Best Actress

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

Best Actor

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Best Supporting Actress

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Best Supporting Actor

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”

Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”

Al Pacino, “The Irishman”

Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”

Best Adapted Screenplay

“The Irishman”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Joker”

“Little Women”

“The Two Popes”

Best Original Screenplay

“Knives Out”

“Marriage Story”

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”

“Parasite”

Best International Feature

“Corpus Christi,” Poland

“Honeyland,” North Macedonia

“Les Miserables,” France

“Pain and Glory,” Spain

“Parasite,” South Korea

Best Animated Feature

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”

“I Lost My Body”

“Klaus”

“Missing Link”

“Toy Story 4”