Apple made history at the Oscars on Sunday night when Apple TV+ became the first streaming service to win Best Picture.
The tech giant won the award for CODA, a coming-of-age movie about a clash between ambition and loyalty, in this case, a young woman’s struggle between pursuing her passion for singing or staying home to help her deaf family members run a new business.
Apple brushed aside competition from Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, among others, to nab the coveted prize, which was presented at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Apple CEO Tim Cook hit Twitter to celebrate the win, describing CODA as “a profoundly beautiful movie, a story of hope and heart that celebrates our differences.”
Team CODA created a profoundly beautiful movie, a story of hope and heart that celebrates our differences. Congratulations to the producers, @SianHeder, @TroyKotsur, @MarleeMatlin, @EmiliaJonesy, @DanielNDurant, @EugenioDerbez, and all involved in these historic wins! #CODAfilm pic.twitter.com/s9ebnPaYl1
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 28, 2022
A bonus for CODA came in the form of the Best Supporting Actor award, which went to Troy Kotsur, who also became the first deaf male actor to collect an Oscar.
CODA, directed by Sian Heder and featuring Emilia Jones, Marlee Martin, Daniel Durant, and Kotsur, also won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Apple’s award-winning movie began streaming on Apple TV+ in August 2021. The service costs $5 a month and can be canceled at any time, so if you only sign up for one month simply to watch CODA, you’ll be getting your money’s worth (assuming you enjoy the movie!). You can also watch CODA for free via the service’s trial period, which lasts for seven days.
Sunday’s Oscar triumph for CODA is a big boost for Apple’s video streaming service, which launched in 2019 to compete with rivals such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+. It’s also another example of the steadily changing landscape in movie production and distribution as streamers increasingly give the established industry giants a run for their money.
For more on all the big winners at the 2022 Academy Awards, Digital Trends has you covered.
