With Roma's nomination for a best picture Oscar Tuesday, Netflix finally got one of its deepest wishes -- big-time Academy Award validation.
The black-and-white drama about a middle-class Mexican family and the domestic workers who care for its children will go up against Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Green Book, A Star is Born and Vice when the Academy Awards are doled out Feb. 24.
Last year, Amazon beat Netflix to become the first streaming service to be nominated for a best picture Oscar nod, for Manchester by the Sea. Though the bleak film won statues for best actor and best original screenplay, it didn't cinch the best picture title -- leaving the crown for first streamer to actually win a best picture Oscar unclaimed.
Netflix is hoping Roma, which won the Golden Globe for best foreign language motion picture, will carry it to the throne. An Oscar win would burnish Netflix's credibility as a go-to place for top-tier original films. While Netflix is known for prestige series like The Queen or Orange is the New Black, the streaming service has had a more mixed run with films.
Having Oscar-winning original content will also give consumers pause as Netflix prepares a new round of price increases. The company has long banked on original content to keep its customers happy, which helped yield better than expected subscriber growth over the last quarter.
The company's Netflix Film Twitter account tweeted out the nominations this morning.
The Oscars haven't totally overlooked Netflix in the past. The streaming giant's documentaries have netted the company a feature documentary nomination every year since 2014, and Netflix took home its first feature-film Oscar last year for Icarus, its documentary about doping among competitive cyclists.
The company also won an Oscar for documentary short film in 2017 for The White Helmets, about volunteer rescue workers in bomb-ravaged Syria.
This year, however, Roma is giving Netflix its best shot yet at potentially scoring the biggest prize of the night. Roma has been hailed at film festivals and by critics as director Alfonso Cuarón's masterpiece. Cuarón has already been anointed as Oscar worthy, having won best director in 2014 for Gravity. And Netflix has been on breakneck promotional campaign to drum up award support for Roma.
Tech Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here's your place for the lighter side of tech.
Apple: See what's up with the tech giant as it readies new iPhones and more.