The 96th Academy Awards are just under a month away, and there’s no time like the present to catch up on all of your prestige movie watching. Whether you want to re-watch nominated hits like Barbie and Oppenheimer or dig into some of the more niche categories, plenty of the Oscar nominees are available to stream now. Movies currently streaming are listed below, with more to come as the films find their way out of theaters and onto smaller screens.
Oppenheimer
Though not an Academy Award winner yet, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer seems set to secure several awards come Oscars night. Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.’s career-defining performances are a highlight, but the film isn’t just a showcase for its actors. With minute period details, an exceedingly talented ensemble cast, and a searing look at a dark moment in American history, it’s an achievement in every sense of the word. Oppenheimer is available to stream on Peacock starting February 16th, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 13, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor
Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese has long been acclaimed as one of America’s greatest auteurs, but with Killers of the Flower Moon the director turned his attention towards the nation’s past in a new and significant way. The film focuses on the horrendous murders of the Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma, orchestrated by conniving white men who wanted their land and wealth. Lily Gladstone became the first Native American woman nominated for Best Actress thanks to her quietly powerful turn as the real-life Mollie Burkhart. Killers of the Flower Moon streams on Apple TV+, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 10, including Best Picture and Best Director
Barbie
Barbie stands to win more than a few awards thanks to its expertly crafted world and pitch perfect soundtrack. Greta Gerwig caused a phenomenon with the film, reaching box office milestones while staying true to the spirit that made Lady Bird and Little Women so good. Heartfelt, hilarious, and ripe for re-watches, the story about a Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie, who’s thankfully nominated for her work as a producer) becoming human and figuring out what it means to be a woman in the Real World struck gold. Barbie is streaming on Max, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 8, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay
Maestro
Bradley Cooper’s Maestro nabbed the actor/writer/producer/director three nominations, making it clear that he’s at least a triple (if not a quadruple) threat. Centered around not just the life and times of American music icon Leonard Bernstein, but the complex relationship between Bernstein and his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan), the film doesn’t take the traditional biopic route. Rather, it’s a collection of moments spanning decades that paint a picture of his life. Maestro is available to stream on Netflix, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 7, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress
The Holdovers
The holidays might be over, but ‘tis the season of The Holdovers. Alexander Payne’s movie about an unorthodox Christmas break at an old-fashioned New England boarding school feels like a throwback in the best way, helped along by deeply felt performances from Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (the clear favorite to take home the Best Supporting Actress trophy). What starts as a begrudging group of misfits forced to spend the coldest time of year together turns into a story of real warmth. The Holdovers is available to stream on Peacock, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 5, including Best Picture and Best Actor
Nyad
Nyad marks the fifth Oscar nomination for both Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, serving as a true showcase to two of our greatest living actresses. Directed by the team behind the Academy Award-winning documentary Free Solo, the film follows the true story of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad as she tries to make the treacherous journey from Cuba to Florida. It’s less about an athlete triumphing against the odds than about a woman who refuses to give up in the face of ever-mounting challenges. Nyad is available to stream on Netflix, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 2, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress
Society of the Snow
Disaster movies may not seem ripe for awards buzz, but Spanish director J.A. Bayona has a knack for elevating the unsavory. His Society of the Snow centers around the tragic 1972 Uruguayan Andes flight disaster, putting the story of the plane crash’s 16 survivors on screen with chilling accuracy and heartfelt humanity. The attention to detail in this survival story is difficult at times, making the movie all the more intense and immersive and showing off the craft of those behind the camera. Society of the Snow is streaming on Netflix, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 2, including Best International Film
Rustin
History holds many unsung heroes, but few have been as integral to American history as Bayard Rustin. Rustin tells the story of the often forgotten civil rights leader who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King to create and organize the 1963 March on Washington. Colman Domingo wows as the activist, who stood as perhaps the most notable gay man in the civil rights movement. His advocacy was intersectional and inclusive, making him a radical biopic subject all these years later. Rustin is available to stream on Netflix, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 1, for Best Actor
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
A frontrunner in the animated film race, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse all but reinvented the medium thanks to its mind blowing visuals. Not your average sequel or superhero movie, the film follows Miles Morales as he comes to terms with being the only one with Spidey-senses in the universe—well, his universe. Before long, though, a whole multiverse of Spiders emerges, and Miles ends up more alone than ever. It’s fun, it’s stunning, and it’s got a complex story at its center. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is available to stream on Netflix, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 1, for Best Animated Feature
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
This year’s documentary nominees provided a bit of a shake up, with celebrity-centric docs and flashy distributors largely missing out, but Bobi Wine: The People’s President serves as a salient spin on those awards season tropes. The film centers on Bobi Wine, a popular Uganda singer-turned-politician who ran for president in 2021, only to be met with the full brunt of his nation’s bureaucratic brutality. The documentary unveils the corruption and oppression of Uganda’s government, which has been led by the dictatorial Yoweri Museveni for over 35 years. Bobi Wine: The People’s President is available to stream on Disney Plus and Hulu via National Geographic. Nominations: 1, for Best Documentary
20 Days in Mariupol
Selected as Ukraine’s entry for the Best International Film category, 20 Days in Mariupol is a powerful chronicle of life in Ukraine amidst the Russian invasion. The documentary comes from on-the-ground journalists, as a team of AP reporters become stuck in the besieged city and decide to press on with the harrowing work of documenting life, death and war. The film itself is a vital piece of reporting, a necessary record of history as it’s happening, and though it is difficult to watch at times, it serves as an important picture of what war really looks like. 20 Days in Mariupol streams on PBS. Nominations: 1, for Best Documentary
The Eternal Memory
Painful and powerful, The Eternal Memory is a poignant portrait of life with Alzheimer’s. The Chilean documentary focuses on Augusto Góngora and Pauli Urrutia, a married couple with exceedingly eventful lives behind them. Though Augusto was once a renowned journalist who reported on the atrocities of the Pinochet regime, he now struggles to remember that he’s even married. The movie is sensitive rather than sensational or sentimental, balancing personal tragedy, national remembrance, and an all-encompassing, enduring love. The Eternal Memory streams on Paramount+ (and while you’re there, give the nominated documentary short The ABCs of Book Banning a watch, too). Nominations: 1, for Best Documentary
May December
May December embraces plenty of taboos as it weaves its morally complex web from a ripped-from-the-headlines story. Natalie Portman stars as Elizabeth, an actress headed to Georgia to study the woman she’s set to play in a new film. That would be Gracie (Julianne Moore), who preyed on 13-year-old Joe two decades earlier. Now, she and Joe (Charles Melton) are married and nearly empty nesters, and Elizabeth’s arrival is enough to throw their relationship’s precarious balance totally off-kilter. It’s a near-impossible needle to thread, but director Todd Haynes does it with aplomb. May December streams on Netflix, and you can read Observer’s review here. Nominations: 1, for Best Original Screenplay
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Short films may not always be on your radar as must-watch Oscar nominees, but this year the category boasts a short from Wes Anderson. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar sees the filmmaker delve once more into Roald Dahl’s bibliography, adapting the story of the same name into a 40-minute candy-colored work of art. Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Dev Patel star in this wondrous tale, the first of several shorts that Anderson made from Dahl’s work. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar streams on Netflix, as does its fellow Live Action Short nominee, the David Oyelowo-starring The After. Nominations: 1, for Best Live Action Short
What to Watch is a regular endorsement of movies and TV worth your streaming time.
