Netflix Reportedly Spending More Than Anyone Else In A Decade On Its Oscar Campaign For 'Roma'

Netflix is known for its seemingly endless bank account. The streaming service has never been shy about throwing down millions and millions of dollars on a film acquisition or production. So, it shouldn’t make anyone shocked to know that the company is using that same “throw money at the problem” mentality with its Oscar campaign for Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.” However, when you find out just how far Netflix is going, it really does set a new standard for awards season spending.

The last couple of weeks has been very good to “Roma.” At the recent Golden Globes, the Netflix release not only won the Best Foreign Language Film award, but also took home the Best Director award for Cuaron. Then just a couple of days ago, “Roma” not only won the Best Foreign Language award at the Critics’ Choice Awards but actually would go on to win the Best Picture award, besting the supposed front-runners like “A Star is Born,” “The Favourite,” “Green Book,” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

And as Netflix is known to do, it would appear that the reason “Roma” seems to be doing so well at these awards ceremonies is due to its campaign spending. According to a recent report from Fast Company, the streaming service is pulling out all the stops to ensure that “Roma” not only lands that coveted Oscar nomination, but turns into a major contender to win the Best Picture award at next month’s show.

“They’re the 800-pound gorilla,” says an unnamed publicist. “It seems like they have unlimited resources.”

The report goes into detail about what Netflix did to secure a good night at the Globes, which included gifts for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that are above and beyond the typical campaign.

Fast Company explained the gifts included “a box of Oaxacan dark chocolates with a note signed by Yalitza Aparicio, the actress who plays the nanny Cleo in the movie…The company also sent out a glossy ‘Roma’ coffee-table book, and a Roma poster signed by Cuarón. Recipients were asked if they wanted it framed or rolled. Netflix also set up a ‘Roma’ immersive experience on a Hollywood production stage; it hosted cocktail parties celebrating the film, including one led by Angelina Jolie; and it bought a slew of print, digital, and television ads, including a full two-minute ‘Roma’ spot that aired during ‘CBS Sunday Morning.’ According to one media buyer, the cost of that ad alone is about $170,000…Members of the HFPA and other journalists were also invited–as they are annually–to a Christmas party at [Netflix executive Ted] Sarandos’s manse.”

For its Oscar campaign, it would appear that Netflix went even further. “There’s no question its ‘Roma’ campaign is the most expensive since ‘The Social Network,’ which has often been cited in the $25 million area,” another unnamed marketer told Fast Company.

Netflix knows that “Roma” is the company’s best shot at a major Oscar win in the streaming service’s history. One would have to wonder just how hard they’d campaign if the film wasn’t a Spanish-language, black and white period drama? That’s a hard sell for Best Picture any year, and Netflix is already outspending everyone else. What would have happened if the company was the distributor behind “If Beale Street Could Talk?” Either way, the streaming service is setting the new standard and it’s up to the other studios to try to keep up.

We’ll see if the campaigning works when the Oscars are handed out on February 24.