Oscars Night 2022 was shocking for one obvious reason: the slap that Will Smith handed Chris Rock that got Smith subsequently banned from the Academy for ten years. But “CODA” winning Best Picture for Apple Original Films was arguably just as big a deal. It made Apple TV+ the first streaming platform to win a Best Picture Oscar before favorites like Netflix and Amazon Studios. So, of course, one would expect Apple to want to make it two years straight, with Martin Scorsese‘s “Killers Of The Flower Moon” their front-runner for another Best Picture winner.
However, Deadline reports that Apple may delay the release of Scorsese’s first movie since 2019’s “The Irishman” until 2023, skipping this year’s Oscar race entirely. Instead, Apple’s plans may be to have the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next May, followed by a summer 2023 theatrical release through Paramount. Update: Variety, et al, are saying it’s a done deal; 2023 is pretty much confirmed.
The big question here: why wouldn’t Apple want to go after another Best Picture Oscar? The move may have to do with the $200 million budget Apple put up for “Killers Of The Flower Moon.” A Cannes premiere followed by a summer theatrical rollout would guarantee both big box office for the movie and have it in the hunt for the 2024 Academy Award. An easy way for Apple to have its cake and eat it too: recoup the movie’s massive budget before it becomes a favorite at award ceremonies in early 2024.
It’s not a bad plan on Apple’s part if they go through with it. A new film by Scorsese is always a cause for excitement, but “Killers Of The Flower Moon” has an extra jolt of hype surrounding it. The film sees Scorsese reunite with long-time collaborators Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s the first time Scorsese and DiCaprio work together since 2013’s “The Wolf Of Wall Street.” And the film’s source material is first-rate, too: David Grann‘s landmark 2017 nonfiction book about the mysterious string of murders of Osage Native Americans that sparked the birth of the FBI. Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser, and John Lithgow also star.
But if Apple waits on “Killers Of The Flower Moon,” what will they put in its place for the Oscar hunt this year? Ironically, it may be “Emancipation,” the runaway slave epic that stars current Hollywood pariah Will Smith. Deadline reports that although Smith remains persona non grata in Tinsel Town, the film is finished and has scored very well with test audiences. In fact, test audiences like “Emancipation” so much it’s anticipated to become director Antoine Fuqua‘s best film since 2001’s “Training Day.”
If the movie, and Smith’s performance, are that good, then Apple may need to release it despite the actor’s current controversies. Apple never had an official release date announced for “Emancipation,” so anything is possible, even if Smith is still in the doghouse. The film stars Smith as Peter, an enslaved man who escapes Louisiana to enlist in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Pictures doctors took of Peter’s back during a physical caused a media sensation around the world at the time as gruesome evidence of the cruelty of slavery in the antebellum South.
With the recent video-documented death of George Floyd, “Emancipation” may strike a deep chord with the American public if it’s indeed released. However, Smith remains banned from the Academy for the next decade. So, even if the movie gets a release and makes a splash as an awards season favorite, Smith will have to go on an apologetic press tour to further smooth over his behavior earlier this year. He’s yet to do any of that, but expect how Smith handles himself in the coming months to be a big factor in the future release of “Emancipation.”
Will Apple go through with their plans for “Killers Of The Flower Moon” and wait for it to have a 2023 release? Stay tuned to find out.