Perusing the TV Movie Emmy ballots, it's easy to be reminded that streaming movies are always a either/or prospects in terms of awards. Sometimes they're submitted for the Emmys and sometimes Oscars. It's not always clear which it will be since TV and Movies stopped feeling so separate as artforms once streaming upended screen entertainment. Sometimes movies are designed as theatrical features, premiere at film festivals and be bought by a streamer (remember Bad Education?) and try for Emmys. It's difficult to know which is which these days unless you're constantly on the phone with publicists but those decisions can be reversed or made later in some cases. Oscar is requiring theatrical releases again for eligibility purposes but that's easy for major corporations to work around by "four-walling" theaters without any publicity for a week to hedge awards bets. Netflix bought a couple of movie theaters almost specifically for this purpose.
Long story short here are Emmy eligible movies that people (including sometimes myself) might have previously mistaken for movie-movies for various reasons...
FRESH
Despite capable performances from the ever reliable Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar Jones I'll admit I loathed this distasteful horror film which also wants to be an allegory for the nightmare of modern dating. Matt was much more favorable in his review here. Searchlight Pictures made this one but after its Sundance premiere went quickly to Hulu.
JOLT
This action comedy starring Kate Beckinsale was a theatrical release in some countries and streaming only in others including the US. It's on Amazon Prime.
THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE
This musician drama, an A24/Apple coproduction had a limited US theatrical release simultaneously with its online debut in February which would make it Oscar eligible. Instead they opted to submit it for the Emmys. It's on Apple TV+
THE SURVIVOR
Barry Levinson (Rainman, Bugsy, Avalon) was once an Oscar darling. His latest, a post World War II boxing drama starring Ben Foster premiered at TIFF and was a theatrical release in some countries but is considered a television movie in the US. It's on HBO.
A HANDFUL OF OTHER HOPEFULS FOR THE "TV MOVIE" CATEGORY THAT ARE MORE CLEARLY TV MOVIES:
Three Months - coming of age drama with Troye Sivan, Brianne Tju, and Viveik Kalra (Paramount+)
The Fallout - high school drama with Jenna Ortega and Maddie Zeigler (HBO)
I Want You Back - romcom with Jenny Slate, Charlie Day, Gina Rodriguez, and Manny Jacinto (Amazon)
Crush - high school romcom with Rowan Blanchard and Auli'i Cravalho (Hulu)
Single All the Way - gay romcom with Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, and Luke Macfarlane (Netflix)
The Voyeurs - erotic drama with Sydney Sweeney, Justice Smith, and Ben Hardy (Amazon)
The Valet - romcom with Samara Weaving and Eugenio Derbez (Hulu)
WHICH MOVIES ARE YOU ROOTING FOR IN TERMS OF THIS CATEGORY?
WHAT ABOUT NEXT YEAR?
Sadly this "it's actually a tv movie!" phenomenon could still happen to recent releases like Fire Island, Cha Cha Real Smooth, and Good Luck To You Leo Grande .
All three had film festival debuts and all three have praise-worthy work in various categories, particularly Emma Thompson's absolutely stunning lead actress work in the sexual drama Good Luck to You Leo Grande. Those three films won't be in play for the 2022 Emmys since they debuted after the eligibility cut-off but they could still be dubbed TV movies for the 2023 Emmys. In the past we've just gone along with Emmy/Oscar rulings for our own top ten lists and Film Bitch Awards but that's becoming increasingly difficult to do since sometimes you don't know for months after something premieres which prize it's going for. Theoretically you could place a movie on your official top ten list and vote for it at your film critics organization and then find out after the fact that it's not a 'movie' after all, despite being made my prominent film studios and festival runs because 'no, it's actually going to be submitted for the Emmys'. The industry's top awards shows function on different timetables so streaming distribution companies, who tend to bankroll both Emmy and Oscar campaigns depending on the film, can theoretically change their mind at any given moment.
What to do... what to do? Would love to hear your opinion on this matter. I have been considering changing my own awards to 'anything that is feature-length is a Movie" (easy!) with no distinction about how it's distributed since that keeps changing and often differs on the same movie from country to country!'. It's easier with series as those are obviously television; their only arguable cinematic equivalents are serials (which no longer exist) or tentpole franchises which are often years between 'episodes', excuse me "installments", so they feel like proper movies... at least if they're made well.