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Oscars 2022: Sian Heder's 'CODA' wins Best Picture, fans say 'what a journey' it has been

'CODA' won the Best Picture accolade at this year's Academy Awards and fans couldn't hold their emotions back

Sian Heder’s ‘CODA’ has stunned everyone by winning the Best Picture accolade at this year’s Academy Awards. The family drama is one of the most critically-acclaimed movies of the year and was always considered a frontrunner for the night’s top prize. The $10m budget film, named after the term for children of deaf adults, has become only the third film directed by a woman to win the top prize.

The movie had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last year and Apple acquired the distribution rights for a whopping $25 million. ‘CODA’ is now the first movie from a streaming service to win the Best Picture trophy. It faced stiff competition from several movies such as ‘The Power of the Dog’, ‘Belfast’, ‘King Richard’, ‘Dune’, ‘Licorice Pizza’, ‘Drive My Car’, ‘Nightmare Alley’, ‘Don’t Look Up’, and ‘West Side Story’, but kept its winning streak continued.

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It also won in the top categories at the Producers’ Guild Awards, Writers’ Guild of America Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards as well.

The movie broke several records with its win and became the first movie since 1932’s ‘Grand Hotel’ to win the Best Picture award with three or fewer nominations at the Oscars. ‘CODA’ is only the second to win the night’s top prize without directing and edition nominations.

Producer Philippe Rousselet led the acceptance speeches by saying, "Thank you to the Academy for letting our ‘Coda’ make history tonight." He added, “It hasn't been an easy ride. From the first day of shooting when our cast and crew were supposed to be at 4 a.m. at sea fishing when we were told a giant storm was about to hit us. It was only the beginning of our problems, but you've kept the boat afloat.”

Social media could not contain their excitement after ‘CODA’ won the night’s biggest prize and flooded Twitter with extraordinary messages. One of the fans wrote, “Woohoo! This movie so deserved this. I haven't ugly-cried from a movie in so long. Maybe ever.” Another fan wrote, “It was the best film, hands down.” Another social media user said, “But for real go see #CODA. It’s really a fun film with a lot of heart and truly deserved #Oscars best picture.”

Meanwhile, another ‘CODA’ fan wrote, “The first film I ever saw as an accredited critic at Sundance was #CODA and I was blown away. To see it win Best Picture now, I just couldn’t be happier for them. What a journey for this film and the creative team behind it.” Another fan said, “Bravo! So very well deserved. Loved every minute of your movie. Every. Minute. That’s my take away from tonight’s Oscars.”

“So very happy that Coda won!!!!!” another social media user said. "Great story + diverse and powerful cast = a movie of blockbuster proportions! +Throw in an amazing marketing campaign by Apple TV Plus= Oscar. Congrats @AppleTV!! It’s a wonderful movie and I’m so happy that it's getting the love it deserves!"

Apart from winning Best Picture, Sian Heder also picked the Best Adapted Screenplay trophy at tonight’s event. On the other hand, Troy Kotsur became the second deaf actor to win an Oscar when he won the Best Supporting Actor award for ‘CODA.