There are two primary forces at war in this year’s Oscars nominations. Hungry for little golden trophies and snapping for success with its ravenous jaws, there’s dog power – aka Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog. In the opposite corner (or, hiding beneath the sand and ready to strike at the merest footfall) is desert power – aka Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi spectacular Dune.
Campion’s film has rustled up the most nominations at this year’s ceremony, with a grand total of 12 – including Best Picture, Directing, Adapted Screenplay, Leading Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Supporting Actor noms for Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst. It’s an awards powerhouse – and historic for Campion, the first woman to be nominated twice for Directing, previously for 1993’s The Piano (which she lost out to Steven Spielberg for Schindler’s List). Hot on The Power Of The Dog’s heels is the might of House Atreides, as Dune picked up a hefty 10 nominations too. Among plenty of technical awards (Visual Effects, Cinematography, Sound), Villeneuve’s film bagged a Best Picture nod, as well as Adapted Screenplay – though it didn’t get a director nomination, or any acting nods.
Back on Earth, it was good news for Steven Spielberg. West Side Story snapped in from the sidelines to nab seven nominations, including Best Picture, Directing, Supporting Actress for Ariana DeBose, Cinematography, and Sound. But, hopes that the iconic Rita Moreno might return for another Supporting Actress win (as she did for playing Anita in the 1961 film) have been dashed, and there’s nothing for Rachel Zegler, or the scene-stealing Mike Faist. Across the Atlantic, Belfast also fared well with seven nominations – it’s up for Best Picture, Kenneth Branagh is down for Directing and Original Screenplay, and there are Supporting Actor nominations for Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench.
Rounding out the frontrunners is King Richard, earning a lot of (forty-)love with its ace depiction of a young Venus and Serena Williams, and the father who coached them to sporting glory. It’s up for six awards, including Best Picture and Original Screenplay, with a Leading Actor nomination for Will Smith and a Supporting Actress nod for Aunjanue Ellis.
Also competing for Best Picture are CODA, Adam McKay’s apocalyptic satire Don’t Look Up (down for Original Screenplay too, but no acting awards), Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza (as well as a PTA Directing nomination, and Original Screenplay – though a shocking snub for Alana Haim), plus Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley. But most notable of all might be Drive My Car – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s acclaimed Japanese drama is a rare international film to break into the Best Picture pack, also receiving a nomination for Hamaguchi himself for Directing, plus Adapted Screenplay and International Feature Film.
Elsewhere, there were several pleasing nominations in the wake of some surprising BAFTA snubs – Kristen Stewart is up for Leading Actress for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer, while Andrew Garfield is in the Leading Actor race after singing up a storm as Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick… Boom!. He’ll face serious competition from Denzel Washington for his role as the doomed king in The Tragedy Of Macbeth. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley were nominated for The Lost Daughter (in Leading Actress and Supporting Actress, respectively), though Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut didn’t get recognised in Best Picture or Directing. Plus, CODA’s Troy Kotsur has become the first deaf actor to be nominated for an Oscar – he’s down for Supporting Actor.
For Team Marvel, it hasn’t been the biggest year – while Chloé Zhao swept the 2021 Oscars with Nomadland, there wasn’t anything for Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home only received a nomination in the Visual Effects category (alongside Shang-Chi). No Time To Die was similarly relegated to the technical categories (Visual Effects, Sound), plus a nomination for Billie Eilish in the Original Song competition. Still, Disney will be pleased with three nominations for Encanto, including Animated Feature Film, Original Score, and Original Song for ‘Dos Oruguitas’. “No ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’?,” we hear you cry – well, it wasn’t submitted. Heartening, too, to see The Mitchells Vs. The Machines in the Animated Feature Film category, even if Mamoru Hosoda’s beautiful Belle was missed out.
Perhaps the starriest film to end up more or less empty handed is House Of Gucci. Aside from Make-Up And Hairstyling, it received nothing – so no Gaga, no Ridley Scott, and (mercifully) no Jared Leto or that accent. Plus, there was a baffling lack of musical nods for Annette, nothing for Rebecca Hall’s Passing either, and very little for Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. And if Belfast is a major frontrunner, it’s surprising not to see Caitriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan among the acting nominees.
Still, the most curious set of nominations surely belongs to Flee, whose multifaceted mix of style, subject and form found it up for Animated Feature Film, Documentary and International Feature Film – being all three of those things at once.
Who will triumph on 27 March, then? Will Denis Villeneuve be blasting back to Arrakis with a bucketload of bullion? Will Jane Campion claim her long-overdue awards gold? Will Belfast swoop in and bag the lot? Or will West Side Story triumph in a right royal rumble? Read the full nominations below, and stay tuned for the shiniest awards show of all.
The Full List Of Nominees
Best Picture
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power Of The Dog
West Side Story
Best Director
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Jane Campion – The Power Of The Dog
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Best Actor
Javier Bardem – Being The Ricardos
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power Of The Dog
Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick… BOOM!
Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy Of Macbeth
Best Supporting Actress
Jessie Buckley - The Lost Daughter
Ariana DeBose - West Side Story
Judi Dench - Belfast
Kirsten Dunst - The Power Of The Dog
Aunjanue Ellis - King Richard
Best Supporting Actor
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jesse Plemons – The Power Of The Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power Of The Dog
JK Simmons – Being The Ricardos
Best Adapted Screenplay
CODA - Siân Heder
Drive My Car - Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Takamasa Oe
Dune - Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts & Denis Villeneuve
The Lost Daughter - Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Power Of The Dog - Jane Campion
Best Original Screenplay
Belfast - Kenneth Branagh
Don’t Look Up Adam McKay & David Sirota
Licorice Pizza - Paul Thomas Anderson
King Richard - Zach Baylin
The Worst Person In The World - Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
Best Costume Design
Cruella – Jenny Beavan
Cyrano – Massimo Cantini Parrini
Dune – Robert Morgan & Jacqueline West
Nightmare Alley – Luis Sequeira
West Side Story - Paul Tazewell
Best Original Score
Don’t Look Up - Nicholas Britell
Dune - Hans Zimmer
Encanto - Germaine Franco
Parallel Mothers - Alberto Iglesias
The Power of the Dog - Jonny Greenwood
Best Sound
Belfast
Dune
No Time To Die
The Power Of The Dog
West Side Story
Best Animated Feature Film
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells Vs. The Machines
Raya And The Last Dragon
Best Cinematography
Dune - Greig Fraser
Nightmare Alley - Dan Lausten
The Power Of The Dog - Ari Wegner
The Tragedy Of Macbeth - Bruno Delbonnel
West Side Story - Janusz Kaminski
Best Documentary Feature
Ascension
Attica
Flee
Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Writing With Fire
Best Film Editing
Don’t Look Up - Hank Corwin
Dune - Joe Walker
King Richard - Pamela Martin
The Power Of The Dog - Peter Sciberras
Tick, Tick… Boom! - Myron Kerstein & Andrew Weisblum
Best International Feature Film
Drive My Car (Japan)
Flee (Denmark)
The Hand Of God (Italy)
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan)
The Worst Person In The World (Norway)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Cruella
Dune
The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
House Of Gucci
Coming 2 America
Best Original Song
“Be Alive” — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter & Darius Scott (King Richard)
“Dos Oruguitas” — Lin-Manuel Miranda (Encanto)
“Down to Joy” — Van Morrison (Belfast)
“No Time to Die” — Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell (No Time To Die)
“Somehow You Do” — Diane Warren (Four Good Days)
Best Production Design
Dune - Zsuzsanna Sipos & Patrice Vermette
Nightmare Alley - Tamara Deverell & Shane Vieau
The Power Of The Dog - Grant Major & Amber Richards
The Tragedy Of Macbeth - Stefan Dechant & Nancy Haigh
West Side Story - Rena DeAngelo & Adam Stockhausen
Best Visual Effects
Dune
Free Guy
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
No Time To Die
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Best Live Action Short Film
Ala Kachuu — Take And Run
The Dress
The Long Goodbye
On My Mind
Please Hold
Best Documentary Short Subject
Audible
Lead Me Home
The Queen Of Basketball
Three Songs For Benazir
When We Were Bullies
Best Animated Short Film
Affairs Of The Art
Bestia
Boxballet
Robin Robin
The Windshield Wiper