We’re in the midst of awards season’s frenzy. Now it’s less speculating about what big 2021 movies will get trophy love and more of starting to see what has actually gotten the most nominations. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just unveiled their nominations for the 94th Oscars, which will take place on March 27, 2022.
A few titles have emerged with the most nods. Jane Campion’s western The Power of the Dog has 12 nominations; Denis Villeneuve’s Dune amassed 10 — not all of them in the technical categories, as can happen with science-fiction fare at the Oscars. Close behind are West Side Story and Belfast with seven nominations each.
We could still see some last-minute twists during the ceremony; last year Minari and Nomadland already looked like the movies to beat at the Oscars after they premiered at Sundance and TIFF, respectively, but Promising Young Woman didn’t become a favorite contender for the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories until late into the season. This year is the controversial — panned by a lot of critics but not us, loved by the public — Don’t Look Up that has four nominations and could end up snagging Best Picture.
Here are the titles, filmmakers and performers leading the 2022 Oscars and the full list of nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards.
Oscars 2022: Best Movie Predictions
Kenneth Branagh’s black and white tale about a nine-year-old boy growing up in Belfast in the 1960s started award season as the title to beat at the Oscars. Belfast won the TIFF 2021 People’s Choice Award — and we’ve already told you how the Canadian festival has become a solid Oscar predictor. Nomadland won the same award there in 2020.
But as the season progressed, other titles climbed to the position of main contenders for best pic. Among them are Campion’s The Power of the Dog — with Benedict Cumberbatch playing a fierce rancher who torments his brother’s (Jesse Plemons) wife (Kirsten Dunst) — and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard — with Will Smith playing Richard Williams, the father of Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton). The movie tells the story of the teenage tennis champions as their dad and mom (Aunjanue Ellis) help them follow a meticulous plan to success. There’s also Villeneuve’s big-screen adaptation of the sci-fi classic Dune — it was very popular both among the critics and audiences and represents the rarer big movie spectacle — and Adam McKay’s political satire Don’t Look Up.
The Best Picture category, which this year includes 10 nominees, has also made room for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza and Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley. No surprise there, since the academy tends to reward films by established filmmakers and past winners. But I miss titles like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut and adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s The Lost Daughter or Rebecca Hall’s adaptation of Nella Larsen’s Passing.
Fortunately, there was room for one of my favorite films of 2021: CODA. Written and directed by Siân Heder, this coming-of-age story explores the options of a teenager (Emilia Jones) torn between her sense of duty to her family — she’s the CODA (child of deaf adults) of the family since both her parents and her brother are deaf — and her dream of making a career in music.
The last title among the Best Picture nominees and one that could give more than one surprise, it has four of the important nominations — Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Directing — is the Japanese Drive My Car by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi adapting a short story by Haruki Murakami.
Oscars 2022: Best Director Predictions
Kenneth Branagh also had his name locked in to get a Best Director nomination. Belfast is the most personal movie the Irish filmmaker has helmed in years. The film is based on his own childhood growing up in Belfast.
Jane Campion was the other safe name on this list of possible director contenders. The filmmaker had been working on the TV series Top of the Lake most recently; this is her first film since Bright Star in 2009. She’s the only woman to have been nominated this year — only seven women have ever received directing Oscar nominations — and the first one to have been nominated twice in the category. She was also nominated for The Piano (1993).
The Japanese Ryusuke Hamaguchi was also nominated for Drive My Car. The movie started making headlines at the end of 2021 when it got recognition from several critics groups — it was chosen best film of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle. It’s difficult to predict Hamaguchi pulling a victory in several categories à la Parasite a few years ago, but Drive My Car surely will take home the Best International Feature trophy.
Once again, the remaining two nominations are for established filmmakers Steven Spielberg (West Side Story) and Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza).
Oscars 2022: Best Actress Predictions
When it comes to Best Actress performances, I told you months ago Jessica Chastain had her name written all over a nomination thanks to her work in the biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye. She’s still one of the front-runners, as is Kristen Stewart for her role as Princess Diana in the suffocating Spencer. And since the film is so different tonally from The Crown, there are no chances of getting her performance confused with the one from Emmy-nominated Emma Corrin, who played Diana in seasons three and four of the Netflix show.
Speaking of The Crown, Emmy- and Oscar-winning actress and the Queen herself Olivia Colman has grabbed yet another nomination for her role in The Lost Daughter. While Maggie Gyllenhaal’s adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel is far from perfect, Colman shows once again she can transform herself into practically any character. Here she plays a college professor and writer confronted with her past while on vacation in Greece.
The other actresses on this list are Penélope Cruz for her role as an independent photographer and zealous mother in Pedro Almodóvar’s soapy Parallel Mothers; Nicole Kidman has also made it to the selected list of five nominees for her portrayal of the sitcom royal Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.
Oscars 2022: Best Actor Predictions
Let’s talk about actors. There were three names that pretty much had a nomination secured: Will Smith in King Richard, Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth and Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog. But Smith is probably the one who’s done more of the heavy-lifting when it comes to aggressively campaigning for a statuette. He’s the one to beat.
The remaining two slots went to Andrew Garfield for his portrayal of playwright Jonathan Larson (Rent) in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…Boom! and the Spaniard Javier Bardem, who happens to be married to the also-nominated Cruz, for his portrayal as the Cuban-accented Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos.
Oscars 2022: Full List of Nominations
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Javier Bardem in “Being the Ricardos”
- Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog”
- Andrew Garfield in “tick, tick…BOOM!”
- Will Smith in “King Richard”
- Denzel Washington in “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Ciarán Hinds in “Belfast”
- Troy Kotsur in “CODA”
- Jesse Plemons in “The Power of the Dog”
- J.K. Simmons in “Being the Ricardos”
- Kodi Smit-McPhee in “The Power of the Dog”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Jessica Chastain in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
- Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter”
- Penélope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers”
- Nicole Kidman in “Being the Ricardos”
- Kristen Stewart in “Spencer”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Jessie Buckley in “The Lost Daughter”
- Ariana DeBose in “West Side Story”
- Judi Dench in “Belfast”
- Kirsten Dunst in “The Power of the Dog”
- Aunjanue Ellis in “King Richard”
Best animated feature film of the year
- “Encanto” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer
- “Flee” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte de la Gournerie
- “Luca” Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
- “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht
- “Raya and the Last Dragon” Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho
Achievement in cinematography
- “Dune” Greig Fraser
- “Nightmare Alley” Dan Laustsen
- “The Power of the Dog” Ari Wegner
- “The Tragedy of Macbeth” Bruno Delbonnel
- “West Side Story” Janusz Kaminski
Achievement in costume design
- “Cruella” Jenny Beavan
- “Cyrano” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
- “Dune” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
- “Nightmare Alley” Luis Sequeira
- “West Side Story” Paul Tazewell
Achievement in directing
- “Belfast” Kenneth Branagh
- “Drive My Car” Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- “Licorice Pizza” Paul Thomas Anderson
- “The Power of the Dog” Jane Campion
- “West Side Story” Steven Spielberg
Best documentary feature
- “Ascension” Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
- “Attica” Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
- “Flee” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte de la Gournerie
- “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein
- “Writing With Fire” Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
Best documentary short subject
- “Audible” Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean
- “Lead Me Home” Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
- “The Queen of Basketball” Ben Proudfoot
- “Three Songs for Benazir” Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
- “When We Were Bullies” Jay Rosenblatt
Achievement in 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 and Andrew Weisblum
Best international feature film of the year
- “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
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
- “Coming 2 America” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
- “Cruella” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
- “Dune” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
- “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
- “House of Gucci” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (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
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
- “Be Alive” from “King Richard”
Music and Lyrics by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter - “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto”
Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda - “Down To Joy” from “Belfast”
Music and Lyrics by Van Morrison - “No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die”
Music and Lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell - “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days”
Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren
Best motion picture of the year
- “Belfast” Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, Producers
- “CODA” Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, Producers
- “Don’t Look Up” Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
- “Drive My Car” Teruhisa Yamamoto, Producer
- “Dune” Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, Producers
- “King Richard” Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, Producers
- “Licorice Pizza” Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers
- “Nightmare Alley” Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, Producers
- “The Power of the Dog” Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, Producers
- “West Side Story” Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
Achievement in production design
- “Dune” Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos
- “Nightmare Alley” Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
- “The Power of the Dog” Production Design: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Amber Richards
- “The Tragedy of Macbeth” Production Design: Stefan Dechant; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
- “West Side Story” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo
Best animated short film
- “Affairs of the Art” Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
- “Bestia” Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz
- “Boxballet” Anton Dyakov
- “Robin Robin” Dan Ojari and Mikey Please
- “The Windshield Wiper” Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez
Best live action short film
- “Ala Kachuu – Take and Run” Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger
- “The Dress” Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki
- “The Long Goodbye” Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed
- “On My Mind” Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson
- “Please Hold” K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse
Achievement in sound
- “Belfast” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
- “Dune” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett
- “No Time to Die” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
- “The Power of the Dog” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
- “West Side Story” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy
Achievement in visual effects
- “Dune” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer
- “Free Guy” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
- “No Time to Die” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick
Adapted screenplay
- “CODA” Screenplay by Siân Heder
- “Drive My Car” Screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
- “Dune” Screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
- “The Lost Daughter” Written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
- “The Power of the Dog” Written by Jane Campion
Original screenplay
- “Belfast” Written by Kenneth Branagh
- “Don’t Look Up” Screenplay by Adam McKay; Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota
- “King Richard” Written by Zach Baylin
- “Licorice Pizza” Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
- “The Worst Person in the World” Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Editor’s Note: This story gets updated regularly.
