The Power of the Dog, Dune lead 2022 Academy Award nominations
The Power of the dog leads with 12 nominations, Dune nabs 10
Slow-moving western The Power of the Dog and sci-fi epic Dune lead the nominations for the 94th Academy Awards, with 12 and 10 nominations respectively.
The Power of the Dog's nominations were spread out through almost every big category. Jane Campion is up for best director, and is now the first woman to be nominated for that category twice, following her 1993 nod for The Piano. Star Benedict Cumberbatch is also up for best actor, while Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee are both nominated for best supporting actor. Kirsten Dunst is in the running for best supporting actress — her first Oscar nomination.
Dune also managed to score nominations in multiple categories, including best original score, best adapted screenplay, cinematography, costume design, production design and the night's top award: best picture.
Other best picture nominations went to Belfast, CODA, Don't Look Up, Drive My Car, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog and West Side Story.
But even as Dune received accolades in other categories, Canadian director Denis Villeneuve was ignored for the best director. In a statement, Villeneuve commented on the film's impressive performance; before saying he "could not be more proud" of the Dune team on their nominations, he offered some advice.
"Here is a trick for all filmmakers on Oscars nomination morning. At the very last minute before announcements, make pancakes. It helps with the stress," he was quoted as saying. "Second, make sure you put enough eggs in the preparation, our pancakes were a disaster."
Outside of best picture, the film's nominations were in largely technical categories — including best sound, best costume design, best film editing and best makeup and hairstyling.
A surprising find among the best picture, meanwhile, was a nod for the lesser-known Nightmare Alley, which also grabbed nominations for Canadians Luis Sequeira in costume design and achievement in production design for Shane Vieau.
Of the five Canadian short films to make the Oscars' long list, one — Affairs of the Art — made it through on Tuesday. The 16-minute animated short is by director Joanna Quinn and writer-producer Les Mills, and continues a series that began in 1987 with the film Girls Night Out.
Meanwhile, the pandemic's movie saviour, Spider-Man: No Way Home, only managed to snag a single nomination for best visual effects, despite gigantic box-office success and stellar reviews. Similarly, Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — starring Canadian Simu Liu — earned a single nomination in the same category.
The Kristen Stewart-led Spencer is also up for only a single award (best actress, Stewart's first Oscar nomination), though that continues a surprising trend. While the Princess Diana biopic received early buzz and strong reviews at film festivals, it has been given comparatively little love in the awards circuit, with Stewart left off the SAG Awards nominee list earlier this year.
In another surprise, Tick Tick... Boom! — directed by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda — was left out of the best picture category, despite its own strong reviews.
Elsewhere in the nomination list, Encanto continued its music dominance. With the film's songs — which were penned by Miranda — already dominating the music charts, the Oscars honoured it in the best animated feature film,original song and best original score categories.
The Oscar nominations were announced Tuesday morning by actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan. The 94th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, a return to their usual home after last year's pandemic switch-up. Ratings plummeted in 2021 to all-time lows, and organizers have yet to announce plans for this year's show — aside from the fact that it will have a host for the first time since 2018.
The nominees for best picture are:
- Belfast.
- CODA.
- Don't Look Up.
- Drive My Car.
- Dune.
- King Richard.
- Licorice Pizza.
- Nightmare Alley.
- The Power of the Dog.
- West Side Story.
The nominees for best actress are:
- Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
- Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter.
- Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers.
- Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos.
- Kristen Stewart, Spencer.
The nominees for best actor are:
- Will Smith, King Richard.
- Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos.
- Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog.
- Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom!
- Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth.
The nominees for best supporting actress are:
- Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter.
- Ariana DeBose West Side Story.
- Judi Dench, Belfast.
- Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog.
- Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard.
The nominees for best supporting actor are:
- Ciaran Hinds, Belfast.
- Troy Kotsur, CODA.
- Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog.
- Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog.
- J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos.
The nominees for documentary feature are:
- Summer of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
- Flee.
- Attica.
- Ascension.
- Writing With Fire.
The nominees for best animated feature are:
- Encanto.
- Flee.
- Luca.
- The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
- Raya and the Last Dragon.
Nominees for best director are:
- Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza.
- Kenneth Branagh, Belfast.
- Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog.
- Steven Spielberg, West Side Story.
- Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car.
The nominees for best original score are:
- Don't Look Up.
- Dune.
- Encanto.
- Parallel Mothers.
- The Power of the Dog.
The nominees for costume design are:
- Cruella.
- Cyrano.
- Dune.
- Nightmare Alley.
- West Side Story.
The nominees for original screenplay are:
- Belfast.
- Don't Look Up.
- King Richard.
- Licorice Pizza.
- The Worst Person in the World.
The nominees for adapted screenplay are:
- CODA.
- Drive My Car.
- Dune
- The Lost Daughter.
- The Power of the Dog.