Gold Derby predicted “The Power of the Dog” would be a major player on the morning of the 2022 Oscars nominations announcements, but we were surprised by its impressive showing. The Jane Campion-directed Netflix film reaped a leading 12 bids with all of the main cast (Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons) meriting mention. The only other film to score double digit nominations was Denis Villeneuve‘s sci-fi epic “Dune” with 10 (but he was snubbed for helming). Find out who wins when the 94th annual Academy Awards ceremony airs live on ABC on Sunday, March 27.
SEE 2022 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees in all 23 categories at the 94th Academy Awards
Both “The Power of the Dog” and “Dune” count Best Picture nominations in their haul. Their eight rivals in that race are “Belfast,” “CODA,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Drive My Car,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley” and “West Side Story.”
Campion is joined in the Best Director category by Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”), Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”) and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”).
“The Power of the Dog,” which takes place in dusty Montana in 1925, contends for picture, director, actor (Cumberbatch), supporting actress (Dunst), supporting actor (Smit-McPhee), supporting actor (Plemons), adapted screenplay, cinematography, film editing, original score, production design and sound. If it ends up prevailing in the Best Picture category, it would be a first for a streaming service, in this case Netflix.
“Dune’s” 10 nominations are for picture, adapted screenplay, cinematography, costume design, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, sound and visual effects. Many pundits thought Villeneuve would be a lock for a directing nom based on his film adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel getting so many other citations, but the French Canadian filmmaker was left on the cutting room floor.
Next up with seven notices apiece are “Belfast” and “West Side Story.” Both movies earned love in the picture, director and sound races. “Belfast” also scored two acting noms (Ciarán Hinds for supporting actor, Judi Dench for supporting actress), plus song (“Down To Joy”) and original screenplay. “West Side Story,” meanwhile, earned a bid for supporting actress Ariana DeBose, as well as cinematography, costume design and production design.
Crowd-pleaser “King Richard,” about the early lives of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, was next in line with six Oscar nominations: picture, actor (Will Smith), supporting actress (Aunjanue Ellis), original screenplay, film editing and song (“Be Alive”).
Earning four bids apiece are “Don’t Look Up” (picture, original screenplay, film editing and score), “Drive My Car” (picture, director, adapted screenplay and international feature) and “Nightmare Alley” (picture, cinematography, costume design and production design). See the complete list of Oscar nominations.
