Oscar nominations 2022: 'The Power of the Dog' leads with 12, Kristen Stewart nabs first nod
Oscar voters spread the love between multiple contenders when the Academy Awards nominees were announced Tuesday morning, though director Jane Campion's Western tale "The Power of the Dog" looked close to a front-runner with 12 nominations, including four acting honors.
The 94th annual Academy Awards, airing March 27 (ABC, 8 p.m. EDT/5 PDT), will again have a host – for the first time in four years – plus plenty of intrigue about who's getting what honors.
"Dog" and sci-fi epic "Dune," which nabbed 10 nominations, are up for the night's top prize – best picture – along with coming-of-age dramas "Belfast" and "Licorice Pizza," Japanese film "Drive My Car," musical redo "West Side Story," sports biopic "King Richard," disaster satire "Don't Look Up," inclusive tearjerker "CODA" and noir remake "Nightmare Alley."
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Will "King Richard" star Will Smith reign on Oscar night? He's up for best actor in a contingent that includes Denzel Washington ("The Tragedy of Macbeth"), Javier Bardem ("Being the Ricardos"), Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Power of the Dog") and Andrew Garfield ("tick, tick ... BOOM!").
Tennis champion Serena Williams tells USA TODAY that a nomination for Smith (who stars in the biopic as Richard Williams, Venus and Serena's father) is "well-deserved" and "just gives me chills to even think about. And it’s incredibly emotional because we’ve had such a long journey."
Recent Golden Globe winner Nicole Kidman ("Being the Ricardos") will be going for her second best-actress win against Olivia Colman ("The Lost Daughter"), Jessica Chastain ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye"), Penelope Cruz ("Parallel Mothers") and Kristen Stewart ("Spencer"), an early Oscar favorite who's back in the hunt after being snubbed by the Screen Actors Guild.
"The Power of the Dog" co-stars Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons were nominated for best supporting actor alongside Troy Kotsur ("CODA"), J.K. Simmons ("Being the Ricardos") and Ciaran Hinds ("Belfast").
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And Ariana DeBose leads the way for nominees for best supporting actress, a group that also feature Judi Dench ("Belfast"), Kirsten Dunst ("The Power of the Dog"), Aunjanue Ellis ("King Richard") and Jessie Buckley ("The Lost Daughter").
Kenneth Branagh is making a little history this year with seven nominations in seven categories, breaking the record of nods in six categories held by George Clooney, Alfonso Cuarón and Walt Disney.
Branagh was nominated for best director, as was Campion, the first woman to receive multiple nominations in the category. Rounding out the field: Ryusuke Hamaguchi ("Drive My Car"), Paul Thomas Anderson ("Licorice Pizza") and Steven Spielberg ("West Side Story").
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Spielberg received his 11th nomination for best picture, a record for an individual producer, and Kotsur became the first deaf male actor to receive an acting nomination. (His "CODA" co-star Marlee Matlin was the first nominated deaf performer and went on to win for "Children of a Lesser God" in 1987.)
Bardem and Cruz are the sixth married couple to be nominated for acting in the same year (the last pair was Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in 1966). Dunst and Plemons, who are engaged, also both garnered acting nominations this year as co-stars in "Power of the Dog."
Lady Gaga, Ben Affleck snubbed in acting categories
Among the notable snubs were "House of Gucci" stars Lady Gaga and Jared Leto, who scored SAG nominations for best actress and supporting actor respectively but were shut out of Oscar contention.
"Respect" star Jennifer Hudson didn't make the very competitive field for lead actress either, plus missed out on a potential nod for best original song. Bradley Cooper also didn't make the Oscar cut, even though he had a high-profile lead role in "Nightmare Alley" and a scene-stealing turn in "Licorice Pizza," nor could SAG nominee Ben Affleck ("The Tender Bar") or past Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio (in consideration for "Don't Look Up") crack the lineup from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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Who is hosting the Oscars?
What's still to be determined is who'll be nominated to emcee this year's ceremony. The past several shows went hostless after Jimmy Kimmel had consecutive turns in 2017 and 2018.
Here is the list of nominees at this year's Oscars:
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 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 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 supporting actor
Ciarán Hinds, "Belfast"
Troy Kotsur, "CODA"
Jesse Plemons, "The Power of the Dog"
J.K. Simmons, "Being the Ricardos"
Kodi Smit-McPhee, "The Power of the Dog"
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 director
Kenneth Branagh, "Belfast"
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, "Drive My Car"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "Licorice Pizza"
Jane Campion, "The Power of the Dog"
Steven Spielberg, "West Side Story"
Original screenplay
"Belfast," Kenneth Branagh
"Don't Look Up," Adam McKay and David Sirota
"King Richard," Zach Baylin
"Licorice Pizza," Paul Thomas Anderson
"The Worst Person in the World," Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Adapted screenplay
"CODA," Sian Heder
"Drive My Car," Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
"Dune," Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
"The Lost Daughter," Maggie Gyllenhaal
"The Power of the Dog," Jane Campion
Animated feature film
"Encanto"
"Flee"
"Luca"
"The Mitchells vs. the Machines"
"Raya and the Last Dragon"
International 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)
Original song
"Be Alive" (from "King Richard")
"Dos Oruguitas" (from "Encanto")
"Down To Joy" (from "Belfast")
"No Time To Die" (from "No Time to Die")
"Somehow You Do" (from "Four Good Days")
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
Cinematography
"Dune"
"Nightmare Alley"
"The Power of the Dog"
"The Tragedy of Macbeth"
"West Side Story"
Costume design
"Cruella"
"Cyrano"
"Dune"
"Nightmare Alley"
"West Side Story"
Film editing
"Don't Look Up"
"Dune"
"King Richard"
"The Power of the Dog"
"tick, tick ... BOOM!"
Makeup and hairstyling
"Coming 2 America"
"Cruella"
"Dune"
"The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
"House of Gucci"
Production design
"Dune"
"Nightmare Alley"
"The Power of the Dog"
"The Tragedy of Macbeth"
"West Side Story"
Sound
"Belfast"
"Dune"
"No Time to Die"
"The Power of the Dog"
"West Side Story"
Visual effects
"Dune"
"Free Guy"
"No Time to Die"
"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"
"Spider-Man: No Way Home"
Documentary feature film
"Ascension"
"Attica"
"Flee"
"Summer of Soul (... Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"
"Writing With Fire"
Documentary short subject
"Audible"
"Lead Me Home"
"The Queen of Basketball"
"Three Songs for Benazir"
"When We Were Bullies"
Animated short film
"Affairs of the Art"
"Bestia"
"Boxballet"
"Robin Robin"
"The Windshield Wiper"
Live action short film
"Ala Kachuu - Take and Run"
"The Dress"
"The Long Goodbye"
"On My Mind"
"Please Hold"
Contributing: Ralphie Aversa
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oscars nominations list 2022: 'The Power of the Dog' leads way with 12
