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.”
Snubbed! Ben Affleck, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio miss out on Oscar nominations
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!”).
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”).
And Ariana DeBose leads the way for the best supporting actress nominees, 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 different categories, breaking the record of six nods in six categories held by George Clooney and Walt Disney.
Branagh made the best director field alongside Campion, Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”), Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”) and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”).
Who is hosting the Oscars?
What’s still to be determined is who’ll be nominated to emcee this year’s Oscars ceremony. The last several shows went hostless after Jimmy Kimmel had consecutive turns in 2017 and 2018.
Here are this year’s nominees in top categories:
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”
