The 94th Annual Academy Awards just released the nominations for their numerous categories. For many, the Oscars are something to look forward to, highlighting their favorite movies of the year. This year’s awards shine a spotlight on movies like Dune (2021), and The Power of the Dog (2021), with ten nominations and twelve nominations respectively. The six most major categories, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, are as follows: 

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 Director: 

Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza

Kenneth Branagh for Belfast

Jane Champion for Power of the Dog

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi for Drive My Car

Steven Spielberg for West Side Story

Best Actress: 

Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Penelope Cruz for Parallel Mothers

Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos

Kristen Stewart for Spencer

Olivia Colman for The Lost Daughter

Best Actor:

Andrew Garfield for Tick, Tick… Boom!

Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth

Will Smith for King Richard

Benedict Cumberbatch for The Power of the Dog

Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos

Best Supporting Actress: 

Arianda Debose for West Side Story

Kristen Dunst for The Power of the Dog

Judi Dench for Belfast

Aunjanue Ellis for King Richad

Jessie Buckley for The Lost Daughter

Best Supporting Actor: 

Troy Kutsar for CODA

Ciarán Hinds for Belfast

Jesse Plemons for The Power of the Dog

Kodi Smit-Mcphee for The Power of the Dog

J.K. Simmons for Being the Ricardos

Overall, there’s still a lack of diversity with the nominations, with Halle Berry being the only black woman in the 94 years of the Oscars to win Best Actress, and most contenders for the nominations are white, with only one female director being nominated for Best Director. However, the reception to the awards were overall positive, but there is room for improvement and doing better. There were also a few surprises, such as Nightmare Alley and Don’t Look Up not being at the top of most people’s prediction lists. 

The Oscars are being streamed March 27th, and anyone can watch their favorite, or least favorite, movies and actors win these awards. Enjoy the show, and remember to be respectful to other people’s favorites if they win.