Oscar nominations 2022: It's Belfast vs Benedict Cumberbatch!

Oscar nominations 2022: It’s Belfast vs Benedict Cumberbatch! Brit Kenneth Branagh’s movie earns eight nods while The Power Of The Dog bags 12 – but Academy comes under fire for lack of diversity

  • Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the nominations across 23 categories from an early morning event in Los Angeles  
  • The voting for this year’s nominations ended on Tuesday, February 1. As a result of last year’s ceremony being delayed, this year marked the shortest eligibility window in Oscars history 
  • So far, The Academy hasn’t made an official announcement as to who will play host on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year  
  • The immediate social media reaction as the nominations were announced focused on the lack of diversity in main categories, specifically Leading Actress
  • The 94th Academy Awards will air at 1am on Sky Cinema’s Oscars channel in the UK and at at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC in the States 

The nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning, with The Power Of The Dog taking on Belfast and Dune as the films with the most nods. 

Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the nominations across 23 categories from an early morning event in Los Angeles ahead of the ceremony on March 27. 

Fans were quick to react to the news online, with many noting the lack of diversity among the nominees – particularly within the Lead Actress category where no women of colour were nominated. 

The awards also saw a drop in the popularity of streaming services, despite the Covid pandemic wreaking havoc on the cinema industry. While Netflix managed 27 nominations, it was a drop from its 35 last year. Apple managed six, up from two, while Amazon fell from 12 to just three and Hulu equaled last year’s total with one. 

Following its eight nods at last week’s BAFTA nominations and its three wins at January’s Golden Globes, The Power Of The Dog leads the Oscars pack with 12 nods, including Best Picture, Leading Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst and Director and Adapted Screenplay for Jane Campion.

The Western drama is the film adaptation of Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel and was released in theatres as well as Netflix late last year. 

The film stars Benedict alongside Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who also both earned a Supporting Actor nomination, as secretive, psychologically duelling rivals on a 1920s Montana ranch. 

Oscar nominations 2022: It’s Belfast vs Benedict Cumberbatch! Brit Kenneth Branagh’s movie earned eight nods while The Power Of The Dog bagged 12 (pictured: nominees Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds in Belfast alongside child actor Jude Hill)

The Power Of The Dog landed nominations for Supporting Actress, Achievement in Sound, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Best Actor, Director and Best Picture.

Campion is the first woman to ever be nominated twice for Best Director, following her nod for 1993’s The Piano. Last year, Chloé Zhao became the second woman to ever win the award. 

Meanwhile, Campion’s director of photography on The Power Of The Dog, Ari Wegner, is the second woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography.

Benedict will go head to head with Will Smith for King Richard, marking his third Oscar nomination and a strong chance at his first win for the biopic of Venus and Serena Williams’ father. 

Also competing in the Leading Actor category are Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos, Andrew Garfield for tick, tick… BOOM! and Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, marking his ninth Academy Awards nomination.

Leading the way for British talent was Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, with the semi-autobiographical film bagging eight nods, including Director for Kenneth, Supporting Actress for Judi Dench and Supporting Actor for Ciarán Hinds.

Movie magic: Following its eight nods at last week’s BAFTA nominations and its three wins at January’s Golden Globes, The Power Of The Dog leads the nominations with 12 nods, including Best Picture and Leading Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch

Top prizes! Denis Villeneuve’s star-studded sci-fi epic Dune, based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, landed a slew of technical nods, along with a nod for the top prize for Best Picture bringing its total to 10

Speaking after the nominations came out, Sir Kenneth thanked Academy voters for their ‘generous recognition’.

He said: ‘It’s a long way from the streets of Belfast to the Academy Awards. Today, I think of my mother and father, and my grandparents – how proud they were to be Irish, how much this city meant to them. They would have been overwhelmed by this incredible honour – as am I.’  

Dame Judi has made history with her nod, as at 87 she has become the oldest nominee ever for Best Supporting Actress. 

It marks her seventh Academy Award nomination, the first of which came in 1999 for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. She also received nominations for Mrs Brown (1997), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006) and the 2013 film Philomena.    

However, the film’s star Jamie Dornan was snubbed in the Leading Actor category, after also missing out in last week’s BAFTA nominations. 

The movie, which was inspired by his early childhood growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, also landed a spot in the coveted Best Picture list as it continued to dominate awards season. 

It will battle it out for the top honour against Coda, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power Of The Dog and West Side Story.   

Meanwhile, Denis Villeneuve’s star-studded sci-fi epic Dune, based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, landed a slew of technical nods, along with a nod for the top prize for Best Picture bringing its total to 10. 

Good luck: Awards darling Olivia Colman is up for Best Actress for her role in The Lost Daughter, a psychological drama written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante

Great news: Olivia’s Irish co-star Jessie Buckley has also bagged herself a nomination for her work in The Lost Daughter, and will face off against Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Judi Dench (Belfast), Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).

94TH ACADEMY AWARDS: THE NOMINATIONS

BEST PICTURE 

Belfast (Focus Features)

Coda (Apple)

Don’t Look Up (Netflix)

Drive My Car (Janus Films/Sideshow)

Dune (Warner Bros)

King Richard (Warner Bros)

Licorice Pizza (MGM/United Artists Releasing)

Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)

The Power Of The Dog (Netflix)

West Side Story  (20th Century Studios)

 

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE 

Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter 

Ariana DeBose – West Side Story 

Judi Dench – Belfast 

Kirsten Dunst- The Power Of The Dog

Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard 

  

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE 

Ciaran Hinds – Belfast 

Troy Kotsur – Coda 

Jesse Plemons – The Power Of The Dog

J.K Simonns – Being The Ricardos 

Kodi Smitt-McPhee – The Power Of The Dog

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Ariana DeBose is nominated for West Side Story

COSTUME DESIGN 

Cruella 

Cyrano 

Dune 

Nightmare Alley 

West Side Story   

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND 

Belfast 

Dune 

No Time To Die 

The Power Of The Dog 

West Side Story 

 

ORIGINAL SCORE

Don’t Look Up 

Dune 

Encanto 

Parallel Mothers 

The Power Of The Dog 

 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Coda 

Drive My Car 

Dune 

The Lost Daughter 

The Power Of The Dog 

 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Belfast 

Don’t Look Up 

King Richard 

Licorice Pizza 

The Worst Person In The World   

COSTUME DESIGN: Cruella is up for the gong 

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Affairs Of The Heart 

Bestia 

Box Ballet 

Robin Robin 

The Windshield Wiper 

 

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM 

Ala Kachuu — Take and Run

The Dress

The Long Goodbye

On My Mind

Please Hold

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM 

Drive My Car

Flee

The Hand of God

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom

The Worst Person in the World

 

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Dune

Nightmare Alley

The Power of the Dog

The Tragedy of Macbeth

West Side Story 

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE 

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

 

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter

Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers

Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos

Kristen Stewart – Spencer

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Kristen Stewart is up for Spencer

DIRECTING 

Kenneth Branagh – Belfast

Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza

Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car

Steven Spielberg – West Side Story  

 

FILM EDITING 

Don’t Look Up 

Dune 

King Richard 

The Power Of The Dog 

tick, tick…BOOM!

 

MAKEUP AND HAIR STYLING

Coming 2 America 

Cruella 

Dune 

The Eyes Of Tammy Faye 

House Of Gucci

 

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 

Encanto 

Flee 

Luca 

The Mitchells VS The Machine 

Raya And The Lost Dragon   

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Encanto has bagged a nomination 

ORIGINAL SONG

Be Alive — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter & Darius Scott (King Richard)

Dos Oruguitas — Lin-Manuel Miranda (Encanto)

Down to Joy — Van Morrison (Belfast)

No Time to Die — Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell (No Time to Die)

Somehow You Do— Diane Warren (Four Good Days)

  

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Audible

Lead Me Home

The Queen of Basketball

Three Songs for Benazir

When We Were Bullies

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Ascension

Attica

Flee

Summer of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Writing with Fire

 

VISUAL EFFECTS 

Dune 

Free Guy 

No Time To Die 

 Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings

Spider-Man: No Way Home 

VISUAL EFFECTS:  Dune has bagged a nomination 

CINEMATOGRAPHY 

Dune 

Nightmare Alley 

The Power Of The Dog 

Tragedy Of Macbeth 

West Side Story 

 

Awards darling Olivia Colman is up for Best Actress for her role in The Lost Daughter, a psychological drama written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante.

It follows the story of Leda (Colman), a college professor, who while on a summer holiday, finds herself becoming obsessed with another woman (Dakota Johnson) and her young daughter, prompting memories of her own early motherhood to come back and unravel her.

Olivia will be competing against Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer). 

Speaking after the nominations were announced, Olivia said: ‘Oh my god yes. I´m so excited! And with Maggie and Jessie, and our fellow nominees, this feeling right now is bloody brilliant. Thank you, thank you, thank thank you.’ 

Olivia’s Irish co-star Jessie Buckley has also bagged herself a nomination for her work in the film, and will face off against Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Judi Dench (Belfast), Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).  

Acclaimed performance: Kristen Stewart has earned her first Oscar nomination for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer 


Leading Actress: Kristen Stewart has earned her first Oscar nomination for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer, going up against a strong category comprising of Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye and  Penélope Cruz for Parallel Mothers


All-star category: Also in with a chance in the all-star Leading Actress category are Olivia for The Lost Daughter and Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos

Meanwhile, Troy Kotsur has made history as the first deaf male Oscar nominee for his work in the film CODA.

The 53-year-old veteran was recognized in the Actor in a Supporting Role category, while his co-star Marlee Matlin became the first deaf actor – male or female – nominee and winner in 1987 for her work in Children Of A Lesser God. 

CODA has become the first movie lead by a predominantly deaf cast to be nominated for Best Picture.

In the film Kotsur plays Frank Rossi, a deaf man who is navigating challenges to his Massachusetts fishing business as his hearing daughter, Ruby (Emilia Jones), who acts as the family’s interpreter, mulls a move to college. 

He faces stiff competition in the Actor in a Supporting Role category as he is up against Ciaran Hinds for Belfast, Jesse Plemons for The Power Of The Dog, J.K Simmons for Being The Ricardos, and Kodi Smitt-McPhee for The Power Of The Dog. 

With the recognition CODA also became the first AppleTV+ original film to earn a nod.

The film was also nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category where it is up against Drive My Car, Dune, The Lost Daughter, and The Power Of The Dog. 

The Oscar nominations follow the lead of the 2022 British Academy Film Awards which were announced last week, with Dune, The Power Of The Dog and Belfast  also leading those nominations with 11, eight and six respectively.  

The 94th Academy Awards, held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, will air Sunday, March 27 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.    

Last year, the global pandemic meant a socially distanced ceremony held at Los Angeles’ Union Station. Ratings plummeted to an all-time low of 9.85 million viewers. 

The immediate social media reaction as the nominations were announced focused on the lack of diversity in main categories, specifically Leading Actress.

Tweeters pointed out there are no persons of colour in the category, with many questioning why acclaimed performances such as Rachel Zegler’s lead in West Side Story and Tessa Thompson in Netflix’s Passing were not included.

Snubbed: The immediate social media reaction as the nominations were announced focused on the lack of diversity in main categories, specifically Leading Actress with Jennifer Hudson (for Respect) a surprise omission 

MIA: Tweeters pointed out there are no persons of colour in the category, with many questioning why acclaimed performances such as Rachel Zegler’s lead in West Side Story were not included

Jennifer Hudson was also notable in her absence, missing out for her role in Aretha Franklin biopic Respect.

Hudson was among the frontrunners for the category before the nominations were announced. Some even predicted that she could earn two nods, one for Leading Actress and one for Original Song for Here I Am.

Those two nods would have made the multi-talented star the first Black woman to earn nods in three separate Oscar categories, having previously won a supporting actress Oscar in 2007 for her role in Dreamgirls.

‘This category is always so white #OscarsSoWhite its 20 years since a black actress won…. God knows how many more it will take….. @IAMJHUD is so robbed she at least deserve a nomination. #ShameOnYouOscars.’

‘Thanks @TheAcademy of another beige Best Actress list. I’m out for another year. There’s a reason ratings continue to decline year after year. #oscarsshowhite.’ 

Hollywood’s upcoming diversity rules explained: Academy unveils categories films will have to meet to be eligible to win Best Picture from 2024 onwards 

In 2020, the Academy Awards announced that movies will have to meet new diversity and inclusion standards to be eligible to win in the Best Picture category from 2024. 

To be eligible for Best Picture, films must meet any TWO of the following FOUR criteria. 

1. ON-SCREEN REPRESENTATION

This standard can be met by fulfilling any ONE of these:

– Lead actor or significant supporting actor from an ethnic minority group

– At least 30 per cent of smaller roles are played by women, LGBT people, disabled people or ethnic minorities 

–  The main storyline is centered on an under-represented group

2. CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

This standard can be met by fulfilling any ONE of these: 

– At least two senior creative posts, such as casting director, make-up artist or producer, are from an under-represented group including women

– At least six smaller roles in the crew are filled by ethnic minorities

– At least 30 per cent of the film’s total crew is from an under-represented group 

3. INDUSTRY ACCESS

This standard can be met by fulfilling BOTH of these: 

– Studios and distributors must have paid interns or apprentices who are women or come from minority groups

– Training opportunities must be offered to under-represented groups in production, distribution and financing

4. AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT 

This standard can be met by fulfilling this ONE requirement:

– Multiple senior executives in publicity, marketing and distribution are women or minority groups 

Awards other than Best Picture will continue with their previous eligibility requirements. 

The rules will take effect from the 96th Academy Awards in 2025.  

The criticism comes after it was announced that movies will have to meet new diversity and inclusion standards to be eligible to win in the Best Picture category from 2024. 

The Academy unveiled its updated standards in 2020, which encourages films hire more cast and crew from black, female, LGBT or disabled groups or address themes that affect those communities.

The standards require films put forward for the Best Picture award to meet two of four diversity standards in on-screen representation, creative leadership, industry access and audience development.

Academy bosses say the rules are intended to ‘better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience’. 

The Academy has long come under fire for its lack of diversity with only one black actor receiving a nomination for the 2020 awards. The initiatives will go into effect with films released in the year 2024, which will be recognized at the 96th Oscars in 2025.  

The standards were inspired by British Film Institute (BFI) Diversity Standards, which determine funding for some films in the UK and eligibility in some categories of the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Awards. 

Films vying for Best Picture in 2022 and 2023 will be required to fill out a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form, though meeting inclusion thresholds will not be required for Best Picture eligibility until 2024.  

No go: Lady Gaga was a force as Patrizia Reggiani in the Ridley Scott directed film House Of Gucci. But she did not receive an Oscar nomination on Tuesday

Not served: Ben Affleck, left, delivered one of his finest performances as bartender with a heart of gold, Charlie Maguire, but did not get a nod; seen with Tye Sheridan, right

Fans were also shocked by some of the high profile names that didn’t earn a nomination. 

Among those snubbed by the Oscars were Lady Gaga, Jared Leto and Al Pacino for  House Of Gucci, Ben Affleck for his work in George Clooney’s directorial effort The Tender Bar and Jennifer Hudson’s role as Aretha Franklin in Respect.  

Lady Gaga was a force as Patrizia Reggiani in the Ridley Scott directed film House Of Gucci. The movie followed the family members who ran the prestigious house of Gucci. Patrizia was the woman behind the murder of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) which made headlines worldwide.

Gaga did receive recognition for her Reggiani role from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA Awards, but not by the Academy.  

No love: Bradley Cooper was ignored for his work in both Nightmare Alley (pictured with Cate Blanchett) and Licorice Pizza, which both received Best Picture nods

Affleck delivered one of his finest performances as bartender with a heart of gold, Charlie Maguire. The film was directed by his pal Clooney and also starred Tye Sheridan, Lily Rabe, Christopher Lloyd and Daniel Ranieri.

Hudson sang her heart out to play Franklin in Respect. Her work was mesmerizing as she poured out her soul to bring the icon to life.

The movie followed the rise of Franklin’s career, from a child singing in her father’s church choir to her international superstardom. 

Not this time: Cooper Hoffman, the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (who died at age 46 in 2014), was thought to have a chance with Licorice Pizza, but he was passed over

Frances McDormand was not given an Oscar nomination for The Tragedy of Macbeth, while Bradley Cooper was ignored for his work in both Nightmare Alley and Licorice Pizza, which both received Best Picture nods. 

In Nightmare Alley he was playing a con man who reached beyond his skills. And in Licorice Pizza he was a hairstylist who romanced Barbra Streisand in the 1970s. 

Cooper Hoffman, the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (who died at age 46 in 2014), was thought to have a chance with Licorice Pizza, but he was passed over.

A pass: Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar in 2016 for The Revenant. But he was not given an Academy love this year for his work in the satire Don’t Look Up

A loss: Also snubbed was Caitríona Balfe. She did not get nominated even though she gave a very sensitive portrayal of a working class mother in Belfast

Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar in 2016 for The Revenant. But he was not given an Academy love this year for his work in the satire Don’t Look Up. But neither did his costars Jennifer Lawrence and Oscar favorite Meryl Streep. 

Rita Moreno was not given a nod for her work in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. She won for the original film in 1961 as Best Supporting Actress. 

Also snubbed was Caitríona Balfe. She did not get nominated even though she gave a very sensitive portrayal of a working class mother in Belfast. 

A no go: Denis Villeneuve, left, the director behind the sci-fi epic Dune, was also left off the list. Seen with Javier Bardem, right

Socially distanced: Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the nominations across 23 categories from an early morning event in Los Angeles ahead of the ceremony on March 27

Denis Villeneuve, the director behind the sci-fi epic Dune, was also left off the list, despite the film going on to receive a whopping 10 nominations. 

Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi did not get recognized for their song for the hit film Don’t Look Up.  

It was previously announced in January that Glenn Weiss will direct the telecast for the seventh consecutive time, while film producer Will Packer is serving as producer, and Shayla Cowan, the chief of staff of Parker’s production companies, was named co-producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter

Craig Erwich, president Hulu Originals & ABC Entertainment, maintained there will be a host for the 2022 Oscars, which will be a first since 2018 when Jimmy Kimmel had the honor of leading the ceremony that year, as well as in 2017.  

Leading Actor: Hoping for a win in the Leading Actor category are Andrew Garfield for tick, tick… BOOM!


Big names: Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos and Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, marking his ninth Academy Awards nomination, are also competing for Leading Actor 

So far, The Academy hasn’t made an official announcement as to who will play host on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year. Following a television ratings tumble, the Academy have decided to reinstate a permeant host after using a rota of guest presenters, with sources claiming bosses were keen to enlist Ricky Gervais.

A source told The Mail On Sunday: ‘Things are so desperate this year that the Academy [the organisation behind the awards] even sent out a tweet asking people who they wanted as a host. A lot of fans said Ricky Gervais. There is growing talk that he should be offered the gig.

‘He’s the one man who could save the most boring show on television. The Oscars are always too long and viewers tune out when you get all these self-entitled celebrities going woke and banging on about their pet causes. Ricky would be a breath of fresh air.’

Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose has won a nomination for her acclaimed performance in West Side Story


Big names: Kirsten Dunst helps bring The Power Of The Dog’s haul up with her nomination and  Judi Dench has earned her seventh nomination for Belfast

Accolades:  Aunjanue Ellis (right) has got a strong chance in the Supporting Actress category after winning praise for her portrayal of Oracene ‘Brandy’ Price, mother and coach of Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard

Brit hope: In the Supporting Actress category Jessie Buckley (left) earns her debut Oscar nod for The Lost Daughter

However, Ricky, 60, played down the chances of hosting the biggest night of the Hollywood year, saying: ‘They’d never let me do what I wanted. I mean, that’s why the Globes got me. They said I could write my own jokes and say what I wanted, no rehearsals.

‘I don’t think the Oscars would ever allow me that freedom and rightly so… I’d do the Oscars but it won’t happen. I’d get cancelled halfway through.’

The voting for this year’s nominations ended on Tuesday, February 1. As a result of last year’s ceremony being delayed, this year marked the shortest eligibility window n Oscars history. 


Co-stars: The Power Of The Dog stars Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smitt-McPhee go head to head in for Supporting Actor

Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur is up his acclaimed performance in CODA, with a chance at the Supporting Actor Oscar and has made history as the first deaf male to be nominated 

Snubbed: Belfast’s star Jamie Dornan was snubbed in the Leading Actor category, after also missing out in last week’s BAFTA nominations. Ciaran Hinds (right) did pick up a nod in the Supporting Actor category

Second time around: J.K Simmons has earned a second Oscar nomination following his 2015 win for Whiplash, this time for his role in Being The Ricardos

The Oscars typically award films in the same calendar year, though in 2020, because of the theater closures due to COVID-19, the eligibility was pushed to February 28, 2021. 

This year, in an effort to get back to the calendar year format, the eligibility ran from March 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

The Academy also announced more changes in April 2020, which will only be in effect for the 94th Oscars, which allows for films to open in more cities to be considered Best Picture eligible.

A film previously had to be exhibited theatrically, at minimum, in Los Angeles County for seven consecutive days sin the same venue.

Pomp and circumstance returns: After a full year without a proper Oscars ceremony, the prestigious event will be held on March 27, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, starting at 8 p.m. ET; Jane Fonda is pictured being honored at the 2020 Oscars in February, one month before COVID-19 was deemed a pandemic, and thus shut down most entertainment events

The Academy revealed that, for the 94th Oscars, films may open in a, ‘commercial motion picture theater’ in one of six cities – Los Angeles, New York City, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta within the eligibility window.

Drive-in theaters that are open nightly are counted as ‘commercial theaters,’ in the aforementioned cities. 

The Academy also revealed that, ‘films intended for theatrical release but initially made available through commercial streaming, VOD service or other broadcast may qualify if the film is made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member site within 60 days of the streaming/VOD release or broadcast.’

Producers for eligible films also had to submit, ‘a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards entry.’

However, while the forms are required to be submitted, meeting the actual inclusion thresholds will not be required for eligibility in the Best Picture category until the 96th Oscars in 2024.

The 94th Academy Awards will air at 1am on Sky Cinema’s Oscars channel in the UK and at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC in the States.  

Ceremony Host reveal: It was previously announced there will be a host for the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony, which will be a first since 2018 when Jimmy Kimmel had the honor of leading the ceremony that year, as well as in 2017; the late night talk show host is seen at the 90th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 4, 2018

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