The Oscar nominations for the 94th Academy Awards were announced on Feb. 8 while the ceremony is just around the corner, and for the first time in ten years, there are ten films nominated for Best Picture. As with any year, the Oscar nominees are a diverse array of film titles that range in genre, tone, and subject from political satires, to revisionist westerns, to biographical dramas. While some may be unhappy that major, critically-acclaimed blockbusters like Spider-Man: No Way Home weren't nominated, the ten Best Picture Oscar nominees do still offer a little something for everyone. Yet there is much to sort through of the ten pictures, all having come out at various points in the year.
In early March, all ten of the nominated films for Best Picture will be streaming and readily available at home for audiences to watch before the ceremony on March 27, 2022. Here are the Oscar nominees for Best Picture, ranked.
10 Don't Look Up
Don't Look Up is a political satire that follows a group of scientists trying to warn the world about a comet that will destroy the planet. Given that Adam McKay's two previous films, The Big Short and Vice, received multiple Oscar nominations, this inclusion of Don't Look Up isn't surprising. However, the film has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of all the nominees with a 56% rotten, with many finding the satire a little too broad despite the talented cast. With the long runtime, the film often plays like an SNL sketch that may hit a humorous note but goes on a bit too long and the joke begins to lose momentum.
9 Dune
Denis Villeneuve did what many thought was impossible and found a way to make Dune, a project that has tripped up many filmmakers including David Lynch, into a satisfying narrative, making the oft-considered unadaptable book palpable to mainstream audiences. It is Warner Bros.' highest-grossing film of 2021, even beating The Suicide Squad and Godzilla vs Kong. However, even with a two and a half hour runtime, the film is essentially a lot of setting up for its sequel, making it feel less like a complete work and a more introductory promise for what is to come. Depending on how the second film turns out, this could be seen as a win akin to Lord of the Rings, or a disappointment similar to It: Chapter 2.
8 Nightmare Alley
An adaptation of the novel of the same name from 1946 and previous film in 1947, Nightmare Alley is a stylish and atmospheric noir psychological thriller about a con man played by Bradley Cooper, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Like many of Del Toro's previous films, Nightmare Alley has gorgeous production design invoking an art deco style, and plays with a mysterious atmosphere. While it does not feature the traditional creatures of horror maestro Del Toro's past films, it continues those previous films' themes of examining the monstrous nature of man. The film has excellent performances and looks amazing, but is possibly too niche for the Oscars.
7 Belfast
After spending nearly a decade making big-budget films like Cinderella, Murder on the Orient Express, and Artemis Fowl, director Kenneth Branagh tells a smaller and more intimate semi-autobiographical tale with Belfast. The visually gorgeous black-and-white film follows a young boy growing up in Belfast, Northern Island during the beginning of the Troubles in 1969. The movie is a nice contrast between a young boy's coming-of-age story set to the backdrop of a serious political upheaval, and parents' duty to do the best to shield their child from the horrors of the real world, while also having to make difficult choices a child may not understand until years later. Belfast is a charming yet bittersweet goodbye to innocence.
6 King Richard
King Richard tells the story of Richard Williams' (Will Smith) quest to turn his two daughters, Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) Williams into the world's greatest tennis players. While the film may seem like another traditional biopic that dominates award season, the movie features a career-best from Smith, and a much deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene Price, the matriarch of the family. King Richard also cleverly shifts perspective from Richard Williams to Venus Williams during the second half of the film, as the character herself becomes a more active part of her own story making her own career decisions. It's a moving and inspiring tale, but may not be epic enough for a Best Picture Oscar.
5 CODA
CODA is a delightful tale and surprise Oscar nominee about Ruby (Emila Jones), the only hearing member of a deaf family, who must grapple with the decision to stay behind and help her family's business or follow her own dreams to become a singer. The movie is a remake of the 2014 French film La Famille Belier and has been receiving accolades since it premiered at Sundance in 2021. Star Tory Kotsur, who plays Ruby's father Frank, became the first male deaf actor to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In what might have been a predictable formulaic film, director Sian Heder and the cast make a tearjerker that genuinely earns its tears.
4 Licorice Pizza
Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers working today, and Licorice Pizza is his third film to be nominated for Best Picture following There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread. The movie's central story concerns Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and Alana Kane (Alana Haim), two individuals who form a friendship in the 1970s San Fernando Valley, California. Licorice Pizza is very much a hangout movie that goes along at an easy breeze as it allows the audience to soak up the glow of warm afternoon bonding with friends and growing into adulthood, despite how much you want to run away or even towards it. Licorice Pizza might be Anderson's most potentially broadly appealing film for general audiences since Boogie Nights, as it allows viewers to get caught up in the relaxed mood and nostalgic easy-time tone. As such, though, it may be just a bit too breezy for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
3 The Power of the Dog
The Power of the Dog is Jane Campion's long-awaited return to directing after 2009's Bright Star, and secured the most nominations of any film at this year's ceremony with 12 Oscar nominations. The gripping tale of resentment focuses on Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) a rancher who, after his brother George (Jessie Plemons) marries widower Rose (Kirsten Dunst), begins taking a special interest of resentment and curiosity in her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). The film explores multiple themes of love, grief, and sexuality in a captivating narrative that changes how audiences perceive characters in each scene, all anchored by stellar performances from the main four stars, all of whom garnered Academy Award nominations for their performances. Completely re-imagining the Western as a slow burn, and with beautiful artistry and LGBTQ+ themes, The Power of the Dog is a very strong contender for the Best Picture Oscar.
2 Drive My Car
Drive My Car is a Japanese film following Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) as he directs a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima and grapples with the death of his wife. The film is a patient and meditative exploration of grief, love, and acceptance, and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palm d'Or. Drive My Car continues a trend set by 2018's Roma from Mexico and 2019's Parasite from South Korea as the Academy Awards become more open to films from all over the world to compete for Best Picture, and the possible expansion of Academy voters where subtitles are less of a barrier for a film's Awards success. While the three-hour runtime may seem daunting to some viewers, it earns every minute of its length in telling a deeply personal story that is worth the watch. While it's a long-shot to expect another global Best Picture winner after the shock of Parasite, Drive My Car probably deserves it the most.
1 West Side Story
West Side Story does the impossible and takes a classic tale and makes it feel new. The original 1961 West Side Story is one of the most famous movies of all time, and it was a major Academy Award winner, nominated for eleven awards and winning ten. Remaking a beloved classic is a daunting task, yet if any filmmaker was up to the challenge it was Steven Spielberg. The film keeps the traditional setup, a reworking of the Romeo and Juliet story about Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler) set to the backdrop of a feud between two street gangs, the Irish-American Jets and the Puerto Ricans Sharks. The cast is fantastic, with Arianna DeBose stepping into the role of Anita (previously played by Rita Moreno) and really earning her nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Newcomer Rachel Zegler gives a star-making performance, and Broadway stars Mike Faist and David Alvarez give breakout performances as well. The film is a high mark in Spielberg's already impressive career and, while only one remake (The Departed) has ever won Best Picture, and no remake of a previous Best Picture winner has ever even been nominated, West Side Story just might make some history.