The 2022 Oscar nominations have finally arrived….

After plenty of twists and turns, this year’s slate sees The Power of the Dog take pole position with a dominant twelve nods, including the all-important Best Picture accolade.

The western drama, which centres on a ruthless rancher and his fractured relationship with his brother’s new wife and son, also received a quartet of acting mentions for its cast.

Once again, British performer Benedict Cumberbatch earns a Best Actor nod for his performance as rancher Phil Burbank, while Kirsten Dunst (as Rose Gordon) finally lands her first Oscar nom in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Meanwhile, male co-stars Jesse Plemons (as George Burbank) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (as Peter Gordon) are both nominated together in the Best Supporting Actor field.

Additionally, Kiwi auteur Jane Campion is in contention for Best Director, almost thirty years after her last acknowledgment for The Piano (1993).

Elsewhere, the sci-fi remake Dune scored the second-highest number of nominations with eleven, including Best Picture as well a multiple technical nods.

Despite being acknowledged for co-adapting the blockbuster hit, visionary filmmaker Denis Villeneuve surprisingly misses out on a Best Director mention, a week after being ignored by the BAFTAs.

Meanwhile, the autobiographical drama Belfast and the musical remake West Side Story both receive seven nominations, including a place on the Best Picture shortlist.

From those films, renowned auteurs Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) and two-time category winner Steven Spielberg (West Side Story) are both recognised in the Best Director field, with the former also earning a Best Original Screenplay nod.

The rest of the Best Picture line-up is contested by the family drama CODA (three noms), the Japanese drama Drive My Car (four noms), the political satire Don’t Look Up (four noms), the sports biopic King Richard (six noms), and the noir thriller Nightmare Alley (four noms).

In the case of Licorice Pizza and Drive My Car, both films also earn writing and directing noms for maverick filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson and shock contender Ryūsuke Hamaguchi.

In the acting categories, the Best Actress line-up sees three real-life portrayals in contention for the gong; Jessica Chastain (as Tammy Faye Bakker) in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Nicole Kidman (as Lucille Ball) in Being the Ricardos, and Kristen Stewart (as Diana Spencer) in Spencer.

The trio are joined in a fiercely competitive field by previous category winners Olivia Colman (as Leda Caruso) in The Lost Daughter and Penélope Cruz (as Janis Martínez Moreno) in Parallel Mothers.

Despite garnering key nominations at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and EE BAFTAs, Lady Gaga surprisingly missed out on a Best Actress nod for her own portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci.

Additionally, it is the first time since 1988 that none of BAFTA’s Best Actress contenders have gone on to receive an Oscar nomination.

Meanwhile, recent Golden Globe victors Will Smith (as Richard Williams) in King Richard and Andrew Garfield (as Jonathan Larson) in Tick, Tick…Boom! compete in a stellar Best Actor category alongside previous Oscar winners Javier Bardem (as Desi Arnaz) in Being the Ricardos and Denzel Washington (as Lord Macbeth) in The Tragedy of Macbeth.

In the supporting brackets, Oscar frontrunner Ariana DeBose is looking to follow in the footsteps of Rita Moreno after earning a Best Supporting Actress nod for her turn as Anita in West Side Story.

She is joined in her category by Jessie Buckley (as Leda Caruso) in The Lost Daughter, Aunjanue Ellis (as Oracene “Brandy” Price) in King Richard, and surprise nominee Dame Judi Dench (as Granny) in Belfast.

Meanwhile, Troy Kotsur will seek to become the first male deaf actor to win an Oscar for his role as Frank Rossi in CODA with Ciarán Hinds (as Pop) in Belfast and J. K. Simmons (as William Frawley) in Being the Ricardos rounding off the rest of the Best Supporting Actor line-up.

Elsewhere, the Best Animated Feature category sees Pixar’s Luca go up against Disney duo Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon and Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. The Machines.

The final slot is held by the Danish documentary Flee, which also celebrated key nods for Best Documentary and Best International Feature Film.

From the latter two categories, the film faces stern competition from the likes of Drive My Car, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) and The Worst Person in the World.

Additionally, Coming 2 America, Cruella, Free Guy, No Time to Die, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home are among the high-profile films to compete for technical accolades.

Finally, the Best Original Song category sees recent Globe winner Billie Eilish acknowledged for her chart-topping track “No Time to Die” with Beyoncé, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Van Morrison also shortlisted.

As to be expected, the Academy delivered a variety of snubs in the acting department including Belfast duo Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan as well as Ben Affleck (The Tender Bar), Cate Blanchett (Nightmare Alley), Jodie Comer (The Last Duel), Bradley Cooper (Licorice Pizza), Leonardo DiCaprio (Don’t Look Up), Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza), Jennifer Hudson (Respect), Jared Leto (House of Gucci), Ruth Negga (Passing), and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story).

A number of well-known films also failed to land a single nomination such as C’mon C’mon, Eternals, The French Dispatch, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Godzilla vs. Kong, The Harder They Fall, A Hero, The Last Duel, Last Night in Soho, Mass, The Matrix Resurrections, Passing, A Quiet Place: Part II, The Rescue, Respect and Sing 2.

The 94th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on 27 March.

The full list of Oscar nominations are below (winner predictions in blue):

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, LICORICE PIZZA
Kenneth Branagh, BELFAST
Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, DRIVE MY CAR
Steven Spielberg, WEST SIDE STORY

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 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 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 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 ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA (Siân Heder)
DRIVE MY CAR (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi & TakamasaOe)
DUNE (Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve & Eric Roth)
THE LOST DAUGHTER (Maggie Gyllenhaal)
THE POWER OF THE DOG (Jane Campion)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BELFAST (Kenneth Branagh)
DON’T LOOK UP (Adam McKay & David Sirota)
KING RICHARD (Zach Baylin)
LICORICE PIZZA (Paul Thomas Anderson)
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier)

BEST EDITING
DON’T LOOK UP
DUNE
KING RICHARD
THE POWER OF THE DOG
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DUNE
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE POWER OF THE DOG
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
DUNE
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE POWER OF THE DOG
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
CRUELLA
CYRANO
DUNE
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
COMING 2 AMERICA
CRUELLA
DUNE
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
HOUSE OF GUCCI

BEST SOUND
BELFAST
DUNE
NO TIME TO DIE
THE POWER OF THE DOG
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE
FREE GUY
NO TIME TO DIE
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

BEST 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)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
BELFAST (“Down to Joy”)
ENCANTO (“Dos Oruguitas”)
FOUR GOOD DAYS (“Somehow You Do”)
KING RICHARD (“Be Alive”)
NO TIME TO DIE (“No Time to Die”)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
ENCANTO
FLEE
LUCA
MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE 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)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
ASCENSION
ATTICA
FLEE
SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
WRITING WITH FIRE

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
AUDIBLE
LEAD ME HOME
THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL
THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR
WHEN WE WERE BULLIES

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
ALA KACHUU – TAKE AND RUN
THE DRESS
THE LONG GOODBYE
ON MY MIND
PLEASE HOLD

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
AFFAIRS OF THE ART
BESTIA
BOXBALLET
ROBIN ROBIN
THE WINDSHIELD WIPER