2022 Critics Choice Awards: ‘Belfast’, ‘West Side Story’ Lead With 11 Total Nominations

This has been a very busy awards morning already, but it’s only going to get busier. The Critics Choice Association, of which I am a loyal and long-standing member, has announced the nominations for the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards. The event will take place on January 9th with a ceremony that will air live on The CW and TBS.

Tied for the lead with 11 total nominations were Kenneth Branagh’s coming-of-age film Belfast, along with Steven Spielberg’s musical adaptation of West Side Story. Belfast managed to rack up nods for both Jamie Dornan and Ciaran Hinds in the Best Supporting Actor category, plus Supporting Actress for Caitriona Balfe, Young Actor for star Jude Hill, Best Acting Ensemble, and of course, Best Director for Branagh.

West Side Story earned Steven Spielberg another Best Director nod, while three of his performers; veteran Rita Moreno and young stars Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler vie for acting awards.

Coming in next with 10 total nominations are Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, while Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley followed with 8. The other Best Picture nominees include King Richard, CODA, Don’t Look Up, and tick, tick…BOOM!

The full list of Critics Choice Awards nominees is below.

BEST PICTURE
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
tick, tick…Boom!
West Side Story

BEST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
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
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Kristen Stewart – Spencer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jared Leto – House of Gucci
J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Rita Moreno – West Side Story

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Jude Hill – Belfast
Cooper Hoffman – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – CODA
Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
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
Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Zach Baylin – King Richard
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Adam McKay, David Sirota – Don’t Look Up
Aaron Sorkin – Being the Ricardos

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Siân Heder – CODA
Tony Kushner – West Side Story
Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth – Dune

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Greig Fraser – Dune
Janusz Kaminski – West Side Story
Dan Laustsen – Nightmare Alley
Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog
Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Jim Clay, Claire Nia Richards – Belfast
Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Nightmare Alley
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – The French Dispatch
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – West Side Story
Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos – Dune

BEST EDITING
Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn – West Side Story
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
Andy Jurgensen – Licorice Pizza
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Joe Walker – Dune

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jenny Beavan – Cruella
Luis Sequeira – Nightmare Alley
Paul Tazewell – West Side Story
Jacqueline West, Robert Morgan – Dune
Janty Yates – House of Gucci

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Cruella
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
House of Gucci
Nightmare Alley

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune
The Matrix Resurrections
Nightmare Alley
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

BEST COMEDY
Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Don’t Look Up
Free Guy
The French Dispatch
Licorice Pizza

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Hero
Drive My Car
Flee
The Hand of God
The Worst Person in the World

BEST SONG
Be Alive – King Richard
Dos Oruguitas – Encanto
Guns Go Bang – The Harder They Fall
Just Look Up – Don’t Look Up
No Time to Die – No Time to Die

BEST SCORE
Nicholas Britell – Don’t Look Up
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
Nathan Johnson – Nightmare Alley
Hans Zimmer – Dune