Kenneth Branagh’s black-and-white memory piece “Belfast” and Steven Spielberg’s new version of “West Side Story” landed 11 nominations each for the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards, leading all films in voting by the more than 500 critics and journalists in the Critics Choice Association.
Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” received 10 nominations each, followed by Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” with eight and “King Richard” and “Don’t Look Up” with six.
The final two Best Picture nominees are “CODA,” which received four nominations, and “tick, tick … BOOM!” with two.
Best Director nominations went to Branagh, Spielberg, Villeneuve, Campion, Paul Thomas Anderson and del Toro.
The nominations hewed closely to the films thought to be the strongest contenders for 2021 film awards, although they only showed lukewarm support for a few movies thought to be critical favorites: Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” which received noms for lead actor Denzel Washington and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel; Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” recognized for actress Kristen Stewart and composer Jonny Greenwood; and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” nominated for Gyllenhaal’s screenplay and Olivia Colman’s lead performance.
Other films celebrated by many critics but shut out completely by CCA voters included Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket,” Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers,” Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” and Rebecca Hall’s “Passing.”
The results showed that despite its name, the Critics Choice Association veers from the usual critical thinking toward a more mainstream sensibility that may serve to predict Oscar nominations more accurately than most critics’ groups. (Full disclosure: I am a voting member of the organization.)
In the acting categories, the biggest surprise was Nicolas Cage, nominated for Best Actor for “Pig” over Leonardo DiCaprio in “Don’t Look Up,” Bradley Cooper in “Nightmare Alley” and Joaquin Phoenix in “C’mon, C’mon” (another film with surprisingly little support from voters). Also missing from the roster of nominated performers were Penelope Cruz for “Parallel Mothers,” Jennifer Hudson for “Respect,” Marlee Matlin for “CODA” and Judi Dench for “Belfast.”
The nominations were announced three hours after the embattled Hollywood Foreign Press Association revealed its slate of Golden Globes nominees in a muted press conference conspicuously missing its usual lineup of stars announcing the slate. (Snoop Dogg was the sole luminary on hand.) Both groups chose a similar lineup of films, with the only difference in the 10 best-film nominees being that the Critics Choice voters went with “Nightmare Alley” and the Globes voters, who had to choose five drama and five musical or comedy films, completed the latter category with “Cyrano.”
The HPFA plans to hold a Globes ceremony on Jan. 9, the same day as the Critics Choice Awards, though the CCA is likely to drawn significantly more stars as it makes moves to capitalize on the lack of diversity and ethical problems that have caused much of Hollywood to at least temporarily withdraw its support for the HFPA.
The CCA announced its television nominations last week. Film and television categories will both be presented on Jan. 9 at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel.
The full list of Critics Choice Awards nominations:
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