After months of speculation, this week finally gave us some answers, the 2022 Oscar nominations revealing some surprises among the easy-to-predict pack. Jane Campion’s queer psychodrama The Power of the Dog was the big winner, with 12 nominations, a richly deserved haul for a film some wondered might be a little too alienating for the Academy.
But the unusual and unsettling film proved popular, along with Dune, Belfast and West Side Story, dominating categories that had little room for filler. In a competitive year, there was no room for these Oscarbait also-rans:
