The science-fiction spectacular “Dune” spiced up the 2022 EE British Academy Film Awards nominations Thursday in an announcement that also featured notable firsts and big surprises.
The action-packed “Dune,” which centers on a war-torn desert planet, led all movies with 11 BAFTA nominations, including for best film, best costume design, best cinematography and best editing.
Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog,” a dark Western about a callous cattle rancher, received eight nominations to finish second, with nods for best film, leading actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, and supporting actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Rounding out the best film category was the Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence-led environmental satire “Don’t Look Up,” Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical drama “Belfast,” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s coming-of-age “Licorice Pizza.”
Surprises in Thursday’s announcement included “The Tragedy of Macbeth” star Denzel Washington and “Tick, Tick... Boom!” standout Andrew Garfield not receiving nominations for leading actor. Both actors earned SAG Awards and Golden Globes nominations for their performances, with Garfield winning the Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy.
Nicole Kidman was also unexpectedly left out of the leading actress race by BAFTA after winning best actress in a drama at the Globes for her portrayal of Lucille Ball in “Being the Ricardos.”
In addition to Cumberbatch, the BAFTA nominees for leading actor include DiCaprio; Will Smith for his performance as Venus and Serena Williams’ father in “King Richard”; Mahershala Ali for his portrayal of a man who considers cloning himself amid a battle with terminal illness in “Swan Song”; Adeel Akhtar for the British drama “Ali & Ava”; and Stephen Graham for the British drama “Boiling Point.”
Leading actress nominees, meanwhile, include Lady Gaga for her portrayal of socialite-turned-convict Patrizia Reggiani in “House of Gucci”; Emilia Jones for her performance as a child of deaf adults in “CODA”; Alana Haim in her film debut for “Licorice Pizza”; Tessa Thompson for the Netflix drama “Passing”; Joanna Scanlan for the British drama “After Love”; and Renate Reinsve for the Norwegian romantic-comedy “The Worst Person in the World.”
Smith, Haim and Thompson are among the stars who received their first-ever BAFTA nominations on Thursday. The BAFTA ceremony will be held March 13.
The Academy Awards nominations will be unveiled Tuesday.
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