Critics Choice Awards: ‘Belfast’ and ‘West Side Story’ Dominate Nominations

Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” dominated the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards, picking up a leading 11 nominations.

“Belfast,” Branagh’s most personal film to date, scored in Best Picture, Best Director and Original Screenplay categories. The cast also earned nominations including Best Supporting Actor nods for both Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds, Best Supporting Actress for Caitríona Balfe, Best Young Actor/Actress for Jude Hill, and Best Acting Ensemble. The film also racked up nominations for cinematography, production design and editing.

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Despite being one of the last films to screen for critics, Spielberg’s “West Side Story” landed nods for Best Picture and for its direction. Ariana Debose and Rita Moreno nabbed nominations for Best Supporting Actress, while newcomer Rachel Zegler is up for Best Young Actor/Actress. “West Side Story” also landed nominations for its ensemble, and nods for its screenplay, costume design, production design, editing and cinematography.

“Dune” and “The Power of the Dog” picked up ten nominations each. “Licorice Pizza” and “Nightmare Alley,” which was also one of the films to screen last for critics, collected eight nominations apiece, while “King Richard” and “Don’t Look Up,” earned six nominations.

There were some notable snubs. Rebecca Hall’s acclaimed drama “Passing” failed to land a single nod, while Judi Dench, who earned raves for her work in “Belfast,” and Penelope Cruz, another critics favorite for her turn in “Parallel Mothers,” were shut out. Nicolas Cage was a surprise nominee for his work in the tiny indie “Pig.”

“We are so proud to be honoring this amazing list of films and the incredibly talented people who made them during this extremely challenging time,” said Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin. “All eyes are going to be on the Fairmont Century Plaza red carpet and ballroom on January 9th, when the biggest stars in movies and television will be gathered to celebrate the best of the best in entertainment this past year. In the safest possible environment, it will mark the return of the kind of glitz and glamor we haven’t been able to enjoy in far too long.”

The winners will be revealed at the star-studded Critics Choice Awards gala hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer, which will broadcast live on The CW and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 9 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm ET.

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”

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