“Dune,” “Nightmare Alley,” and a new Paul Thomas Anderson film are already high on Oscar pundits’ lists.
“The Card Counter,” “House of Gucci,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Dune,” and “The French Dispatch”
MGM/Netflix/Searchlight/Warner Bros.
Before anyone takes issue with looking ahead to the 2022 Oscars just days after “Nomadland” won Best Picture at the 2021 Oscars, just remember the Academy has already set a date of February 27, 2022 for the 94th Academy Awards. That’s right, just a slim 10 months separates the two Oscar ceremonies and, considering it’s almost May, it’s not too early to begin looking ahead at the awards season to come.
One thing we know for sure about the 2022 Oscars is that the Academy is expanding the Best Picture category to a finite group of 10 nominees. Films will also have to meet new inclusivity standards in order to be eligible for the Academy’s top prize. For the 2021 Oscars, the Academy decided to allow films that debuted on streaming and PVOD platforms to be eligible for the Oscars so long as they had originally planned for a theatrical release. It’s unclear at this time whether or not that rule will remain for the 2022 Oscars.
The following list of films is an early look at 25 titles to know as the new Oscar season begins. The majority of films at this stage of the season were selected based on the awards pedigree of cast and crew and the past habits of Oscar voters. For this reason, it’s a bit too early to add films that don’t exactly scream Oscars on paper, such as Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho,” Leos Carax’s “Annette,” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta.” These films and more will be added to the list as they premiere and buzz grows. Films listed that premiere to a lack of Oscar buzz will be taken off.
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