The 95th Academy Awards will take place on March 12, and as the awards season gets off, the Academy has announced its shortlists in a few significant categories. The eleven categories are: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, International Feature, Live Action Short, Animated Short, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music Score, Original Song, Sound, and Visual Effects. The lists display the most likely nominees in each category. The full list of nominees will be released on January 24, but these shortlists provide a sense of the qualities the Academy is looking for in candidates for significant prizes.
Before this year’s Oscars, one thing is clear: people adore Netflix’s All Quiet On the Western Front. With five nominations in every category it was eligible for, the German movie shares the record for most nominations with the audience favourite Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It is most notable because it is included on the shortlist for International Features, going up against notable movies like South Korea’s Decision to Leave, directed by Park Chan-wook, Alejandro G. Iárritu’s Bardo, Mexico’s False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, and buzzy Belgian picture Close. Despite the crowded field, Edward Berger’s rendition of the timeless story has a great chance to stand out at this year’s festival. It could even receive some recognition among the top categories.
Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are three blockbusters that have received several mentions this year. The James Cameron follow-up takes first place with four nominations, followed by Maverick with three and Multiverse of Madness with just one. The Way of Water appears ready to duplicate what its predecessor did in terms of several nominations given the current attention it has received. With three nominations apiece, The Batman, Everything, Everywhere, Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro, and Babylon also receive a fair shake.
