Selected by the Hollywood Critics Association (including Daily Dead Managing Editor Heather Wixson), the nominations for the 5th Annual Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards include Dune, Last Night in Soho, the Fear Street trilogy, and many more intriguing films.

Below, we have the official press release with the full list of nominations for the 5th Annual HCA Film Awards ceremony, which will be held at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles on January 8, 2022 (as well as stream on the official HCA YouTube channel).

To learn more about the Hollywood Critics Association, be sure to visit their official website!

Press Release: Thursday, December 2, 2021 (Los Angeles, CA) - ​​The Hollywood Critics Association is pleased to announce the nominees for the 5th Annual HCA Film Awards.

“2021 was the year that the world returned to cinemas, and we are absolutely delighted to be highlighting such a wide variety of films,” adds HCA Founder Scott Menzel. “We are looking forward to celebrating a remarkable year in cinema at our awards ceremony on January 8, 2022. While we will have a few more announcements in the weeks leading up to our ceremony, I think I speak on behalf of all the members when I say that we are the most excited about being back together in person celebrating our love of all things film.”

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune topped the nomination list with a total of 10 nominations. The film, which premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, as well as several Artisan categories including Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Hair and Makeup.

Siân Heder’s CODA and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast each earned a total of 9 nominations each. CODA’s nominations include Best Picture, Best Actress for Emilia Jones, Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, and Best Supporting Actress for Marlee Matlin. Belfast’s nominations include Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds, Best Supporting Actress for Caitriona Balfe, and Best Director for Kenneth Branagh.

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, which only recently started to screen, also received some attention. Spielberg’s remake of the 1961 film of the same name received a total of four nominations including Best Comedy or Musical and Best Director. Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley received two nominations for Best Director and Best Production Design.

In regards to the total number of overall nominations, Netflix led the way with 25, followed by Warner Brothers in second place with 18, and Focus Features in third with 17.

“As we commemorate our fifth year as an organization, we have decided to combine our Best Female Director and Best Male Director categories into a single category with a total of ten nominees,” notes HCA Co-Founder, Ashley Menzel. “When the organization was created in 2016, we made a concerted effort to highlight and embrace male and female filmmakers equally with their own category. Over these past five years, the industry has begun to make progress as more underrepresented voices are being given the opportunity to tell their stories on-screen. We as an organization couldn't be happier to see this change, which is why we have decided to change our approach to the director category and allow for even more voices to be heard and celebrated.”

The winners of the HCA Film Awards will be revealed during the 5th Annual HCA Film Awards Ceremony which will be taking place at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles on January 8, 2022. The ceremony will also be streamed live on the HCA’s Official YouTube Channel.

Below is a full list of all the nominated films for 2021:

Best Picture

Being the Ricardos

Belfast

CODA

Dune

King Richard

Last Night in Soho

Licorice Pizza

Spencer

The Power of The Dog

tick, tick...Boom!

Best Actor

Andrew Garfield, tick, tick...BOOM!

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of The Dog

Nicolas Cage, Pig

Peter Dinklage, Cyrano

Will Smith, King Richard

Best Actress

Emilia Jones, CODA

Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Kristen Stewart, Spencer

Lady Gaga, House of Gucci

Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Best Supporting Actor

Ciarán Hinds, Belfast

Jamie Dornan, Belfast

Jason Isaacs, Mass

Robin de Jesús, tick, tick...BOOM!

Troy Kotsur, CODA

Best Supporting Actress

Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard

Caitriona Balfe, Belfast

Marlee Matlin, CODA

Ruth Negga, Passing

Best Cast Ensemble

Belfast

CODA

Don’t Look Up

King Richard

The Harder They Fall

Best Director

Denis Villeneuve, Dune

Guillermo del Toro, Nightmare Alley

Jane Campion, The Power of The Dog

Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

Lin-Manuel Miranda, tick, tick...BOOM!

Pablo Larraín, Spencer

Rebecca Hall, Passing

Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard

Siân Heder, CODA

Steven Spielberg, West Side Story

Best Original Screenplay

Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos

Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Last Night in Soho

Fran Kranz, Mass

Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

Zach Baylin, King Richard

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jane Campion, The Power of The Dog

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter

Rebecca Hall, Passing

Siân Heder, CODA

Steven Levenson, tick, tick…BOOM!

Best Animated or VSX Performance

Abbi Jacobson, The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Sylvester Stallone, The Suicide Squad

Stephanie Beatriz, Encanto

Jacob Tremblay, Luca

John Leguizamo, Encanto

Best Action Film

No Time to Die

Nobody

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The Harder They Fall

The Suicide Squad

Best Animated Film

Encanto

Flee

Luca

The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Raya and The Last Dragon

Best Comedy or Musical

Cyrano

Free Guy

In the Heights

tick, tick…BOOM!

West Side Story

Best Documentary

Flee

Summer of Soul

The Rescue

The Sparks Brothers

Val

Best Horror 

A Quiet Place Part II

Fear Street Trilogy

Last Night in Soho

Malignant

The Night House

Best Indie Film

CODA

Mass

Pig

Shiva Baby

Spencer

Best International Film

A Hero

Drive My Car

Flee

Titane

The Worst Person in the World

Best First Feature

Rebecca Hall, Passing

Lin-Manuel Miranda, tick, tick...BOOM!

Fran Kranz, Mass

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter

Michael Sarnoski, Pig

Best Short Film

Blush

Far From The Tree

Nona

Robin Robin

Us Again

Best Score

Alexandre Desplat, The French Dispatch

Hans Zimmer, Dune

Jonny Greenwood, Spencer

Jonny Greenwood, The Power of The Dog

Steven Price, Last Night in Soho

Best Original Song

“Be Alive” sung by Beyonce from King Richard

“No Time to Die” sung by Billie Eilish from No Time to Die

“Beyond the Shore” sung by Emilia Jones from CODA

“Down to Joy” sung by Van Morrison from Belfast

“Every Letter” sung by Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. from Cyrano

Best Cinematography

Andrew Droz Palermo, The Green Knight

Ari Wegner, The Power of The Dog

Claire Mathon, Spencer

Greig Fraser, Dune

Janusz Kamiński, West Side Story

Best Production Design

Adam Stockhausen, The French Dispatch

Guy Hendrix Dyas, Spencer

Marcus Rowland, Last Night in Soho

Patrice Vermette, Dune

Tamara Deverell, Nightmare Alley

Best Film Editing

Andrew Weisblum and Myron I. Kerstein, tick, tick...BOOM!

Joe Walker, Dune

Pamela Martin, King Richard

Paul Machliss, Last Night in Soho

Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, Belfast

Best Stunts

Black Widow

Dune

No Time to Die

Nobody

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Best Costume Design

Bob Morgan and Jacqueline West, Dune

Jacqueline Durran, Spencer

Janty Yates, House of Gucci

Jenny Beavan, Cruella

Odile Dicks-Mireaux, Last Night in Soho

Best Hair & Makeup

Ana Lozano, David Craig Forrest, Kim Santantonio, Kyra Panchenko, Michael Ornelaz, Teressa Hill, Yvonne DePatis Kupka, Being the Ricardos

Carolyn Cousins and Nadia Stacey, Cruella

Donald Mowat, Eva Von Bahr, and Love Larson, Dune

Frederic Aspiras, Jana Carboni, Giuliano Mariano, Göran Lundström, & Sarah Nicole Tanno, House of Gucci

Justin Raleigh, Linda Dowds, and Stephanie Ingram, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best Visual Effects

Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Tristan Myles, Dune

Daniele Bigi, Matt Aitken, Neil Corbould, and Stephane Ceretti, Eternals

Bryan Grill, Dan Sudick, Nikos Kalaitzidis, and Swen Gillberg, Free Guy

Christopher Townsend, Dan Oliver, Joe Farrell, and Sean Walker, Shang Chi And The Legend of Ten Rings

Dan Sudick, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, and Kelvin McIlwain, The Suicide Squad

About the Hollywood Critics Association:

Founded in late 2016, the Hollywood Critics Association’s mission is to bring together a passionate group of critics and journalists who represent the voices of a new era in Hollywood.

To learn more about the Hollywood Critics Association, please visit www.HollywoodCriticsAssociation.com.

  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.