What a ride. The 93rd Academy Awards offered very little as we reached the pinnacle of a very predictable awards season that offered little surprises. The pool of eligible films was much lower because of complications due to COVID-19, and that may even leak over to the 94th Academy Awards, that is yet to be seen. It’s impossible to know what will actually end up being nominated at the Oscars next year – it’s just exciting to look ahead to the potentially great films we have!

Anyway, it looks like a better year for film (knock on wood), so naturally, it is now time to start looking at the Oscars for 2022:
Here are my way too early predictions for the 94th Academy Awards:
*Bold indicates projected winner
Best Picture
- Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
- House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
- Soggy Bottom (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Encanto (Walt Disney Pictures)
- Don’t Worry Darling (New Line Cinema)
- The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
- Dune (Warner Bros)
- West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
- tick, tick…Boom! (Netflix)
Best Actor
- Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24)
- Leonardo DiCaprio – Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
- Adam Driver – House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Peter Dinklage – Cyrano (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Bradley Cooper – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Actress
- Lady Gaga – House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Ana de Armas – Blonde (Netflix)
- Florence Pugh – Don’t Worry Darling (New Line Cinema)
- Cate Blanchett – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
- Frances McDormand – The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24)
Best Supporting Actor
- Jared Leto – House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Idris Elba – The Harder they Fall (Netflix)
- Bradley Cooper – Soggy Bottom (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
- Bradley Whitford – tick, tick…Boom! (Netflix)
Best Supporting Actress
- Toni Collette – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
- Ariana DeBose – West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
- Olga Merediz – In These Heights (Warner Bros)
- Nina Arianda – Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios)
- Chanté Adams – A Journal for Jordan (Sony Pictures)
Best Director
- Ridley Scott – House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
- Adam McKay – Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
- Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
- Paul Thomas Anderson (Soggy Bottom)

Best Original Screenplay
- Soggy Bottom (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
- Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
- Don’t Worry Darling (New Line Cinema)
- Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios)
Best Adapted Screenplay
- Zola (A24)
- House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
- The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
- West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
Best Cinematography
- The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
- Dune (Warner Bros)
- Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
- The Green Knight (A24)
- Passing (Netflix)
Best Production Design
- House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Dune (Warner Bros)
- The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
- Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
- Cyrano (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Best Film Editing
- The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
- Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios)
- tick, tick…Boom! (Netflix)
- Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
- Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Original Score
- Dune (Warner Bros) – Hans Zimmer
- Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures) – Alexandre Desplat
- Don’t Look Up (Netflix) – Nicholas Britell
- The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – Jonny Greenwood
- The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures) – Alexandre Desplat

Best Costume Design
- House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Dune (Warner Bros)
- Don’t Worry Darling (New Line Cinema)
- Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios)
- The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- House of Gucci (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Last Night in Soho (Focus Features)
- Cyrano (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros)
- Old (Universal Pictures)
Best Sound
- A Quiet Place: Part II (Netflix)
- West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
- Dune (Warner Bros)
- tick, tick…Boom! (Netflix)
- Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Best Visual Effects
- Dune (Warner Bros)
- Eternals (Marvel Studios)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Marvel Studios)
- No Time to Die (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
- Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Best Animated Feature
- Encanto (Walt Disney Pictures) – Jared Bush, Byron Howard
- Spirit Untamed (DreamWorks Animation) – Elaine Bogan
- Luca (Pixar) – Enrico Casarosa
- Flee (Neon) – Jonas Poher Rasmussen
- The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix) – Michael Rianda

Well there we have it. The first look at what the 2022 Oscars are shaping up to be like – primarily based on the current information we have. However, as we all know, this is going to change in some respect as new films emerge and old films disappear. Films such as House of Gucci, Don’t Look Up, and Nightmare Alley clearly have A LOT of potential to live up to. Either way, we’ll be following the Oscars every step of the way.