Oscars 2022: Netflix leads nominations in another streaming-heavy year

Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up” was honored in four categories, including best picture. But some of the more traditional distributors had strong showings, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bestowed honors on Walt Disney Co. releases including “West Side Story” and “Nightmare Alley,” as well as Warner Bros.’ “Dune” and “King Richard” and Focus Features’ “Belfast.” Netflix was the most nominated company for the third year in a row as the Los Gatos streamer continued to pour money into its film business in a quest to grow its subscriber base. It had the most decorated film, Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” which scored 12 nominations including best picture, director and adapted screenplay. Focus Features, the specialty arm of NBCUniversal’s film division, had seven nominations, all for Kenneth Branagh’s black-and-white coming of age story, “Belfast.” Indie film stalwart Neon earned six nods, including three for the animated documentary “Flee,” two for Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” and one for “Spencer,” which got Kristen Stewart a lead actress nomination for playing Princess Diana. Amazon’s original film arm got four nominations for movies that were streamed on Amazon Prime — three acting noms for Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” and a makeup and hairstyling honor for “Coming 2 America.” Also with four were indie distributors Sideshow and Janus Films, which released Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car.” The three-hour Japanese drama was nominated for directing, international feature, best picture and adapted screenplay.