So you can decide for yourself who should win
Each year, Hollywood insiders, a.k.a. members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, honor the best films of the year. The Academy Awards are coming up soon on Sunday, March 27, 2022, and you’ll enjoy the show a lot more if you’ve seen at least a few of the nominated films.
Below, you’ll find all the Oscar nominees for Best Picture. We’ll tell you which streaming services carry the films below so you can watch the movies and make your predictions about which ones will win. Also, read our guide on how to watch the Oscars without cable.
Table of Contents
Belfast
Set in Northern Ireland in 1969, Belfast follows the life of nine-year-old Buddy and his family during The Troubles. Kenneth Branagh has made history with his Oscar nominations in seven categories, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Judi Dench is nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Ciarán Hinds for Best Supporting Actor.
Buy it on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, or Vudu.
CODA
In this film, Emilia Jones stars as Ruby, a CODA (child of deaf adults). Ruby wants to pursue her interest in music and finds herself faced with difficult decisions. The movie also stars Troy Kotsur, the first deaf male actor ever to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor or, in fact, any acting Oscar.
Stream it on Apple TV.
Don’t Look Up
Don’t Look Up is a controversial and cautionary tale about a world that doesn’t much care about its impending doom. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo Di Caprio, this satire comes from Adam McKay, who also directed The Big Short. While Meryl Streep hasn’t been nominated for any Academy Awards this year, she does appear in Don’t Look Up as the President of the United States.
Stream it on Netflix.
Drive My Car
Based on a short story about love and loss by wildly popular Japanese author Haruki Murakami, this film has also been nominated for Best Director (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), Best International Feature Film, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Stream it on HBO Max.
Dune
Based on the beloved Frank Herbert sci-fi novel, Dune was initially released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. In addition to the Best Picture nod, Dune has also received Oscar nominations in these categories: Costume Design, Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Original Score, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound and Best Visual Effects. Strangely, though, director Denis Villeneuve was not nominated. Nor were actors Javier Bardem and Timothée Chalamet.
Buy or rent it on YouTube, Vudu, Apple TV, Google Play, or Amazon Prime Video.
King Richard
Will Smith has been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams. This Warner Bros. film highlights the tenacity of father and daughters as they make tennis history.
Buy it on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, or Google Play.
Licorice Pizza
From Best Director nominee Paul Thomas Anderson comes Licorice Pizza, a coming-of-age story set in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. Bradley Cooper, Tom Waits, and Sean Penn make appearances, but the real star is newcomer Alana Haim. Anderson wrote the role with Haim in mind. She stars opposite Cooper Hoffman, son of the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Licorice Pizza is in theaters now.
Nightmare Alley
This psychological thriller has been in the works since 2017. Based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham, it is the first film from Guillermo del Toro that doesn’t have supernatural elements. The film is very dark, and del Toro said he hoped for an R rating. “Big R. Double R!” The film has also been nominated for Best Costume Design, Cinematography, and Adapted Screenplay.
The Power of the Dog
The title of this film about a rancher who is drunk on power comes from Psalm 22. “Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.” Jane Campion has become the first woman to be nominated for Best Director twice (first for The Piano in 1993). Based on the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage, the film has received twelve Oscar nominations, including for Best Cinematography and acting nominations for Benedict Cumberbatch (Best Actor), Kirsten Dunst (Best Supporting Actress), Jesse Plemons (Best Supporting Actor), and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Best Supporting Actor).
Stream it on Netflix.
West Side Story
This remake of the classic musical about forbidden love has won Steven Spielberg a nomination for Best Director. It stars Ariana DeBose as Maria. Interestingly, DeBose’s first television appearance was on So You Think You Can Dance. Since then, she’s appeared in several Broadway musicals, including Hamilton. The film has also been nominated for Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography.
Stream it on Disney+ and HBO Max.
Other Nominations
If the films above leave you wanting more, check out Netflix for Best Actor nominee Andrew Garfield in Tick, Tick … Boom! or Best Actress nominee Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter. Head over to Apple TV to watch Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth or Amazon Prime to see Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.
Go to Hulu to find Best Actress nominee Kristen Stewart play Princess Diana in Spencer or to watch Summer of Soul, which has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature. You’ll find Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye on HBO Max.
Lastly, don’t forget about movies for kids! Several films nominated for Best Animated Feature are available to stream as well. Luca, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Encanto are all on Disney+. You can find Flee on Hulu and The Mitchells vs. the Machines on Netflix.
