2021 Las Vegas Critics nominations: ‘Dune’ and ‘West Side Story’ lead

Erik Anderson December 12, 2021

West Side Story and Dune topped the Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) nominations with 9 apiece, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Belfast (7), CODA (7), Licorice Pizza (4) and tick, tick…BOOM! (3) round out the Best Picture nominees and The Power of the Dog managed 8 nominations, including Best Director and three acting nods, yet missed the top category.

Winners will be announced December 13, here is the full list of nominations.

Best Picture

Belfast
CODA
Licorice Pizza
tick, tick… BOOM!
West Side Story

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Sian Heder – CODA
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

Best Actor

Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick… BOOM!
Will Smith – King Richard

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Emilia Jones – CODA
Kristen Stewart – Spencer

Best Supporting Actor

Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Jared Leto – House of Gucci
Troy Kotsur – CODA
J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

Best Supporting Actress

Caitriona Balfe – Belfast
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Ruth Negga – Passing

Best Screenplay (Original)

Being the Ricardos
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
Licorice Pizza
Pig

Best Screenplay (Adapted)

Cyrano
Dune
The Lost Daughter
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Best Animated Film

Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Documentary

Flee
The Rescue
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
The Sparks Brothers
Summer of Soul

Best International Film

A Hero
Benedetta
Flee
Titane
The Worst Person in the World

Best Cinematography

Dune
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
Spencer
West Side Story

Best Film Editing

Belfast
Dune
The Power of the Dog
tick, tick… BOOM!
West Side Story

Best Score

Dune
The French Dispatch
The Power of the Dog
Spencer
The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Song

“Down to Joy” – Belfast
“Every Letter” – Cyrano
“Dos Oruguitas” – Encanto
“Be Alive” – King Richard
“No Time to Die” – No Time to Die

Best Costume Design

Cruella
Dune
House of Gucci
Spencer
West Side Story

Best Art Direction

Being the Ricardos
Dune
The French Dispatch
The Green Knight
West Side Story

Best Visual Effects

Dune
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Godzilla vs. Kong
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The Suicide Squad

Best Action Film

Black Widow
Nobody
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The Suicide Squad

Best Comedy

Don’t Look Up
Free Guy
The French Dispatch
Licorice Pizza
The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Best Family Film

CODA
Encanto
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Jungle Cruise
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Best Horror/Sci-Fi

A Quiet Place Part II
Army of the Dead
Dune
Godzilla vs. Kong
Werewolves Within

Best Ensemble

Being the Ricardos
CODA
House of Gucci
The French Dispatch
West Side Story

Best Breakout Filmmaker

Nia DaCosta – Candyman
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing
Fran Krantz – Mass
Questlove – Summer of Soul

Best Male Youth in Film

Gregory Diaz IV – In the Heights
Jude Hill – Belfast
Noah Jupe – A Quiet Place Part II
Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon
Charlie Shotwell – John and the Hole

Best Female Youth in Film

McKenna Grace – Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Emilia Jones – CODA
Lia Mchugh – Eternals
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
Millicent Simmonds – A Quiet Place Part II

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.