94th Academy Awards
The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after their usual late February date to avoid conflicting with both the 2022 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI, with the latter being held in nearby Inglewood, California. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 23 categories honoring films released from March 1 to December 31, 2021. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Will Packer and Shayla Cowan and was directed by Glenn Weiss. Actresses Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes hosted the show for the first time. Two days earlier, in an event held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom of the Ovation Hollywood complex in Hollywood, the Academy held its 12th annual Governors Awards ceremony.
CODA won three awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Dune with six awards, The Eyes of Tammy Faye with two, and Belfast, Cruella, Drive My Car, Encanto, King Richard, The Long Goodbye, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, The Queen of Basketball, Summer of Soul, West Side Story and The Windshield Wiper with one each.
The ceremony received negative reviews, and many were critical of Best Actor winner Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, whose head was shaved due to alopecia areata. In response, the Academy banned Smith from attending its events for a decade as punishment. Criticism was also directed toward the decision to present eight categories separate from the main telecast. The telecast drew 16.62 million viewers in the United States.
Winners and nominees
The nominees for the 94th Academy Awards were announced on February 8, 2022, by actors Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross. The Power of the Dog led all nominees with twelve nominations; Dune came in second with ten. The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 27.CODA became the first Best Picture winner to be distributed via a streaming platform and the first one starring a primarily deaf cast. Its three nominations were the fewest for any Best Picture winner since 1932's Grand Hotel, and it was the first Best Picture winner without directing or film editing nominations since the aforementioned film. Furthermore, it became the first without any nominations in the below-the-line categories since 1980's Ordinary People.
Best Director winner Jane Campion was the third woman to win the award and the first woman to be nominated twice, having previously been nominated for 1993's The Piano. The Power of the Dog became the first film to win Best Director as its sole award since 1967's The Graduate. Best Original Screenplay winner Kenneth Branagh was the first person to have been nominated in seven different categories throughout his career, having also been nominated as director and as one of the producers for Belfast.
Best Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur became the first deaf man and second deaf individual overall to win an acting award. Best Supporting Actress winner Ariana DeBose was the first Afro-Latina person and first openly queer woman of color to win an acting Oscar. Furthermore, as a result of her win for portraying Anita in the 2021 film adaptation of the Broadway musical West Side Story, she and Rita Moreno, who previously won for playing the same character in the 1961 film adaptation, became the third pair of actors to win for portraying the same character in two different films.
Nominated for their performances as Leda Caruso in The Lost Daughter, Best Actress nominee Olivia Colman and Best Supporting Actress nominee Jessie Buckley were the third pair of actresses nominated for portraying the same character in the same film. Flee became the first film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best International Feature Film, and Best Documentary Feature in the same year.
Awards
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger.Governors Awards
The Academy held its 12th annual Governors Awards ceremony on March 25, 2022, during which the following awards were presented:Honorary Awards
- To Samuel L. Jackson, whose dynamic performances resonate across genres and generations of audiences worldwide.
- To Elaine May, writer, director, performer, pioneer whose bracing comedic spark illuminates us all.
- To Liv Ullmann, for her deeply affecting screen portrayals and lifelong commitment to exploring the human condition.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
- Danny Glover "For decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his dedication to recognizing our shared humanity on and off the screen."
Films with multiple nominations and awards
| Nominations | Film |
| 12 | The Power of the Dog |
| 10 | Dune |
| 7 | Belfast |
| 7 | West Side Story |
| 6 | King Richard |
| 4 | Don't Look Up |
| 4 | Drive My Car |
| 4 | Nightmare Alley |
| 3 | Being the Ricardos |
| 3 | CODA |
| 3 | Encanto |
| 3 | Flee |
| 3 | Licorice Pizza |
| 3 | The Lost Daughter |
| 3 | No Time to Die |
| 3 | The Tragedy of Macbeth |
| 2 | Cruella |
| 2 | The Eyes of Tammy Faye |
| 2 | Parallel Mothers |
| 2 | Tick, Tick... Boom! |
| 2 | The Worst Person in the World |
| Awards | Film |
| 6 | Dune |
| 3 | CODA |
| 2 | The Eyes of Tammy Faye |
Presenters and performers
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.| Name | Role |
| Served as announcer for the 94th Academy Awards | |
| Introduced the performance of "Be Alive" | |
| Introduced hosts Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes | |
H.E.R. | Presented the award for Best Supporting Actress |
Jason Momoa | Presented the following awards filmed before the telecast: Best Animated Short Film Best Documentary Short Subject Best Film Editing Best Live Action Short Film Best Makeup and Hairstyling Best Original Score Best Production Design Best Sound |
Rosie Perez Wesley Snipes | Presented the award for Best Cinematography |
Rachel Zegler | Presented the award for Best Visual Effects |
Kelly Slater Shaun White | Presented the 60th anniversary tribute to the James Bond series |
| Introduced the performance of "Dos Oruguitas" | |
Lily James Naomi Scott | Presented the award for Best Animated Feature |
| Presented the award for Best Supporting Actor | |
Simu Liu | Presented the award for Best International Feature Film |
| Introduced the performance of "Somehow You Do" | |
Lupita Nyong'o | Presented the award for Best Costume Design |
| Introduced the performance of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" | |
Elliot Page J. K. Simmons | Presented the award for Best Original Screenplay |
Tracee Ellis Ross | Presented the award for Best Adapted Screenplay |
| Introduced the performance of "No Time to Die" | |
| Presented the award for Best Documentary Feature | |
| Presented the 50th anniversary tribute to The Godfather trilogy | |
Bill Murray Jamie Lee Curtis | Presented eulogies to Sidney Poitier, Ivan Reitman, and Betty White during the "In Memoriam" segment |
Zoë Kravitz | Presented the award for Best Original Song |
| Presented the award for Best Director | |
Samuel L. Jackson Uma Thurman | Presented the award for Best Actor |
| Presented the award for Best Actress | |
Liza Minnelli | Presented the award for Best Picture |
| Name | Role | Work |
| Orchestral | ||
| Beyoncé | Performer | "Be Alive" from King Richard |
| Performer | "Dos Oruguitas" from Encanto | |
| Performer | "Somehow You Do" from Four Good Days | |
| Adassa Stephanie Beatriz Mauro Castillo Carolina Gaitán Diane Guerrero Becky G Luis Fonsi Megan Thee Stallion | Performers | "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from Encanto |
| Performers | "No Time to Die" from No Time to Die | |
| The Samples Jill Scott | Performers | "I Will Remember You", "Spirit in the Sky", and "Thank You for Being a Friend" during the annual "In Memoriam" tribute |