Beyond the numbers: Analyzing this year's Oscar nominees

INDIANAPOLIS — For movie lovers, the announcement of Oscar nominations is like Christmas morning all over again. Those on the west coast wake up for the 5:18 a.m. PT announcement to listen for the names and films in the 23 categories.

The 94th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 27. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. ET.

Here is a closer look at this year's nominees.

'The Power of the Dog' leads the pack

Netflix had plenty to cheer about Tuesday morning as Western psychological drama "The Power of the Dog" led all films with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jane Campion), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kirsten Dunst) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee). 

The film already took home Best Motion Picture — Drama at the non-televised Golden Globes and as the only film to receive acting, directing, editing and writing nominations, "The Power of the Dog" is looking like the clear frontrunner to win the top prize of the night.

Speaking of Campion, she became the first woman in Oscars history to be nominated for Best Director twice. She was previously nominated in 1994 for her film "The Piano," which she won for Original Screenplay. Steven Spielberg ("Schindler's List") won the directing trophy that year.

Acting snubs and surprises

As always, there are performances many expect to make the list but are left off.

At the top of this year's snubs is Lady Gaga for her role as the diabolical Patrizia Reggiani in "House of Gucci." Despite the film's polarizing reviews, Gaga was the only leading actress contender to score a nomination at all four precursors: British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Critics' Choice, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Another shocking omission was Caitríona Balfe for her borderline-lead-but-supporting turn in "Belfast." Balfe, like Gaga, was nominated at all four precursors before this morning's snub. Instead, the Academy recognized her co-star, Dame Judi Dench, for her eighth nomination.

Oscar winner and 30 Seconds to Mars lead vocalist Jared Leto ("House of Gucci") missed the chance to join the "esteemed" company of Glenn Close ("Hillbilly Elegy"), James Coco ("Only When I Laugh") and Amy Irving ("Yentl") in receiving both Oscar and Golden Raspberry nominations for the same performance, following yesterday's Razzie nod.

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Unique stats about this year's nominees

 A 41-year streak ended when the names were announced for Best Actor in a Leading Role: For the first time since 1981, all five men are previous nominees or winners. 

In 1981, the nominees consisted of Robert De Niro ("Raging Bull"), Robert Duvall ("The Great Santini"), John Hurt ("The Elephant Man"), Jack Lemon ("Tribute") and Peter O'Toole ("The Stunt Man"). 

This year's nominees include former winners Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men") and Denzel Washington ("Glory," "Training Day"), as well as past nominees Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfield and Will Smith.

Animated documentary "Flee," which tells of one man's journey of fleeing Afghanistan as a child refugee, became the first film nominated in three separate feature film categories: Animated, Documentary and International (representing Denmark).

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It'll be double the celebration for two celebrity couples. Javier Bardem ("Being the Ricardos") and Penélope Cruz ("Parallel Mothers"), who began dating in 2007 and got married in 2010, according to Us Weekly, were both nominated in the lead acting categories. Both actors had previously been nominated three times, each winning once (Bardem for "No Country for Old Men" and Cruz for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona").

Meanwhile, Jesse Plemons ("The Power of the Dog") and Kirsten Dunst ("The Power of the Dog") each received their first Oscar nominations Tuesday morning. Us Weekly reports the couple met while filming the second season of "Fargo" in 2015 and have been engaged since 2017.

"Hamilton" mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda isn't throwing away his shot at the elusive "EGOT" — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

Miranda has won three Tonys (two for "Hamilton," one for "In the Heights"), three Grammys ("Hamilton," "In the Heights" and "How Far I'll Go" from "Moana") and two Emmys (recorded performance of "Hamilton" and writing the opening musical number of the 67th Tony Awards), but is still awaiting that coveted Oscar.

He was previously nominated in 2017 for "How Far I'll Go" from "Moana" but lost to "City of Stars" from "La La Land." This year, Miranda is nominated for the sentimental "Dos Oruguitas" in "Encanto."

To become the 17th member of EGOT winners, Miranda will have to take down some notable names in the music industry: Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O'Connell ("No Time to Die" from "No Time to Die"); Beyoncé and DIXSON ("Be Alive" from "King Richard"); Van Morrison ("Down to Joy" from "Belfast"); and 13-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren ("Somehow You Do" from "Four Good Days"). 

And in case you were wondering why "We Don't Talk About Bruno" — the No. 1 song in the country for two weeks and counting — wasn't nominated, Disney didn't submit it to be on the shortlist of contenders.

Troy Kotsur ("CODA") became the first man who is deaf to be nominated for an Oscar. His co-star, Marlee Matlin, was the first person who is deaf to ever be nominated in 1987 for "Children of a Lesser God" — which she won as the youngest recipient ever at 21 years, 218 days old.

"CODA," which stands for child of deaf adults, follows 17-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones), who is the only hearing member of her family and has aspirations to go to college to study music, but she's always assisting with signing for her parents (Kotsur and Matlin) and brother (Daniel Durant).

In a rare feat, Oscar winner Olivia Colman and first-time nominee Jessie Buckley are nominated in the same year for playing the same character in the same movie.

In "The Lost Daughter," a professor (Colman) vacations alone in Greece but becomes entranced with a woman (Dakota Johnson) and her young daughter, bringing back disturbing memories from her past (Buckley).

Most notably, Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart were dually nominated in 1998 for playing Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron's "Titanic." And in 2002, Winslet was nominated again with her co-star, Dame Judi Dench, in "Iris," centering on the life of British novelist Iris Murdoch. Interesting fact: None of these performances won the Oscar — does that spell trouble for Colman and Buckley?

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See the full list of nominees below.

Best Picture

• "Belfast"
• "CODA"
• "Don't Look Up"
• "Drive My Car"
• "Dune"
• "King Richard"
• "Licorice Pizza"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "West Side Story"

Best Director

• Kenneth Branagh - "Belfast"
• Ryúsuke Hamaguchi - "Drive My Car"
• Paul Thomas Anderson - "Licorice Pizza"
• Jane Campion - "The Power of the Dog"
• Steven Spielberg - "West Side Story"

Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Jessica Chastain - "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
• Olivia Colman - "The Lost Daughter"
• Penélope Cruz - "Parallel Mothers"
• Nicole Kidman - "Being the Ricardos"
• Kristen Stewart - "Spencer"

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem - "Being the Ricardos"
• Benedict Cumberbatch - "The Power of the Dog"
• Andrew Garfield - "tick, tick...BOOM!"
• Will Smith -"King Richard"
• Denzel Washington - "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Jessie Buckley - "The Lost Daughter"
• Ariana DeBose - "West Side Story"
• Judi Dench - "Belfast"
• Kirsten Dunst - "The Power of the Dog"
• Aunjanue Ellis - "King Richard"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Ciarán Hinds - "Belfast"
• Troy Kotsur - "CODA"
• Jesse Plemons - "The Power of the Dog"
• J.K. Simmons - "Being the Ricardos"
• Kodi Smit-McPhee - "The Power of the Dog"

Best Original Screenplay

• "Belfast"
• "Don't Look Up"
• "King Richard"
• "Licorice Pizza"
• "The Worst Person in the World"

Best Adapted Screenplay

• "CODA"
• "Drive My Car" 
• "Dune"
• "The Lost Daughter"
• "The Power of the Dog"

Best Cinematography

• "Dune"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "The Tragedy of Macbeth"
• "West Side Story"

Best Film Editing

• "Don't Look Up"
• "Dune"
• "King Richard"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "tick, tick...BOOM!" 

Best Animated Feature Film

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

Best Animated Short Film

• "Affairs of the Art"
• "Bestia"
• "Boxballet"
• "Robin Robin"
• "The Windshield Wiper"

Best Live-Action Short Film

• "Ala Kachuu — Take and Run"
• "The Dress"
• "The Long Goodbye"
• "On My Mind"
• "Please Hold"

Best International Feature Film

• "Drive My Car"
• "Flee"
• "The Hand of God"
• "Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom"
• "The Worst Person in the World"

Best Documentary Feature

• "Ascension"
• "Attica"
• "Flee"
• "Summer of Soul (... Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"
• "Writing with Fire"

Best Documentary Short Subject

• "Audible"
• "Lead Me Home"
• "The Queen of Basketball"
• "Three Songs for Benazir"
• "When We Were Bullies"

Best Original Score

• "Don't Look Up"
• "Dune"
• "Encanto"
• "Parallel Mothers"
• "The Power of the Dog"

Best Original Song

• "King Richard" - "Be Alive"
• "Encanto" - "Dos Oruguitas"
• "Belfast" - "Down to Joy"
• "No Time to Die" - "No Time to Die"
• "Four Good Days" - "Somehow You Do"

Best Sound

• "Belfast" 
• "Dune"
• "No Time to Die"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "West Side Story"

Best Costume Design

• "Cruella"
• "Cyrano"
• "Dune"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "West Side Story"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• "Coming 2 America"
• "Cruella"
• "Dune"
• "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
• "House of Gucci"

Best Production Design

• "Dune"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "The Tragedy of Macbeth"
• "West Side Story"

Best Visual Effects

• "Dune"
• "Free Guy"
• "No Time to Die"
• "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"
• "Spider-Man: No Way Home"