Oscars nominations 2022: The Power Of The Dog leads the way with 12 nods while Dune earns 10 - Benedict Cumberbatch and Kristen Stewart are up for Lead Actor awards - but Academy comes under fire for backsliding on diversity

 The nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning with The Power Of The Dog and Dune earning the most nods.

Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the nominations across 23 categories from an early morning virtual in Los Angeles ahead of the ceremony on March 27.

Following its eight nods at last week's BAFTA nominations and its three wins at January's Golden Globes, The Power Of The Dog leads the nominations with 12 nods, including Best Picture, Leading Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst and Director and Adapted Screenplay for Jane Campion. 

The awards also saw a drop in the popularity of streaming services, despite the Covid pandemic wreaking havoc on the cinema industry. 

Movie magic: The nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning with The Power Of The Dog (pictured) and Dune earning the most nods 

The Western drama is the film adaptation of Thomas Savage's 1967 novel and was released in theatres as well as Netflix late last year. 

The film's stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who also both earned a Supporting Actor nomination on Tuesday, as secretive, psychologically duelling rivals on a 1920s Montana ranch. Its nominations were for Supporting Actress, Achievement in Sound, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Best Actor, Director and Best Picture.

Campion is the first woman to ever be nominated twice for best director. Last year, Chloé Zhao became the second woman to ever win the award. Meanwhile Campion's director of photography on The Power Of The Dog, Ari Wegner, is the second woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography.