'No Time To Die' and 'Dune' lead the field in first Oscars shortlists

Agencies | London

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

"No Time To Die" and "Dune" lead the field in the first round of films shortlisted for the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. 

Both films were shortlisted in four categories after 10 were announced on Tuesday, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported. 

Daniel Craig's final outing as James Bond, "No Time To Die," was shortlisted for make-up and styling, music (original song), sound and visual effects. 

Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic "Dune", starring Timothee Chalamet and Oscar Isaac, was shortlisted for make-up and styling, music (original score), sound, and visual effects. 

Other categories announced were a documentary feature, documentary short subject, international feature film, animated short film, and live-action short film. 

Several films received were shortlisted in two categories. Kenneth Branagh's semi-autobiographical film "Belfast," starring Jamie Dornan, was shortlisted for sound and music (original song) for Down To Joy. 

Dornan, 39, recently told The Times it was "brutal" that his late father could not have seen the film, which focuses on The Troubles in Northern Ireland, which comes out in January.

"Spiderman: No Way Home," starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, also picked up two shortlist nominations for sound and visual effects. 

The web-slinging blockbuster was a box-office smash in its December opening weekend, making an estimated 600 million dollars worldwide. 

It was beaten only by "Avengers: Infinity War," which earned 640 million dollars worldwide, and "Avengers: Endgame" which earned 1.2 billion dollars.

Three more Marvel films were nominated for visual effects: "Black Widow", "Eternals" and "Shang Chi: Legend Of The Ten Rings." 

Netflix's "The Power Of The Dog" - starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons - was shortlisted for music (original score) and sound. 

Singer Billie Eilish also picked up two shortlist nominations for her documentary "The World's A Little Blurry" and Bond theme tune "No Time To Die." She wrote and performed the song with her brother Finneas O'Connell.