Blockbusters, arthouse films vie for Oscar nods in crowded race

LOS ANGELES – A crowded field including “Dune,” “Belfast,” “West Side Story” and “The Power of the Dog” will compete for Oscars nominations Tuesday, as Academy voters handpick the best films from a year in which Covid-weary audiences slowly headed back into movie theaters.

Giant cinematic spectacles — many of which were pushed back into 2021 during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic — will vie with auteur films that gained tractions on streaming sites in a diverse race for Hollywood’s biggest awards, to be handed out in late March.

“Last year we had a much more indie Oscars… This year was the return of big cinema, big movies and studio films,” said one…