The Academy finally dropped the full list of Oscar nominees, and the directing duo consisting of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, a.k.a. Daniels, not only received the most nominations for Everything Everywhere All at Once but also earned recognition in the Best Director category.

The five nominees only feature usual suspect Steven Spielberg for his semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans, with Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin), Todd Field (TÁR), and Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness) rounding off this group of accomplished filmmakers. It bears saying that this is also far from McDonagh's first rodeo at the Oscars, as he’s been previously nominated for movies like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and In Bruges, though never before for his directing work.

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Nevertheless, what is most striking about these Best Director nominees is that for Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once happens to be only their second feature-length movie. They develop their craft in short films, whereas for Field, TÁR is barely his third movie since 2001's In the Bedroom. Östlund's story is vastly different, as the Swedish director’s trajectory is much more extensive, though the dark comedy Triangle of Sadness is his first English-language movie.

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, aka Daniels, laughing in Everything Everywhere All at Once interview

Besides the Best Director nod for The Banshees of Inisherin, the movie attained the second-highest total number of nominations, along with Netflix's All Quiet On The Western Front, tied at 9. However, Everything Everywhere All at Once conquered the Oscars with 11 nominations. All the Best Director nominees also made it on the list for the coveted Best Picture award, one that they’ll be competing for against All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, Top Gun: Maverick and Women Talking.

Out of all the movies picked for Best Director, Everything Everywhere All at Once was by far the most popular in 2022, as its unique brand of sci-fi action combined with great performances from Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan (both nominated in acting categories) made it a box office and critical hit. Conversely, the likes of The Fabelmans and TÁR both lost money for their respective companies, albeit the extra attention from the Oscars could help rescue the business side of things for them.

Betting odds point to Spielberg as the clear-cut favorite to land his third Best Director prize, with the first two coming thanks to his efforts in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. However, Daniels comes in second, and judging from Everything Everywhere All at Once's impact across all the Oscars, it could very well be the night for a wacky action movie to take more than a few awards home.

The 95th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 12, 2023.

MORE: Everything Everywhere All At Once Review

Source: Oscars