The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022. The ceremony was hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. It was the first ceremony since the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011 to feature multiple hosts.
CODA won three awards at the ceremony, including Best Picture. Dune won a leading six awards, while The Eyes of Tammy Faye won two awards. The Power of the Dog, King Richard, West Side Story, Drive My Car, Encanto, Belfast, No Time to Die, Cruella, The Long Goodbye, The Queen of Basketball, Summer of Soul, and The Windshield Wiper won an award each.
Army of the Dead is a 2021 American zombie heist film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold, based on a story he also created. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi, and Garret Dillahunt. It follows a group of mercenaries who plan a Las Vegas casino heist amid a zombie apocalypse.
Snyder conceived the idea for Army of the Dead as a spiritual successor to his 2004 debut film Dawn of the Dead. Originally from Warner Bros. Pictures, the project was announced in 2007 with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. attached to direct. However, the film spent several years in development hell before Netflix acquired distribution rights in 2019. With a US$70–90 million production budget and Snyder also serving as cinematographer, principal photography took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, in mid-2019. The film underwent reshoots in September 2020 after several sexual misconduct allegations were made against cast member Chris D'Elia; he was replaced by Notaro using green screens and CGI.
Army of the Dead was released in select theaters in the United States on May 14, 2021, and was digitally released on Netflix on May 21. Critics praised the film for its humor and found it would appeal to fans of "both Snyder and ensemble action flicks", but criticized its plot and runtime. At the 94th Academy Awards, it won the "Oscars Fan Favorite" contest.It grossed $1 million at the box office and became one of the most-watched original Netflix films. The film also spawned a franchise consisting of the spin-off prequel Army of Thieves; an upcoming anime-style series subtitled Lost Vegas; and a direct sequel titled Planet of the Dead which is in development.
