Oppenheimer, the epic biopic about atomic bomb creator J Robert Oppenheimer from Christopher Nolan, has dominated the Oscar nominations with 13 nods, including one for best actor for Irish star Cillian Murphy.
Murphy, who plays the title role, was nominated for his first Academy Award, alongside British star Emily Blunt in the best actress category, while their co-star Robert Downey Jr also received a nod for supporting actor.
The drama was also recognised for best picture, while British filmmaker Nolan scored his second nod for best director.
The nominations for Actor in a Leading Role go to... #Oscars pic.twitter.com/6LETixc9NY
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 23, 2024
He will go head-to-head with another British director, Jonathan Glazer, for his film The Zone Of Interest, about a German family who live next to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The category also saw Justine Triet nominated for French courtroom drama Anatomy Of A Fall, Martin Scorsese being given a nod for western crime thriller Killers Of The Flower Moon, and Yorgos Lanthimos nominated for Poor Things.
Gothic fairytale comedy Poor Things scored 11 nods in total, including best picture, as well as nominations for Mark Ruffalo in the supporting actor category and best actress for star Emma Stone.
That prize sees British actress Carey Mulligan also in contention for her performance as Leonard Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre in Maestro, alongside Sandra Huller for Anatomy Of A Fall, Annette Bening for Nyad and Lily Gladstone for Killers Of The Flower Moon.
Meanwhile Blunt, who has been nominated for her performance as Oppenheimer’s wife in the supporting actress category, faces competition from US actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who has won a slew of precursor prizes for her turn as a cook in The Holdovers.
The category also features Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Jodie Foster for her performance in sports drama Nyad about the life of athlete Diana Nyad, and America Ferrera for Barbie.
Downey Jr has also landed his third Oscar nomination for his supporting role as Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, in Oppenheimer.
Other nominees include Ryan Gosling for his performance as Ken in Barbie and Sterling K Brown for his role as Cliff Ellison in American Fiction.
American Fiction also scored a nod in the best actor category for US star Jeffrey Wright, following his performance as a frustrated novelist who writes a book that propels him into the centre of the hypocrisy he disdains.
He will compete against Paul Giamatti, who has won plaudits for his performance as a cranky prep school teacher forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student in drama The Holdovers.
The nominations for Actress in a Leading Role go to... #Oscars pic.twitter.com/7C9zdqWUi1
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 23, 2024
Bradley Cooper also landed a nomination in the category for his Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, which he also directed, alongside Colman Domingo for his performance as activist Bayard Rustin, adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.
Meanwhile, American Fiction also featured in the adapted screenplay category for first-time feature film director Cord Jefferson who adapted Percival Everett’s 2001 novel titled Erasure.
He will compete against Greta Gerwig and her husband and co-writer Noah Baumbach for box office juggernaut Barbie, alongside British screenwriter Tony McNamara for Poor Things, adapted from Scottish writer Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel.
British film-maker Nolan also features in the category for his adaptation of Oppenheimer, alongside Glazer for The Zone Of Interest.
Nominations for the 96th Oscars were announced on Tuesday by Atlanta star Zazie Beetz and The Boys actor Jack Quaid, ahead of the annual ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
The Academy Awards ceremony will air from midnight on March 11 in the UK.