LOS ANGELES: "Oppenheimer" -- Christopher Nolan's masterly portrait of the father of the atomic bomb -- topped the Oscars nominations on Tuesday, earning an impressive 13 nods including for best picture.
"Oppenheimer" almost grossed $1 billion, led the way with nods for its director Nolan, and stars Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt.
The film -- which is the clear favourite to win best picture, the industry's top prize, at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10 -- also racked up nods in an array of technical categories.
"Killers of the Flower Moon," Scorsese's three-and-a-half-hour true crime opus on murders ripping through the oil-rich Osage community in early 20th century Oklahoma, made history.
Star Lily Gladstone became the Oscars' first Native American nominee for best actress.
She will now go head-to-head with Emma Stone, the star of "Poor Things," which also earned an acting nod for Mark Ruffalo, along with a swathe of technical nominations, from cinematography to costume design.
But there was disappointment for "Killers" star Leonardo DiCaprio, who failed to earn a best actor nomination, and the movie also missed out on best adapted screenplay.
Tuesday's announcement was a big success for "Anatomy" -- despite it not being France's official entry in the international film category, a decision that has caused a little hand-wringing in Paris.
As well as earning expected best picture and best actress Sandra Huller nominations, director Justine Triet secured a nod that had been widely predicted to go to Gerwig, and it also earned recognition for editing and original screenplay.
Bradley Cooper earned an impressive three individual nominations for acting in, producing and writing "Maestro." The Leonard Bernstein biopic, which Cooper also directed, took seven nominations.
Other strong performers included Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers," about a teacher, a cook and a student holed up in a boarding school over the festive season.
It took five nominations, including acting nods for Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who are both now considered strong contenders in their respective categories.
And it was a good morning for "American Fiction," a deft satire on race, publishing and Hollywood, which also had five nominations including for stars Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown.
The best picture category was rounded out by "Past Lives," a Korean-American production about love, friendship and how things change but stay the same, and bleak Nazi drama "The Zone of Interest." — AFP
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