Oscars 2015 | Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead the Academy Awards race

A fairly predictable tally of nominations was announced earlier this afternoon, as directors JJ Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron, along with actor Chris Pine and Academy boss Cheryl Boone announced the nominations for the 87th edition of  the Academy Awards, set to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on 22 February.

Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu’s Michael Keaton-starring Hollywood satire Birdman is neck-and-neck with Wes Anderson’s colourful madcap farce The Grand Budapest Hotel, with both films sharing nine nominations each.

But given that it focuses on the vagaries of the film industry – being the story of a has-been actor attempting a comeback on Broadway – Birdman remains a likelier contender to snatch awards in the key categories.

Trailing close behind are The Imitation Game (8), followed by Boyhood and American Sniper with six nominations each.

The Imitation Game – which boasts Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch as pioneering but tragic computer genius Alan Turing – is one half of the ‘eccentric genius’ double-whammy we’ve been regaled to this year, the other being The Theory of Everything, in which Eddie Redmayne stars as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.

‘Theory’ nabbed a comparatively smaller clutch of four nominations, though these include key categories such as Best Actress – for Redmayne’s co-star Felicity Jones – and Best Adapted Screenplay and a Best Actor nod for Redmayne himself.

Another key contender is Boyhood, the bravura coming-of-age epic by Richard Linklater, filmed over 13 years. Linklater’s standing as a director of note who never ‘sold out’, coupled with the film’s unique ‘making of’ story, made Boyhood an almost instant Oscar contender by proxy, but the film is a success regardless: it can stand proudly on its strong performances and intimate, relatable storytelling.

THE FULL LIST

Best picture

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

Best director

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

Best actress

Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Reece Witherspoon, Wild

Best actor

Steve Carrell, Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton, Birdman

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Original screenplay

Birdman

Boyhood

Foxcatcher

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Nightcrawler

Adapted screenplay

American Sniper

The Imitation Game

Inherent Vice

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

Best supporting actress

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Laura Dern, Wild

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Emma Stone, Birdman

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Best supporting actor

Robert Duvall, The Judge

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Edward Norton, Birdman

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

JK Simmons, Whiplash

Best cinematography

Birdman

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ida

Mr Turner

Unbroken

Best Foreign Language Film

Ida, Poland

Leviathan, Russia

Tangerines, Estonia

Timbuktu, Mauritania

Wild Tales, Argentina

Best make-up and hairstyling

Foxcatcher

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Guardians of the Galaxy

Best original score

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Interstellar

Mr Turner

The Theory of Everything

Best costume design

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Inherent Vice

Into the Woods

Maleficent

Mr Turner

Best documentary feature

Citizenfour

Finding Vivian Maier

Last Days in Vietnam

Salt of the Earth

Virunga

Best Documentary Short

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Joanna

Our Curse

The Reaper

White Earth

Best film editing

American Sniper

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Whiplash

Best animated feature

Big Hero 6

The Boxtrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Song of the Sea

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Best original song

“Lost Stars,” Begin Again

“Grateful,” Beyond the Lights

“I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me

“Everything is Awesome,” The Lego Movie

“Glory,” Selma

Best production design

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Interstellar

Into the Woods

Mr Turner

Best animated short film

The Bigger Picture

The Dam Keeper

Feast

Me and My Moulton

A Single Life

Best live-action short film

Aya

Boogaloo and Graham

Butter Lamp

Paraveneh

The Phone Call

Best sound editing

American Sniper

Birdman

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Interstellar

Unbroken

Best sound mixing

American Sniper

Birdman

Interstellar

Unbroken

Whiplash

Best visual effects

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Guardians of the Galaxy

Interstellar

X-Men: Days of Future Past