"The Artist," "The Descendants" and "Hugo" are among the nine films nominated for Best Picture by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," "The Help," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball," "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse" also made the cut.
Also read: The Complete List of Oscar Nominees
"Hugo" received the most nominations, with 11. "The Artist" received 10.
"Moneyball" and "War Horse" received six each, while "The Descendants" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" each got five.
Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" only received three nominations, but all were in marquee categories: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography.
Acting nominees include George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Michelle Williams in the lead categories, and Christopher Plummer, Jonah Hill, Max von Sydow, Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy in the supporting categories.
Also read: Oscar Nominees React: Meryl Streep, Michel Hazanavicius, Kenneth Branagh and More
Among the surprises: "Extremely Loud" getting into the Best Picture race ahead of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Ides of March"; Michael Fassbender missing a Best Actor nod in favor of Demian Bichir from "A Better Life"; and critics favorite Albert Brooks being passed over in the Supporting Actor category.
In the animated feature category, Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" was passed over, while two small films, "A Cat in Paris" and "Chico and Rita," were nominated.
And in the Best Original Song race, voters only found two songs worthy of contention: "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" and "Real in Rio" from "Rio."
The nominees:
Best Picture
"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Nominees to be determined
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
"Rango" Gore Verbinski
Art Direction
"The Artist" Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
"Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris" Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Cinematography
"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
"Hugo" Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski
Costume Design
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
"The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E."
