Science-fiction film Avatar and war movie The Hurt Locker¹ lead the way at this year's Academy Awards with nine nominations³ each.

科幻电影《阿凡达》和战争片《拆弹部队》各自获得本年度奥斯卡金像奖九项提名。

A total of 10 films will be up for this year's best picture Oscar

The battle will see Avatar's James Cameron go head-to-head with his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, who made The Hurt Locker, in the best director category.

Other films featured in the best film category include Up in the Air, The Blind Side, Precious and District 9.

British nominees⁴ include Colin Firth, Dame⁵ Helen Mirren and Carey Mulligan.

British writer Nick Hornby, who brought An Education to the big screen, has also been nominated for an award in the best adapted screenplay category最佳改编剧本.

Hornby is well known for a string of books which have been adapted and made into movies, including Fever Pitch, High Fidelity⁶ and About A Boy.

Writers Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche are all nominated in the adapted screenplay category for In The Loop, based on comedy show The Thick of It.

Another British hopeful is Nick Park, for Wallace and Gromit caper⁷ A Matter Of Loaf And Death.

Highest grossing

For the first time since 1944, the Oscars feature 10 best picture contenders竞争者 instead of the usual five.

The list also includes animated⁸ movie Up, A Serious Man, Inglourious Basterds and An Education.

Firth is up for his first Oscar for his role as a gay academic mourning the death of his partner in fashion designer Tom Ford's debut⁹初次登台 feature film A Single Man.

"I thought I was managing my expectations, but on hearing the news I discovered new and unfamiliar¹⁰ vocal¹¹ tones. Perhaps I should do another musical," said the Mamma Mia star.

The star will go up against George Clooney (Up in the Air), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Morgan Freeman (Invictus).

Freeman said: "This is my fifth nomination² and I'm more proud of that than all the rest of it, I think. Getting nominated, to me, that's the plateau.

"After you're nominated, it's like a crap掷骰子 shoot, it's like throwing dice¹²骰子."

In the best actress category, Sandra Bullock also picked up her first nomination for The Blind Side, along with Mulligan for An Education and Gabourey Sidibe for Precious.

Sidibe, who has been nominated for her first leading role, said: "As soon as I heard, I jumped up and down and for some reason I kept screaming, 'I'm gonna get a car, I'm gonna get a car.' I don't know why."

They will battle it out with Academy Award winners Dame Helen Mirren, for The Last Station and Meryl Streep, for her role in Julie & Julia.

There are also nods for Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) and Mo'Nique (Precious) in the best supporting actress category最佳女配角.