'Joker' tops Oscar nominations with 11 nods

Todd Phillips’ much-debated supervillain origin story and R-rated box-office smash "Joker” topped all films with 11 Academy Awards nominations, while Martin Scorsese’s elegiac crime epic "The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s 1960s Los Angeles fairy tale "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” and Sam Mendes’ World War I tale "1917” all trailed close behind with 10 nods apiece.

Those four were among the nine films nominated for best picture, in nominations announced on Monday to the 92nd Academy Awards. The others were: "Parasite,” "Little Women,” "Marriage Story,” "Jojo Rabbit” and "Ford v Ferrari.”

Joe Pesci, left, and Robert De Niro in a scene from "The Irishman." AP

While "Joker” was expected to do well on Monday, the academy's overwhelming support for a movie that was far from a critical favourite was unexpected. The film's nominations included best actor for Joaquin Phoenix and best director for Phillips.

For the 87th time, the academy selected all-male directing nominees despite a year in which women made historic gains behind the camera. The most likely candidate was Greta Gerwig ("Little Women”), who was the last woman nominated, two years ago for "Lady Bird.” "Congratulations to those men,” said Issa Rae, who presented the nominees alongside John Cho.

Oscar nominees, from left, Kathy Bates, Florence Pugh, Margot Robbie, Laura Dern, and Scarlett Johansson. AP 

There were some surprises. "Frozen 2,” the highest grossing animated film ever, was passed over. Beyonce ("Lion King”) missed out on her first Oscar nomination, for best song. And most glaringly, Jennifer Lopez, long considered a supporting actress front-runner for her performance in "Hustlers,” was denied her first Oscar nomination.

The nominees for best actress are: Cynthia Erivo, "Harriet”; Scarlett Johansson, "Marriage Story”; Saoirse Ronan, "Little Women”; Charlize Theron, "Bombshell”; Renée Zellweger, "Judy.”

Best actor Oscar nominees, left, Joaquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonathan Pryce, Antonio Banderas, and Adam Driver in. AP

The nominees for best actor are: Antonio Banderas, "Pain and Glory”; Leonardo DiCaprio, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”; Adam Driver, "Marriage Story”; Jonathan Pryce, "The Two Popes”; Joaquin Phoenix, "Joker.”

The nominees for best supporting actress are: Kathy Bates, "Richard Jewell”; Laura Dern, "Marriage Story”; Scarlett Johansson, "Jojo Rabbit”; Florence Pugh, "Little Women”; Margot Robbie, "Bombshell.”

A scene from "I Lost My Body." AP

The nominees for best supporting actor are: Tom Hanks, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”; Anthony Hopkins, "The Two Popes,”; Brad Pitt, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”; Joe Pesci, "The Irishman”; Al Pacino, "The Irishman”.

The nominees for best international film are: "Corpus Christi,” Poland; "Honeyland,” North Macdeonia; "Les Miserables,” France; "Pain and Glory,” Spain; "Parasite,” South Korea.

The best director nominees are: Bong Joon Ho, "Parasite;” Sam Mendes, "1917;” Todd Phillips, "Joker;” Martin Scorsese, "The Irishman;” Quentin Tarantino, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood.”

The nominees for documentary feature are: "American Factory”; "The Cave”; "The Edge of Democracy”; "For Sama”; "Honeyland."

The nominees for best animated feature film: "How to Train a Dragon: The Hidden World”; "Toy Story 4”; "I Lost My Body”; "Klaus”; "Missing Link.”

This year's nominees will for the second straight year go without a host.

The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on Feb.9 in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre. ABC will again broadcast the show, viewership for which last year rose 12% to 29.6 million.