Following up on its Golden Globe triumph, Martin Scorsese's film biography of Howard Hughes "The Aviator" received 11 Oscar nominations, beating out drama "Finding Neverland" and Clint Eastwood's boxing tale "Million Dollar Baby," which received seven nominations each for the 77th annual Academy awards.
The latter movie picked up six of its nominations in the most highly regarded categories.
All three films were nominated Tuesday for best picture, along with the Ray Charles biography "Ray" and the comedy "Sideways."
Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes is also bidding for a star-role win in the favorite The Aviator.
Shut out completely from the most prestigious categories was the wildly successful Passion of the Christ, where two Bulgarian actors starred in supportive roles. Fahrenheit 9/11, which earned millions and divided opinion sharply, garnered no nominations at all.
Best-picture nominations went to The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray and Sideways. Four of the same movies showed up on the best-director list. Marc Foster's Finding Neverland was the exception, its spot taken by Mike Leigh's Vera Drake.
Nominations for lead acting by a male were secured by Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda); Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland); Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator); Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby); and Jamie Foxx (Ray).
Best-actress nominations went to: Annette Bening (Being Julia); Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace); Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake); Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) and Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).