'American Hustle,' 'Gravity' lead Oscar nominations

'Dallas Buyers Club': underdog film turned scrappy Oscar contender

The con-artist comedy American Hustle' and the 3-D space odyssey Gravity led the Academy Awards nomination list with 10 apiece, while the historical epic 12 Years a Slave, trails closely behind with nine nods.

The nominations announced on Thursday in Los Angeles set up a race between three very different films, all of which were nominated for best picture. The 86th annual Academy Awards will take place March 2.

Mexican-born Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron and British-born 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen both received best director nods.

The most notable omission was Tom Hanks for his lead performance in Captain Phillips. Hanks is widely beloved by the academy, having been nominated five times previously and winning for Forrest Gump and Philadelphia.

Robert Redford, expected by many to be nominated for the shipwreck drama All Is Lost, also missed out on a best actor nod. Redford has never won an acting Oscar.

Disney's Mary Poppins tale Saving Mr. Banks also failed to land either a best picture or a best actress nod for British-born Emma Thompson.

The best actress nominees are: Amy Adams (American Hustle), Australian-born Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Britain's Judi Dench (Philomena) and Meryl Streep (August: Osage County).

It is Streep's 18th nomination; she has won three times.