TWO extravagant come-dies, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, have tied for the most Oscar nominations with nine nods each, including best picture.
They were joined in best picture nominations by Boyhood, Whiplash, The Theory Of Everything, The Imitation Game, American Sniper and Selma.
The Imitation Game trailed close behind with eight nominations, while Clint East-wood's Navy Seal drama American Sniper landed six nods, including best actor for Bradley Cooper.
Also with six nominations was Richard Linklater's coming-of-age epic Boyhood, which remains the best picture favourite.
Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch join Cooper on the five-man shortlist for best actor.
Redmayne, whose performance as Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything has already won him a Golden Globe, is among the early favourites to carry off the statuette.
Speaking after the nominations, he praised the man he brought to life on the big screen, saying: "You know, as you can imagine, it's our job as actors to tell interesting stories about interesting people.
"They don't come more extraordinary than Stephen Hawking."
Redmayne is also up against Steve Carell, nominated for Foxcatcher, and Birdman's Michael Keaton for the award.
The early odds suggest Redmayne faces his stiffest competition from Keaton.
The US star is 4/5 to win, just marginally ahead of Redmayne at 10/11, according to bookmaker William Hill.
Redmayne's co-star in The Theory Of Everything, Felicity Jones, and Rosamund Pike are both nominated for the leading actress gong.
Jones, who played Professor Hawking's first wife Jane, said she could not watch the nominations because it was "so nerve-wracking".
She said: "Jane would often be on set and it would be at first quite nerve-wracking and then I got to know her so well that I just had such affection for her so I feel like I'm absolutely sharing this nomination with her."
Jones and Gone Girl star Pike face competition from Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore and Marion Cotillard.
Keira Knightley, who stars alongside Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, is nominated for the best supporting actress award alongside Oscars veteran Meryl Streep - who is shortlisted for a 19th time.
The other nominees are Patricia Arquette, Laura Dern and Emma Stone.
The nominees for supporting actor are Robert Duvall, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo and JK Simmons.
Among those who were tipped for a nomination but missed out are actors Ralph Fiennes and David Oyelowo, both critically acclaimed for their work in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Selma respectively, and Nick Hornby whose work on the screenplay of Wild went unrecognised.
Former Friends star Jennifer Aniston also missed out despite impressing the critics with her performance in Cake.
The nominations were announced yesterday during a press conference in Beverley Hills with the ceremony to follow on February 22, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.