You can expect these films to be called out very often during the 88th annual Academy Awards ceremony to be held on Sunday, February 28. The survival thriller "The Revenant" and the dystopian action movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" obtained the most nominations, 12 and 10 respectively, as revealed by the Academy on Thursday (14.01.2015) in Beverly Hills.

A first Oscar for DiCaprio?

Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for his portrayal of the 19th-century frontiersman Hugh Glass in "The Revenant," which was already among the big winners at the Golden Globes last Sunday with its three prizes.

Experts in the trade are convinced that DiCaprio will claim his first Oscar for his strong performance in the film. Predicting his nomination, columnist Scott Feinberg for the magazine "The Hollywood Reporter" also said that it was a "slam dunk" that the actor would go on to win.

In the director's seat

"The Revenant" was directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. His film "Birdman" won four Oscars last year, including for best picture and best director. If the filmmaker wins again this year, he would become the third director - with Joseph Mankiewicz and John Ford - to win the award two years in a row.

There are 24 categories altogether. Here are the nominees in the main categories:

Best picture

- "The Big Short"

- "Bridge of Spies"

- "Brooklyn"

- "Mad Max: Fury Road"

- "The Martian"

- "The Revenant"

- "Room"

- "Spotlight"

Best director

- Adam McKay, "The Big Short"

- George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

- Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "The Revenant"

- Lenny Abrahamson, "Room"

- Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"

Best actor

- Bryan Cranston, "Trumbo"

- Matt Damon, "The Martian"

- Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"

- Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"

- Eddie Redmayne, "The Danish Girl"

Best actress

- Cate Blanchett, "Carol"

- Brie Larson, "Room"

- Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy"

- Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years"

- Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"

Best actor in a supporting role

- Christian Bale, "The Big Short"

- Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"

- Mark Ruffalo, "Spotlight"

- Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies"

- Sylvester Stallone, "Creed"

Best actress in a supporting role

- Jennifer Jason Leigh, "The Hateful Eight"

- Rooney Mara, "Carol"

- Rachel McAdams, "Spotlight"

- Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"

- Kate Winslet, "Steve Jobs"

Best foreign language film

- "Embrace of the Serpent" (Colombia)

- "Mustang" (France)

- "Son of Saul" (Hungary)

- "Theeb" (Jordan)

- "A War" (Denmark)

Germany not in the official run - but still there

Although it was shortlisted, Germany's submission "Labyrinth of Lies" by Giulio Ricciarelli, a film depicting the Auschwitz Trials, was not among the final Best Foreign Language Film nominees.

The Hungarian film "Son of Saul," directed by Laszlo Nemes is a Holocaust story contending for the award. It won a Golden Globe on Sunday.

One German filmmaker nevertheless made it among the contenders. Patrick Vollrath was nominated for the short film he made as a student, "Alles wird gut" ("Everything Will Be Okay").

Berlin can also claim to be among the potential stars of Oscar night, as Steven Spielberg's Cold War spy thriller "Bridge of Spies," mostly set in Germany, earned six nominations.

The ceremony at the end of February will be hosted by stand-up comedian Chris Rock, whose provocative performance was criticized when he hosted the show in 2005.

eg/kbm (AP, Reuters)