Chris Luckett

While the nominations this year were more predictable than in some years past, the movies that did rise to the top have produced a more interesting race from the outset than we’ve had in quite a while. When the field of Best Picture nominees includes eight incredibly varied films, each quite strong as their respective cinematic goals, it’s a good sign that anything can happen over the next six weeks.

The 88th Academy Award nominees are…

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BEST PICTURE

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

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BEST DIRECTOR

Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant)
Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
Adam McKay (The Big Short)
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

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BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
Matt Damon (The Martian)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

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BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Brie Larson (Room)
Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale (The Big Short)
Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
Sylvester Stallone (Creed) 

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

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BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL)

Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

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BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED)

The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

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BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie was There

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BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FEATURE

Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)
Mustang (France)
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Theeb (Jordan)
A War (Denmark)

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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

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BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire

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BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lauzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

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BEST EDITING

The Big Short
The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight

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BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Force Awakens
The Hateful Eight
Sicario

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BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Earned It” (Fifty Shades of Grey)
“Manta Ray” (Racing Extinction)
“Simple Song 3” (Youth)
“‘Til It Happens to You” (The Hunting Ground)
“Writing’s on the Wall” (Spectre)

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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant 

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BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Bear Story (Historia de Un Oso)
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow 

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BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE-ACTION)

Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay
Shok
Stutterer 

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BEST SOUND EDITING

The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario

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BEST SOUND MIXING

Bridge of Spies
The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Ex Machina
The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

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The 88th Academy Awards will be take place on Sunday, February 28th.