Avatar and The Hurt Locker have bagged nine nominations apiece to lead the pack at the 2010 Academy Awards.James Cameron's record-breaking sci-fi blockbuster has secured nods for 'Best Picture' and 'Best Director', along with recognition in technical categories and a 'Best Score' nomination for James Horner.
The Hurt Locker helmer Kathryn Bigelow will compete with her ex-husband Cameron for the 'Picture' and 'Director' award, while her leading man Jeremy Renner is a surprise nomination for 'Best Actor'.
The remaining movies nominated in the newly-expanded 'Best Picture' category are The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up and Up In The Air.
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up In The Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man) and Morgan Freeman (Invictus) complete the 'Best Actor' line-up, while Brit stars Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Helen Mirren (The Last Station) are up against Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) for 'Best Actress'.
In Full: Oscars 2010 nominees:Best PictureAvatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air
DirectorJames Cameron (Avatar)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
Lee Daniels (Precious)
Jason Reitman (Up In The Air)
Best ActorJeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up In The Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Best ActressSandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
Best Supporting ActorMatt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Best Supporting ActressPenelope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air)
Mo'Nique (Precious)
Adapted ScreenplayNeill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell (District 9)
Nick Hornby (An Education)
Armando Iannucci, Simon Blackwell, Jesse Armstrong, Ian Martin, Tony Roche (In The Loop)
Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious)
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner (Up In The Air)
Original ScreenplayMark Boal (The Hurt Locker)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman (The Messenger)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (A Serious Man)
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Thomas McCarthy (Up)
Animated FeatureCoraline
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Princess And The Frog
The Secret Of Kells
Up
Best Foreign Language FilmAjami
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
The Milk Of Sorror
A Prophet
The White Ribbon
Art DirectionAvatar
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria
CinematographyAvatar
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon
Costume DesignBright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria
Documentary FeatureBurma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc
The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home
Documentary ShortChina's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears Of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign Of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing Of A GM Plant
Music By Prudence
Rabbit a la Berlin
EditingAvatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
MakeupIl Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria
Original ScoreJames Horner (Avatar)
Alexandre Desplat (Fantastic Mr Fox)
Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker)
Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)
Michael Giacchino (Up)
Original Song'Almost There' (The Princess And The Frog)
'Down In New Orleans' (The Princess And The Frog)
'Loin de Paname' (Paris 36)
'Take It All' (Nine)
'The Weary Kind' (Crazy Heart)
Sound EditingAvatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
Sound MixingAvatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
Visual EffectsAvatar
District 9
Star Trek
Animated ShortFrench Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The Lady And The Reaper
Logorama
A Matter Of Loaf And Death
Live Action ShortThe Door
Instead Of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants
The 2010 Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 7, 2010 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.