WASHINGTON — The 2018 Oscar nominees were announced on Tuesday.
Who will compete at the 90th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 4?
See the nominees in each category in the gallery below.
Then check out further analysis beneath.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar voters put forward nine best-picture nominees: 鈥淭he Shape of Water,鈥� 鈥漈hree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,鈥� 鈥滾ady Bird,鈥� 鈥滸et Out,鈥� 鈥滵arkest Hour,鈥� 鈥漈he Post,鈥� 鈥滵unkirk,鈥� 鈥滳all Me By Your Name鈥� and 鈥淧hantom Thread.鈥�
The cascading fallout of sexual harassment scandals throughout Hollywood put particular focus on the best director category, which for many is a symbol of gender inequality in the film industry. Gerwig follows only Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow, the sole woman to win (for 鈥淭he Hurt Locker鈥�).
Also nominated for best director was 鈥淕et Out鈥� director Jordan Peele. He becomes the fifth black filmmaker nominated for best director, and the third to helm a best-picture nominee, following Barry Jenkins last year for 鈥淢oonlight.鈥� The film鈥檚 breakout star, Daniel Kaluuya, also was nominated for best actor.
Though all of the front-runners 鈥� Frances McDormand (鈥淭hree Billboards鈥�), Gary Oldman (鈥淒arkest Hour鈥�), Allison Janney (鈥淚, Tonya鈥�), Sam Rockwell (鈥淭hree Billboards鈥�) 鈥� landed their expected nominations, there were surprises.
Denzel Washington (鈥淩oman J. Israel, Esq.鈥�) was nominated for best actor, likely eclipsing James Franco (鈥淒isaster Artist鈥�). Franco was accused of sexual misconduct, which he denied, just days before Oscar voting closed.
Christopher Plummer, who replaced Kevin Spacey in Ridley Scott鈥檚 鈥淎ll the Money in the World,鈥� also sneaked into best supporting actor category. Plummer was added to the film in reshoots little more than a month before the film鈥檚 release.
Perhaps most unexpected was the broad success of Paul Thomas Anderson鈥檚 鈥淧hantom Thread,鈥� which scored not just a best actor nod for what Daniel Day-Lewis has said is his final performance, and best supporting actress for Lesley Manville. It also scored nominations for best picture and Anderson鈥檚 direction.
Anderson likely displaced not only Steven Spielberg (鈥淭he Post鈥�) but Martin McDonagh, the director of the film many have tapped to win best picture, 鈥淭hree Billboards.鈥� His absence is a major knock for a film that has endured the harshest backlash of the contenders, with many claiming it鈥檚 out-of-touch in matters of race.
Still, 鈥淭hree Billboards鈥� scored seven nominations Tuesday, behind only 鈥淭he Shape of Water鈥� and Christopher Nolan鈥檚 鈥淒unkirk.鈥� The World War II epic, thus far little-honored in Hollywood鈥檚 awards season, emerged especially strong with Oscar voters, taking eight nominations, many of them in technical categories.
Though the favorites thus far have been largely independent films, a number of blockbusters fared well, including five nods for 鈥淏lade Runner 2049,鈥� four for 鈥淪tar Wars: The Last Jedi,鈥� three for 鈥淏aby Driver,鈥� two for 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� and two for Pixar鈥檚 鈥淐oco,鈥� which is up for best animated feature. Still, Patty Jenkins鈥� 鈥淲onder Woman,鈥� which became the highest grossing movie ever directed by a woman, failed to receive any Oscar nods despite an awards campaign.
But the box-office hit that carved the most unlikely path to the Oscars was 鈥淕et Out.鈥� It opened back in February on Oscar weekend, and went on to pocket $254.7 million worldwide. It scored four nominations.
Though many minorities were still absent from the acting categories, the film academy put forward a field of nominees almost as diverse as last year when 鈥淢oonlight,鈥� 鈥滷ences鈥� and 鈥淗idden Figures鈥� powered a rebuttal to the 鈥淥scarsSoWhite鈥� backlash of the two years prior. Four black actors 鈥� Washington, Kaluuya, Mary J. Blige (鈥淢udbound鈥�) and Octavia Spencer (鈥淭he Shape of Water鈥�) 鈥� are among the 20 acting nominees.
Meryl Streep, who stars as Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham in 鈥淭he Post,鈥� notched her 21st Oscar nomination.
鈥淚 am honored beyond measure by this nomination for a film I love, a film that stands in defense of press freedom, and inclusion of women鈥檚 voices in the movement of history,鈥� Streep said in a statement. 鈥淧roud of the film, and all her filmmakers. Thank you from a full heart.鈥�
Last year鈥檚 Oscars broadcast, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, drew 32.9 million viewers for ABC, a four percent drop from the prior year. More worrisome, however, was a steeper slide in the key demographic of adults aged 18-49, whose viewership was down 14 percent from 2016.
Though the show ran especially long, at three hours and 49 minutes, it finished with a bang: the infamous envelope mix-up that led to 鈥淟a La Land鈥� being incorrectly announced as the best picture before 鈥淢oonlight鈥� was crowned.
This year, the academy has prohibited the PwC accountants who handle the envelopes from using cellphones or social media during the show. The accounting firm on Monday also unveiled several reforms including the addition of a third balloting partner in the show鈥檚 control room. Neither of the PwC representatives involved in the mishap last year, Brian Cullinan or Martha Ruiz, will return to the show.
But the movie business has larger accounting problems. Movie attendance hit a 24-year low in 2017 despite the firepower of 鈥淪tar Wars: The Last Jedi,鈥� 鈥滲eauty and the Beast鈥� and 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.鈥� An especially dismal summer movie season was 92 million admissions shy of summer 2016, according to the National Alliance of Theater Owners.
It was a dominant if bittersweet day for 20th Century Fox. Its specialty label, Fox Searchlight, is behind both 鈥淭hree Billboards鈥� and 鈥淭he Shape of Water,鈥� and Fox released The Post.鈥� Yet those wins may soon count for the Walt Disney Co., which last month reached a deal to purchase Fox for $52.4 billion.
Both Amazon and Netflix failed to crack the best picture category but earned nominations elsewhere. Netflix鈥檚 鈥淢udbound鈥� scored two nods (for Blige and Morrison) and Amazon鈥檚 鈥淭he Big Sick鈥� grabbed a nomination for original screenplay.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP.聽Copyright 漏聽2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
