Los Angeles (AFP) – Surreal sci-fi “Everything Everywhere All At Once” topped the Oscar nominations Tuesday with 11, as Hollywood formally kicked off the race to the all-important Academy Awards.

It was followed by German anti-war movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Irish black comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which each received nine nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

As expected, Academy voters also rewarded blockbusters such as Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” for helping to bring audiences back to movie theaters after the pandemic.

Both were nominated for best picture, Tinseltown’s most coveted prize, although another crowd-pleaser — “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — missed out.

The remaining best picture slots went to rock-and-roll biopic “Elvis,” Steven Spielberg’s quasi-memoir “The Fabelmans,” Cate Blanchett’s latest tour-de-force “Tar,” Cannes festival winner “Triangle of Sadness” and literary adaptation “Women Talking.”

Absurdist indie film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” portrays a Chinese-American immigrant family undergoing a tax audit, who are quickly drawn into an inter-dimensional battle to save the multiverse from a powerful villain. 

It became a huge word of mouth hit and has grossed over $100 million worldwide.

The film earned four acting nominations for its cast, including best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan — who appeared as a child in “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom” almost four decades ago — and best lead actress for Michelle Yeoh.

Yeoh becomes just the second Asian woman ever nominated for lead actress in 95 years of Oscars history, and will compete with double Oscar-winner Blanchett for the prize.

But there was controversy elsewhere in the lead actress category, as no Black women were nominated, despite Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) and Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) having been seen as frontrunners.

Instead the remaining slots went to Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) and Andrea Riseborough for tiny indie film “To Leslie,” which mounted an unusual, late celebrity-backed campaign for its star.

– International voters –

In the other individual categories, Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and Austin Butler (“Elvis”) are clear favorites for best actor.

The remaining nominations went to Paul Mescal in “Aftersun” and Bill Nighy in “Living.”

In the best supporting actress category, Angela Bassett became the first star in a Marvel superhero movie to ever earn an Oscar acting nomination with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

Spielberg made the best director shortlist, but no women were nominated in the category, sparking quick social media backlash.

Speaking before the nominations, Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis told AFP this was one of the more unpredictable Oscars races, in part due to the recent massive growth in the number of international Academy voters.

Those members have been credited with surprises such as South Korea’s “Parasite” winning best picture in 2020.

This year they got behind “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which is distributed by Netflix. 

The World War I drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” has built major momentum, scooping a massive 14 nods last week for Britain’s BAFTAs.

‘Saved movies’

Actors Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) and Allison Williams (“Girls”) unveiled the Oscar nominations early on Tuesday morning from Los Angeles.

Television ratings for award shows including the Oscars have trended downwards, as Academy voters in recent years have veered toward honoring lesser-known indie hits like “Nomadland” and “CODA.”

Many in the industry were hoping for a healthy spread of nominations among 2022’s crowd-pleasing sequels, which were sorely needed as giants such as Cineworld, the world’s second biggest cinema chain, filed for bankruptcy protection.

James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which sailed past the $2 billion mark globally last weekend, earned four nominations including best picture, production design, sound and visual effects.

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Cruise’s long-awaited sequel to his huge 1986 hit which came out in May during highly uncertain times for movie theaters and earned around $1.5 billion, received six — best picture, editing, song, sound, visual effects and adapted screenplay.

“That’s the one that feels like it could actually win best picture,” said Davis, before the announcement.

“What better story the day after the Oscars air, than that the movie that saved movies was named the best movie? That’s a good story to tell.”

The Full List of 2023 Academy Award Nominees

BEST PICTURE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking

BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST DIRECTING
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, Tár
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
All Quiet on the Western Front
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Living
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Triangle of Sadness

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
All Quiet on the Western Front
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Elvis
Empire of Light
Tár

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Babylon
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
All That Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
Navalny

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Elephant Whisperers
Haulout
How Do You Measure a Year?
The Martha Mitchell Effect
Stranger at the Gate

BEST FILM EDITING
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Close
EO
The Quiet Girl

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
The Whale

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Applause,” Tell It Like a Woman
“Hold My Hand,” Top Gun: Maverick
“Lift Me Up,” Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
“Naatu Naatu,” RRR
“This Is a Life,” Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
Elvis
The Fabelmans

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse
The Flying Sailor
Ice Merchants
My Year of Dicks
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
An Irish Goodbye
Ivalu
Le Pupille
Night Ride
The Red Suitcase

BEST SOUND
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Elvis
Top Gun: Maverick

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Top Gun: Maverick