Avatar and The Hurt Locker are Oscar favourites

Avatar by James Cameron and The Hurt Locker by Kathryn Bigelow are the favourites to win big at this year’s Academy Awards with nine nominations each. Cameron and Bigelow were once married.

The two films will duke it out in the Best Picture category as well as Best Director. Inglourious Basterds follows with eight nominations, including Best Film and Best Director for Quentin Tarantino.

Besides these three films, nominees for Best Picture include District 9, Up, The Blind Side, Up in the Air, A Serious Man, An Education and Precious.

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) will vy for the Best Actor prize.

Best Actress nominees include Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).

Actors and actresses nominated in supporting roles are Matt Damon (Invictus), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), Penélope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) and Mo’Nique (Precious).

Coraline, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells and Up round off nominees in the Best Animated Film category.

The 82nd Oscars air on March 7 and will be hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.