'Roma', 'A Star Is Born' and 'Black Panther' Lead the Way at This Year's Oscar Nominations

In 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a controversial change to the Oscars: creating an award for most popular film. The backlash was strong and swift, with the category quickly put on hold — and the fresh slate of Oscar nominees show why the new gong really isn't needed.

From the Lady Gaga-starring fourth take on A Star Is Born, to Black Panther's comic book antics, to Bohemian Rhapsody's love letter to Queen, plenty of last year's huge box office hits are now multiple nominees for the 91st annual Academy Awards, which will be held on Monday, February 25 Australian time. They're joined by a heap of critical and audience favourites from 2018, including Alfonso Cuarón's highly personal drama Roma, deliciously dark historical effort The Favourite and Dick Cheney biopic Vice, plus two very different films about race relations: BlacKkKlansman and Green Book.

By the numbers, Roma and The Favourite lead the charge with ten nods apiece, while A Star Is Born and Vice each scored eight, Black Panther received seven, BlacKkKlansman nabbed six, and Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book took five each. Of course, the figures only tell part of the story — some of the biggest highlights from the list of nominees are hidden behind the numbers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp_i7cnOgbQ

For only the sixth time in 91 years, a black filmmaker has been recognised in the best director category, with Spike Lee picking up his first-ever nomination across his lengthy career. Plus, for the first time since 1977's ceremony, two of the five best director contenders are for flicks in languages other than English — with Cuarón the favourite for Roma and Cold War's Pawel Pawlikowski a deserving but unexpected inclusion. Among the best picture field, Black Panther became the first Marvel movie to ever score a nod for the coveted award. And a movie star was born in Lady Gaga, who made history by becoming the first person to nab noms for best actress and for best original song in the same year (the latter of which, for A Star Is Born's heart-swelling banger 'Shallow', she's a shoo-in to win).

On the surprise front, among Roma's huge haul, sit nods for two of its main on-screen talents, with Yalitza Aparicio in the best actress category and Marina de Tavira in the best supporting actress field. The Netflix title wasn't the streaming platform's only big contender, with the Coen Brothers-directed western anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs also picking up three nods.

Of course, there are always gaps. After Greta Gerwig became just the fifth woman to be nominated for best director last year, the category went with an all-male lineup this time around — and among the exclusions, Can You Ever Forgive Me?'s Marielle Heller directed stars Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant to acting nominations, but didn't make the Oscar cut herself. And the list is light for Australian talents, with The Favourite landing the country's only contenders in the form of screenwriter Tony McNamara and production designer Fiona Crombie.

The 91st Academy Awards will take place on Monday, February 25, Australian time. Here's the full list of nominations.

OSCAR NOMINEES 2019

BEST MOTION PICTURE

• Black Panther
• BlacKkKlansman
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• The Favourite
• Green Book
• Roma
• A Star Is Born
• Vice

BEST DIRECTOR

• Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
• Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
• Adam McKay, Vice
• Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

• Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
• Glenn Close, The Wife
• Olivia Colman, The Favourite
• Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
• Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

• Christian Bale, Vice
• Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
• Willem Dafoe, At Eternity's Gate
• Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Amy Adams, Vice
• Marina de Tavira, Roma
• Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
• Emma Stone, The Favourite
• Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Mahershala Ali, Green Book
• Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
• Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
• Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Sam Rockwell, Vice

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• The Favourite
• First Reformed
• Green Book
• Roma
• Vice

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• BlacKkKlansman
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  
• If Beale Street Could Talk
• A Star Is Born

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Black Panther
• BlacKkKlansman
• If Beale Street Could Talk
• Isle of Dogs
• Mary Poppins Returns

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• 'All the Stars', Black Panther
• 'I'll Fight', RBG
• 'The Place Where Lost Things Go', Mary Poppins Returns
• 'Shallow', A Star Is Born
• 'When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings', The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

BEST FILM EDITING

• BlacKkKlansman
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• The Favourite
• Green Book
• Vice

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

• Capernaum (Lebanon)
• Cold War (Poland)
• Never Look Away (Germany)
• Roma (Mexico)
• Shoplifters (Japan)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Incredibles 2
• Isle of Dogs
• Mirai
• Ralph Breaks the Internet
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Free Solo
• Hale County This Morning, This Evening
• Minding the Gap
• Of Fathers and Sons
• RBG

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Cold War
• The Favourite
• Never Look Away
• Roma
• A Star Is Born

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Black Panther
• The Favourite
• First Man
• Mary Poppins Returns
• Roma

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Avengers: Infinity War
• Christopher Robin
• First Man
• Ready Player One
• Solo: A Star Wars Story

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• Black Panther
• The Favourite
• Mary Poppins Returns
• Mary Queen of Scots

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

• Border
• Mary Queen of Scots
• Vice

BEST SOUND MIXING

• Black Panther
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• First Man
• Roma
• A Star Is Born

BEST SOUND EDITING

• Black Panther
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• First Man
• A Quiet Place
• Roma

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

• Black Sheep
• End Game Lifeboat
• A Night at the Garden
• Period. End of Sentence

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

• Animal Behavior
• Bao
• Late Afternoon
• One Small Step
• Weekends

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

• Detainment
• Fauve
• Marguerite
• Mother
• Skin