2015 Oscar Nominations Announced, 'Birdman' and 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' Lead with Nine Nominations; Jennifer Aniston Snubbed

The 87 Academy Awards ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2015. Nominations for the 2015 Oscars were announced on Thursday morning (Jan 15) from Beverly Hills. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel and Michael Keaton's Birdman lead the lot with nine nominations and are vying for the top honors. Wes Anderson's whimsical comedy and an experimental irony about a fading movie actor are tied for top place. Jennifer Aniston was unfortunately snubbed for Cake despite giving a stellar performance.

Next in the line is The Imitation Game with eight nominations, and this is good news for the Brits. Keira Knightley's supporting and Cumberbatch's lead performance were the reason for the nomination, as well as for the best adapted screenplay, best picture, best director, best music, best production design and best editing.

Boyhood and American Sniper trail next with six nominations. American Sniper, Clint Eastwood's war drama based in Iraq has recently picked up momentum.

Those, who were surprised with the nominations, are Bradley Cooper, Laura Dern, Robert Duvall and Marion Cotillard.

Selma, which had been seen as a favorite with all, ended up with just two nominations, one for the best song for 'Glory' and for best picture. It is true that the announcement of Oscar nominations had its share of shocking omissions and surprise nods. The Academy had already expanded the best-picture category from five to a possible ten nominees and this year there are 8 best-picture nominees. The favorites are Birdman, Boyhood, The Imitation Game, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Whiplash.

Marion Cotillard was a surprise and the Academy's favorite with her interesting performance in "Two Days, One Night". Clint Eastwood didn't make it to the best director's nomination, despite showing a box-office smash in American Sniper.

Like every other year, the 2015 Oscar nominations are full of hits and misses, all depending upon who you talk to.