The Revenant has swept the Nominations for the 88th Academy Awards, taking place on February 28th 2016, picking up an even dozen.

A close second, George Miller’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece – Mad Max Fury Road with 10, matching The Revenant in every category except acting, but Tom Hardy is nominated for supporting actor in The Revenant alongside Leonardo DiCaprio who is expected to pick up Best Actor.

Ridley Scott’s The Martian starring Matt Damon has 7 including Best Picture.

Carol, Bridge of Spies and Spotlight all have 6 nominations.

The Big Short has 5 including Best Picture, Director and Actor, and Star Wars also on 5, for technical categories including Editing and Visual Effects.

It will prove to be a super tight race for some of the categories and I do not expect a clean sweep by The Revenant, there are just too many other outstanding films.

The Revenant – 12 (Picture, Director, Cinematography, Actor, Supporting Actor, Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound Editing,Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling)

Mad Max Fury Road – 10 Nominations (Picture, Directing, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling)

The Martian – 7 (Picture, Actor, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Production Design, Adapted Screenplay)

Carol – 6 (Actress Lead, Actress Support, Cinematography, Costume Design, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay)

Bridge Of Spies – 6 (Picture, Actor, Sound Mixing, Original Score, Original Screenplay, Production Design)

Spotlight – 6 (Picture, Directing, Supporting Actor & Actress, Film Editing, Original Screenplay)

The Big Short – 5 (Picture, Directing, Actor, Film Editing, Adapted Screenplay)

Star Wars – 5 (Film Editing,Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Original Score, Visual Effects)

The Danish Girl – 4 (Actor, Actress, Costume Design, Production Design)

Room – 4 (Picture, Directing, Actress, Adapted Screenplay)

The Hateful Eight – 3 (Cinematography, Supporting Actress, Original Score)

Sicario – 3 (Cinematography, Sound Editing, Original Score)

Ex Machina – 2 (Visual Effects, Original Screenplay)

Steve Jobs – 2 (Lead Actor, Supporting Actress)

Inside Out – 2 (Animated Feature Film, Original Screenplay)

Here is a snapshot of some of the key categories from the live-stream announcement overnight. Some of the stream dropped out…