'American Hustle' and 'Gravity' lead this year's Academy Award nominations.

David O. Russell's crime caper starring Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence and Alfonso Cuaron's breathtaking space thriller both have 10 nominations at the 86th annual film awards, while '12 Years a Slave' follows closely behind with nine nods.

'American Hustle' is up for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, as well as acting nominations for all four main cast members including Christian, Jennifer, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper.

'Gravity' and '12 Years a Slave' are also in contention for Best Picture alongside 'Captain Phillips', 'Dallas Buyers Club', 'Nebraska', 'Her', 'Philomena' and 'The Wolf of Wall Street'.

'12 Years a Slave' has yielded a Best Actor nomination for leading man Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Fassbender and Best Supporting Actress for newcomer Lupita Nyong'o.

Sandra Bullock has earned an Oscar nod for 'Gravity', as has the film's visionary director Alfonso Cuaron.

Golden Globe Award winners Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett continue to rack up award nominations as they are up for Best Actor and Best Actress for 'Dallas Buyers Club' and 'Blue Jasmine', respectively.

Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep earns a record 18th Oscar nomination for 'August: Osage County' and her co-star Julia Roberts, who is also a past Best Actress winner, is up for Best Supporting Actress.

The nominations were announced in Los Angeles today (16.01.14) by 'Thor: The Dark World' actor Chris Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs.

The 86th annual Academy Awards take place on March 2.

2014 Academy Awards - selected nominations:

Best Picture

'American Hustle'

'Captain Phillips'

'Dallas Buyers Club'

'Her'

'Nebraska'

'Philomena'

'12 Years a Slave'

'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Best Animated Feature

'The Croods'

'Despicable Me 2'

'Ernest & Celestine'

'Frozen'

'The Wind Rises'

Best Actor

Christian Bale, 'American Hustle'

Bruce Dern, 'Nebraska'

Leonardo DiCaprio, 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Chiwetel Ejiofor, '12 Years a Slave'

Matthew McConaughey, 'Dallas Buyers Club'

Best Actress

Amy Adams, 'American Hustle'

Cate Blanchett, 'Blue Jasmine'

Sandra Bullock, 'Gravity'

Judi Dench, 'Philomena'

Meryl Streep, 'August: Osage County'

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi, 'Captain Phillips'

Bradley Cooper, 'American Hustle'

Michael Fassbender, '12 Years a Slave'

Jonah Hill, 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Jared Leto, 'Dallas Buyers Club'

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins, 'Blue Jasmine'

Jennifer Lawrence, 'American Hustle'

Lupita Nyong'o, '12 Years a Slave'

Julia Roberts, 'August: Osage County'

June Squibb, 'Nebraska'

Best Adapted Screenplay

'Before Midnight'

'Captain Phillips'

'Philomena'

'12 Years a Slave'

'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Best Original Screenplay

'American Hustle'

'Blue Jasmine'

'Dallas Buyers Club'

'Her'

'Nebraska'

Best Original Song

'Alone Not Yet Alone' from 'Alone Not Yet Alone'

'Happy' from 'Despicable Me 2'

'Let It Go' from 'Frozen'

'The Moon Song' from 'Her'

'Ordinary Love' from 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'