Oscars 2016: 'The Revenant' leads nominations with 12 bids

This photo provided by courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox shows, Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass, in a scene from the film, "The Revenant," directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The 88th annual Academy Awards nominations will be announced beginning at 5:30 a.m. PST on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif. The Oscars will be presented on Feb. 28, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox via AP)

The brutal frontier saga "The Revenant" leads the 88th annual Academy Awards with 12 nominations.

The strong showing for "The Revenant," including a best actor nod for Leonardo DiCaprio, follows its win at the Golden Globes. It sets director Alejandro Inarritu for a possible back-to-back win following his best-picture winning "Birdman."

George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road" followed with 10 nominations, including best picture. Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic "The Martian" landed 7 nominations, including best picture, but no best director nod for Scott.

Eight films were nominated for best picture. The other five were: Tom McCarthy's investigative journalistic procedural "Spotlight," Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller "Bridge of Spies," Adam McKay's Michael Lewis adaptation "The Big Short," the mother-son captive drama "Room" and the '50s Irish immigrant tale "Brooklyn."

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" received 5 nominations.

Alongside DiCaprio, the nominees for best actor are: Matt Damon ("The Martian"), Michael Fassbender ("Steve Jobs"), Eddie Redmayne ("The Danish Girl") and Bryan Cranston ("Trumbo").

The best actress field is led by favorite Brie Larson for "Room," along with Jennifer Lawrence ("Joy"), Cate Blanchett ("Carol"), Saoirse Ronan ("Brooklyn") and Charlotte Rampling ("45 Years").

The Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC on Feb. 28, with Chris Rock hosting for the second time.

Complete list of nominees:

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revanant
Room
Spotlight

Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Directing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Cinematography
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

Costume Design
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Mad: Fury Road
The Revenant

Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire

Documentary Short
Body Team
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

Original Song
"Earned It" - Fifty Shades of Grey
"Manta Ray" - Racing Extinction
"Simple Song #3" - Youth
"Til It Happens to You" - The Hunting Ground
"Writing's on the Wall" – Spectre

Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marie Was There

Animated Short Film
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay's Super Team
We Can't Leave Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

Sound Editing
Mad Mad: Fury Road
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Martian
The Revenant

Film Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Foreign Language Film
Embrace of the Serpent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War

Original Score
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Visual Effects
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

Original Screenplay
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

Live Action Short Film
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stutterer

The Associated Press contributed to this report.