2016 Oscars: The Revenant, Mad Max and The Martian top nominees

After being snubbed in the Golden Globes, Australian-made Mad Max: Fury Road roars back into contention for the Hollywood Oscars with 10 nominations, mainly for technical achievement.

But the Leonardi DiCaprio-starring wilderness-survival epic The Revenant, a Golden Globe winner, remains the favourite with 12 nominations, including best film, best director and best actor.

DiCaprio, who won the Golden Globe, is a clear contender for his first Oscar, while two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, is among the five best actress nominees for role in the lesbian drama Carol.

Mad Max director George Miller is up against last year’s winner Alejandro G Iñárritu (for Birdman) with The Revenant.

The Martian racks up seven nominations, including best actor (Matt Damon) and best picture but director Ridley Scott, considered a strong bet for a nomination, is left out.

The independent drama Room is one of the biggest surprises, scoring nominations for best picture and director to go along with best adapted screenplay and best actress (Globe winner Brie Larson).

The critics’ favourite, Spotlight, scored nominations for best picture, best director, best supporting actor and actress, and best adapted screenplay.

DiCaprio’s co-star in The Revenant, Tom Hardy, received a nod in the supporting actor category, as did Sylvester Stallone, who reprised his Rocky Balboa role in the boxing drama Creed.

The 88th Academy Awards will be televised live on Sky on February 29 (NZ time).

The major Academy Awards nominees are:

Best picture: The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Spotlight
Best actor: Bryan Cranston in Trumbo, Matt Damon in The Martian, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant, Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs, Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl
Best supporting actor: Christian Bale in The Big Short, Tom Hardy in The Revenant, Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight, Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies, Sylvester Stallone in Creed
Best actress: Cate Blanchett in Carol, Brie Larson in Room, Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years, Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn
Best  supporting actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hateful Eight, Rooney Mara in Carol, Rachel McAdams in Spotlight, Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl, Kate Winslet in Steve Jobs

Best director: The Big Short, Adam McKay; Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller; The Revenant, Alejandro G Iñárritu; Room, Lenny Abrahamson; Spotlight, Tom McCarthy
Best animated feature: Anomalisa, Boy and the World, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep Movie and When Marnie Was There
Best documentary feature: Amy, Cartel Land, The Look of Silence, What Happened, Miss Simone? Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Best foreign language film: Embrace of the Serpent, Colombia; Mustang, France; Son of Saul, Hungary; Theeb, Jordan; A War, Denmark

Adapted screenplay: The Big Short, Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Brooklyn, Nick Hornby; Carol, Phyllis Nagy; The Martian; Drew Goddard, Room, Emma Donoghue
Original screenplay: Bridge of Spies, Matt Charman and Ethan and Joel Coen; Ex Machina, Alex Garland; Inside Out, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Spotlight, Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy; Straight Outta Compton, Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff
Original score: Bridge of Spies, Thomas Newman; Carol, Carter Burwell; The Hateful Eight, Ennio Morricone; Sicario; Jóhann Jóhannsson; Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Williams
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