Leading up the highlight of awards season, the Academy Awards nominees for 2012 have been announced, and there aren't too many surprises this time around.

The Martin Scorsese adventure flick, Hugo, led the pack, nabbing 11 nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. It was followed closely by the silent film, The Artist. The other seven Best Picture nods were: The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and War Horse.

As expected, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, and Brad Pitt will square off in the Best Actor category, for their respective performances in The Descendants, The Artist, and Moneyball. Surprise contenders Demian Bichir for A Better Life and Gary Oldman for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy round out the category.

Physical transformations and biopics were big in the ladies' category this year. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo's Rooney Mara and My Week with Marilyn's Michelle Williams are up against the likes of Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs, Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady, and emerging favorite Viola Davis for The Help.

Some first-time nominees dominate the Best Supporting Actress nominees, including Berenice Bejo for The Artist, both Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer for The Help, Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs and funnywoman Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids. On the other hand, veterans Kenneth Branagh, Nick Nolte, Max von Sydow, and Christopher Plummer will compete for the honor of Best Supporting Actor, alongside relative newcomer Jonah Hill.

The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced early Tuesday morning at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills by Jennifer Lawrence, who was a nominee last year for her role in Winter's Bone. You can watch the Oscars, hosted by Billy Crystal, live on Sunday, February 26 at 7 p.m. EST.

Check out the full list of nominees here:

Best picture

“War Horse”

“The Artist”

“Midnight in Paris”

“Moneyball”

“The Descendants”

“The Tree of Life”

“The Help”

“Hugo”

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Best supporting actress:

Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”

Jessica Chastain, “The Help”

Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”

Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”

Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best supporting actor

Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”

Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”

Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Nick Nolte, “Warrior”

Max von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Best actress

Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”

Viola Davis, “The Help”

Rooney Mara, “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”

Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Best actor

Demian Bachir, “A Better Life”

George Clooney, “The Descendants”

Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”

Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best director

Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”

Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”

Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Terrence Malick, “Tree of Life”

Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”

Best original screenplay

“The Artist”

“Bridesmaids”

“Margin Call”

“Midnight in Paris”

“A Separation”

Best adapted screenplay

“The Descendants”

“Hugo”

“The Ides of March”

“Moneyball”

“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best foreign language film

“Bullhead”

“Footnote”

“In Darkness”

“Monsieur Lazhar”

“A Separation”

Best animated feature

“A Cat in Paris”

“Chico & Rita”

“Kung Fu Panda 2”

“Puss in Boots”

“Rango”

Best animated short film

“Dimanche/Sunday”

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

“La Luna”

“A Morning Stroll”

“Wild Life”

Best live action short film

“Pentecost”

“Raju”

“The Shore”

“Time Freak”

“Tuba Atlantic”

Best art direction

“The Artist”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

“Hugo”

“Midnight in Paris”

“War Horse”

Best cinematography

“The Artist”

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

“Hugo”

“The Tree of Life”

“War Horse”

Best costumes

“Anonymous”

“The Artist”

“Hugo”

“Jane Eyre”

“W.E.”

Best documentary feature

“Hell and Back Again”

“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Libration Front”

“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”

“Pina”

“Undefeated”

Documentary short subject

“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”

“God is the Bigger Elvis”

“Incident in New Baghdad”

“Saving Face”

“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

Film editing

“The Artist”

“The Descendants”

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

“Hugo”

“Moneyball”

Make-up

“Albert Nobbs”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

“The Iron Lady”

Original score

“The Adventures of TinTin”

“The Artist”

“Hugo”

“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy:

“War Horse”

Original song

“Man or Muppet”

“Real in Rio”

Sound editing

“Drive”

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

“Hugo”

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

“War Horse”

Visual effects

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

“Hugo”

“Real Steel”

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

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