Following weeks and weeks of build-up, the Oscar race has officially begun after the Academy unveiled their full list of nominations for this year.

As with the BAFTAs, the romantic fantasy The Shape of Water leads the way with a formidable thirteen nods, which include a place on the prestigious Best Picture shortlist.

The film, centres on a love story between a mute cleaner and an Amphibian man, also scored directing and writing noms for Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.

Additionally, British performer Sally Hawkins (as Elisa Esposito) is up for Best Actress, while co-stars Richard Jenkins (as Giles) and Octavia Spencer (as Zelda Delilah Fuller) are both in contention for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

The World War II epic Dunkirk is second on the nomination count with eight, which includes Best Picture as well as a first Best Director nod for Christopher Nolan, who had previously been overlooked for his work on The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010).

The comedic drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has seven mentions including Best Picture to follow up its recent successes at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild.

However, British playwright Martin McDonagh was surprisingly snubbed for Best Director, though he does receive a nod for his original screenplay.

Furthermore, Frances McDormand (as Mildred Hayes) will look to cement her Oscar frontrunner status after earning a Best Actress nod, while male co-stars Woody Harrelson (as Chief Bill Willoughby) and Sam Rockwell (as Jason Dixon) are both up for Best Supporting Actor.

Elsewhere, the psychological horror Get Out and the indie comedy Lady Bird performed well with multiple nods, including a Best Picture mention.

Rising filmmakers Jordan Peele (Get Out) and Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) are both recognised for their directing and writing, with the latter becoming only the fifth woman in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Director!

From those films, British rookie Daniel Kaluuya (as Chris Washington) receives his first Oscar nod for his lead role in Get Out while Lady Bird’s Saoirse Ronan (as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson) and Laurie Metcalf (as Marion McPherson) are in contention for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

One film that claimed an impressive haul was the period drama Phantom Thread, which picked up six nominations, including Best Picture and an unexpected Best Director nom for Paul Thomas Anderson.

In what is said to be his final film role, three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis (as Reynolds Woodcock) earns another Best Actor nod, while co-star Lesley Manville (as Cyril Woodcock) is up for Best Supporting Actress.

The rest of the Best Picture line-up is completed by the romantic drama Call Me by Your Name (four noms), the war drama Darkest Hour (six noms) and the factual drama The Post (two noms).

In the acting fields, the great Meryl Streep lands a remarkable 21st nomination for her portrayal of New York Times publisher Katharine Graham in The Post and is joined in the Best Actress line-up by Australian beauty Margot Robbie (as Tonya Harding) in the sports biopic I, Tonya.

Meanwhile, British veteran Gary Oldman will look to strengthen his pursuit of the Best Actor gong after being nominated for his portrayal of prime minister Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

The other nominees in contention for Best Actor are rookie star Timothée Chalamet (as Elio Perlman) in Call Me by Your Name, and previous category winner Denzel Washington (as Roman J. Israel) in the legal drama Roman J. Israel, Esq..

Less than three months ago, Christopher Plummer had no involvement at all with the factual drama All the Money in the World.

However, the Oscar-winning veteran has now received a surprise Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of billionaire J. Paul Getty, with Willem Dafoe (as Bobby Hicks) among his fellow nominees for the indie drama The Florida Project.

Meanwhile, the Best Supporting Actress line-up sees recent Golden Globe and SAG Award winner Allison Janney (as LaVona Golden) in I, Tonya up against musician-turned actress Mary J. Blige (as Florence Jackson) in the race-relations drama Mudbound. The latter is also acknowledged for her song “Mighty River” from the same film.

Elsewhere, Pixar’s Coco is heavily favoured to win Best Animated Film and faces competition from The Boss Baby, The Breadwinner, Ferdinand and Loving Vincent.

The Best Foreign Language Film category includes the likes of Chile’s A Fantastic Woman and Sweden’s The Square while a number of blockbusters are up for technical awards including Baby Driver, Beauty and the Beast, Blade Runner 2049, The Greatest Showman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Kong: Skull Island, Logan and War for the Planet of the Apes.

Despite its diverse reviews, Star Wars: The Last Jedi also performed well with four nods, which include yet another Best Original Score nomination for legendary composer John Williams.

In the minor categories, former Hollyoaks actress Rachel Shenton finds herself surprisingly in contention to win Best Documentary Short for her work on the short The Silent Child, while NBA star Kobe Bryant is up for Best Animated Short for his animated retelling of his own poem Dear Basketball.

Once again, there were a number of notable acting snubs, with allegations of sexual misconduct costing James Franco a Best Actor nom for his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.

Additionally, fellow stars Tom Hanks (The Post), Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game), Hong Chau (Downsizing) and Holly Hunter (The Big Sick) were also overlooked for their performances.

Furthermore, films like Battle of the Sexes, Detroit, Downsizing, The LEGO Batman Movie, Murder on the Orient Express, Stronger and Wonder Woman were completely ignored.

The 90th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday 4 March with Jimmy Kimmel hosting for the second year in a row.

The full list of Oscar nominations are below (winner predictions in blue):

BEST PICTURE
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
DARKEST HOUR
DUNKIRK
GET OUT
LADY BIRD
PHANTOM THREAD
THE POST
THE SHAPE OF WATER
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, PHANTOM THREAD
Greta Gerwig, LADY BIRD
Christopher Nolan, DUNKIRK
Jordan Peele, GET OUT
Guillermo del Toro, THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, THE SHAPE OF WATER
Frances McDormand, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Margot Robbie, I, TONYA
Saoirse Ronan, LADY BIRD
Meryl Streep, THE POST

BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
Daniel Day-Lewis, PHANTOM THREAD
Daniel Kaluuya, GET OUT
Gary Oldman, DARKEST HOUR
Denzel Washington, ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mary J. Blige, MUDBOUND
Allison Janney, I, TONYA
Lesley Manville, PHANTOM THREAD
Laurie Metcalf, LADY BIRD
Octavia Spencer, THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Willem Dafoe, THE FLORIDA PROJECT
Woody Harrelson, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Richard Jenkins, THE SHAPE OF WATER
Christopher Plummer, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
Sam Rockwell, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (James Ivory)
THE DISASTER ARTIST (Scott Neustadfter & Michael H. Weber)
LOGAN (Scott Frank, James Mangold & Michael Green)
MOLLY’S GAME (Aaron Sorkin)
MUDBOUND (Virgil Williams & Dee Rees)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE BIG SICK (Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon)
GET OUT (Jordan Peele)
LADY BIRD (Greta Gerwig)
THE SHAPE OF WATER (Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor)
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (Martin McDonagh)

BEST EDITING
BABY DRIVER
DUNKIRK
I, TONYA
THE SHAPE OF WATER
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BLADE RUNNER 2049
DARKEST HOUR
DUNKIRK
MUDBOUND
THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
BLADE RUNNER 2049
DARKEST HOUR
DUNKIRK
THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
DARKEST HOUR
PHANTOM THREAD
THE SHAPE OF WATER
VICTORIA & ABDUL

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
DARKEST HOUR
VICTORIA & ABDUL
WONDER

BEST SOUND MIXING
BABY DRIVER
BLADE RUNNER 2049
DUNKIRK
THE SHAPE OF WATER
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

BEST SOUND EDITING
BABY DRIVER
BLADE RUNNER 2049
DUNKIRK
THE SHAPE OF WATER
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BLADE RUNNER 2049
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
KONG: SKULL ISLAND
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
DUNKIRK (Hans Zimmer)
PHANTOM THREAD (Jonny Greenwood)
THE SHAPE OF WATER (Alexandre Desplat)
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (John Williams)
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (Carter Burwell)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (“Mystery of Love”)
COCO (“Remember Me”)
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (“This is Me”)
MARSHALL (“Stand Up for Something”)
MUDBOUND (“Mighty River”)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
THE BOSS BABY
THE BREADWINNER
COCO
FERDINAND
LOVING VINCENT

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A FANTASTIC WOMAN (Chile)
THE INSULT (Lebanon)
LOVELESS (Russia)
ON BODY AND SOUL (Hungary)
THE SQUARE (Sweden)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL
FACES PLACES
ICARUS
LAST MEN IN ALEPPO
STRONG ISLAND

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
EDITH + EDDIE
HEAVEN IS A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE 405
HEROIN(E)
KNIFE SKILLS
TRAFFIC STOP

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
DEKLAB ELEMENTARY
THE ELEVEN O’CLOCK
MY NEPHEW EMMETT
THE SILENT CHILD
WATU WOTE/ALL OF US

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
DEAR BASKETBALL
GARDEN PARTY
LOU
NEGATIVE SPACE
REVOLTING RHYMES