New York | After a tumultuous movie year marred by strikes and work stoppages, the Academy Awards showered nominations Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) on Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, Oppenheimer, which came away with a leading 13 nominations.

Nolan’s three-hour opus, viewed as the best picture frontrunner, received nods for best picture; Nolan’s direction; acting nominations for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey jnr and Emily Blunt; and multiple honours for the sweeping craft of the J. Robert Oppenheimer drama. Though Nolan is regarded as the big-canvas auteur of his era, he’s never won an Academy Award, nor have any of his films won best picture. This, though, could be his year.

AP