The nominations for this year's Academy Awards have just been announced in Beverly Hills, California.

As expected, The King’s Speech leads the way with a total of 12 nominations, including some of the most sought after awards. Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter are both nominated for their performances in the Actor In a Leading Role and Actress In a Supporting Role categories, whilst Geoffrey Rush is up for Actor In a Supporting Role. The film is also up for Best Picture and Best Director.

Whilst Firth is odds on favourite to get film’s most prestigious award after his win at the Golden Globes a couple of weeks ago, Bonham Carter faces competition from The Fighter's Melissa Leo, who took home the same award at last week's Golden Globes.

Other Brits who have been recognised this year are Danny Boyle who is up for Best director for 127 hours and Christian Bale for Best supporting actor in The Fighter.

Actress In a Leading Role is the other much sought after honour, and this year it seems that it’s between Annette Bening (who took home the Golden Globe for The Kids Are All Right) and Natalie Portman for Black Swan. Let battle commence…

Nominations for the key categories are listed below. For the full list of nominations visit oscars.org.

Actor in a Leading Role

* Javier Bardem in Biutiful

* Jeff Bridges in True Grit

* Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network

* Colin Firth in The King's Speech

* James Franco in 127 Hours

Actor in a Supporting Role

* Christian Bale in The Fighter

* John Hawkes in Winter's Bone

* Jeremy Renner in The Town

* Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right

* Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech

Actress in a Leading Role

* Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right

* Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole

* Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone

* Natalie Portman in Black Swan

* Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

Actress in a Supporting Role

* Amy Adams in The Fighter

* Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech

* Melissa Leo in The Fighter

* Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit

* Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

Best Picture

* Black Swan

* The Fighter

* Inception

* The Kids Are All Right

* The King's Speech

* 127 Hours

* The Social Network

* Toy Story 3

* True Grit

* Winter's Bone

Picture credits: Rex Features

Oscar nominations announced