Con drama American Hustle and space movie Gravity lead this year's Oscar nominations with 10 nods each.
American Hustle was shortlisted in all four acting categories for its stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.
It is also up for best picture alongside Gravity, which earned a best director nod for Alfonso Cuaron and best actress for Sandra Bullock.
12 Years a Slave's nine nominations included best director and picture.
"I'm just very excited," British director Steve McQueen told the BBC. "My goodness, nine nominations - a lot of them British. We worked very hard and we're privileged to be in this position."
Actor Chris Hemsworth and Academy Awards President Cheryl Boone Isaacs unveiled the Oscar nominations
The film's stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o were also nominated in the best actor, supporting actor and supporting actress categories.
British film Philomena is up for four awards, including best picture.
Captain Phillips, 12 Years a Slave, Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club and Her are also among the nine films nominated for the coveted top award.
David O Russell's American Hustle is only the 15th film in Oscars' history to land nominations in the four main acting categories - although no film has ever won all the awards.
Russell achieved the same feat with Silver Linings Playbook last year, when all four of his key actors were nominated - with Lawrence winning best actress.
