Oscar Nomination Surprises

The 2015 Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday with some surprises and snubs. 

Rounding out the lead for Academy Awards are The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman with nine nominations each including Best Picture of the Year. Also battling for the award in that category are Boyhood, American Sniper, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash and Selma. Films left out of a slot were Foxcatcher, Unbroken, Gone Girl, Nightcrawler, Into the Woods, Inherent Vice and A Most Violent Year.

Although Selma received nominations for Best Picture and Song, David Oyelowo didn't make the cut for his performance as Dr. Martin Luther King to earn a Best Actor nomination, nor did Ava DuVernay for Best Director.

Also Clint Eastwood for his work on American Sniper and Angelina Jolie for her work on Unbroken also got snubbed for Best Director.

For Best Actress, Julianne Moore is a favored to win for Still Alice. Yet Jennifer Aniston was left out for her performance in Cake, though she received Golden Globe and SAG nominations. 

The Lego Movie proved that "Everything is Awesome" as the film earned a slot for Best Original Song, but was surprisingly not a contender for Best Animated Feature. The film earned a Golden Globe nomination in the same category and earned nearly $257 million at the box office. Yet that wasn't enough. Films that are in the running include Big Hero 6, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Boxtrolls, Song of the Sea and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.

While most of the nominations were expected, the announcement sparked debates on social media over the lack of diversity for women and people of color nominated. 

The 87th Academy Awards airs February 22 on ABC.