The nominations for the 79th Academy Awards have been announced, with 'Dreamgirls' leading the shortlist with eight nominations.
'Babel', 'The Departed', 'The Queen' and 'Little Miss Sunshine' have also received numerous nominations.
As expected, Irish actor Peter O'Toole has been nominated for Best Actor for his performance in 'Venus' and Helen Mirren has been nominated for Best Actress for her performance in 'The Queen'.
The other nominees for Best Actor are: Leonardo DiCaprio ('Blood Diamond'), Ryan Gosling ('Half Nelson'), Will Smith ('The Pursuit of Happyness') and Forest Whitaker ('The Last King of Scotland').
The Best Actress shortlist includes: Pénelope Cruz ('Volver'), Judi Dench ('Notes on a Scandal'), Meryl Streep ('The Devil Wears Prada') and Kate Winslet ('Little Children').
The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are: Alan Arkin ('Little Miss Sunshine'), Jackie Earle Haley ('Little Children'), Djimon Hounsou ('Blood Diamond'), Eddie Murphy ('Dreamgirls') and Mark Wahlberg ('The Departed').
Adriana Barraza ('Babel'), Cate Blanchett ('Notes on a Scandal'), Abigail Breslin ('Little Miss Sunshine'), Jennifer Hudson ('Dreamgirls') and Rinko Kikuchi ('Babel') have been nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Shortlisted for Best Director are: Clint Eastwood ('Letters from Iwo Jima'), Stephen Frears ('The Queen'), Alejandro González Iñárritu ('Babel'), Paul Greengrass ('United 93') and Martin Scorsese ('The Departed').
The films nominated for Best Picture are: 'Babel', 'The Departed', 'Letters from Iwo Jima', 'Little Miss Sunshine' and 'The Queen'.
The nominees for Best Original Screenplay are: 'Babel', 'Letters from Iwo Jima', 'Little Miss Sunshine', 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'The Queen'.
'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan', 'Children of Men', 'The Departed', 'Little Children' and 'Notes on a Scandal' are nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
'After the Wedding', 'Days of Glory', 'The Lives of Others', 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'Water' are nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
'Cars', 'Happy Feet' and 'Monster House' are nominated for Best Animated Film.
'Deliver Us from Evil', which was part shot in Ireland, 'An Inconvenient Truth', 'Iraq in Fragments', 'Jesus Camp' and ' My Country, My Country' are nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
The Oscars ceremony takes place on Sunday 25 February in Hollywood.
