The Critics' Choice nominations have been announced, with Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Birdman" leading with 13 nominations. 

The Critics' Choice are an important precursor award because it usually predicts all the Best Picture nominees. For example, the Critics' Choice was the first and only other organization to nominate "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" before it was nominated for the Oscars. It also nominated "Dallas Buyers Club" for Best Picture after a number of organizations had ignored it. 

This year, alongside "Birdman," the organization nominated "Boyhood," "Gone Girl," "The Imitation Game," "The Theory of Everything," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Selma" and "Whiplash." Rounding out the top 10 were two big surprises. "Unbroken," which was snubbed by the Golden Globes, obtained a Best Picture nomination, while "Nightcrawler" also made the list. Both these were nominated over front-runner "Foxcatcher," "Interstellar" and "Into the Woods." 

The omission for "Foxcatcher" is a bad sign, especially since the film has been ignored by most critics and its box office has not been particularly good. 

On the other hand, "Interstellar" can no longer be considered a Best Picture contender especially after having missed the Critics, Globes and the SAGs. In the same respect, "Into the Woods" should also turn its hopes away from a Best picture nomination. While reviews are not out, if the film would have been a stand out, it would definitely appeared in the Best Picture list.

The Best Director list looked exactly the same as Golden Globe nominees. Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Ava Duvernay, Richard Linklater and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu were all nominated. However, since the critics allow for six nominees, Angeline Jolie turned up for her work in "Unbroken." As a result, the category included two women. Interestingly enough "Unbroken" has been one of the most divisive films of the year, and the fact that Jolie was nominated seems strange, considering other films had better ratings. 

The Best Actor race added another contender. Like the Globes and SAGs Benedict Cumberbatch was nominated for "The Imitation Game" alongside Jake Gyllenhaal for "Nightcrawler," Eddie Redmayne for "The Theory of Everything" and Michael Keaton for "Birdman." David Oyelowo repeated after his Globe nomination, but Ralph Fiennes showed up for his work in "The Grand Budapest Hotel." The missing actor was Steve Carell for his work in "Foxcatcher." The omission once again demonstrates how weak the film has been doing with the critics and also demonstrates that the Academy may also omit him when nominations come around. 

The Best Actress has definitely been narrowed down to six contenders. While most pundits expected Amy Adams or Hilary Swank to show up on this list for their work in "Big Eyes" and "The Homesman," Marion Cotillard was nominated for her work in "Two Days One Night." Cotillard joined Golden Globe and SAG nominees Jennifer Aniston for "Cake," Felicity Jones for "The Theory of Everything," Julianne Moore for "Still Alice," Rosamund Pike for "Gone Girl" and Reese Witherspoon for "Wild."

The same thing happened in the two supporting categories. Josh Brolin was nominated in the Supporting Actor category for his work in "Inherent Vice." He was nominated alongside Globe and SAG nominees Robert Duvall for "The Judge," Ethan Hawke for "Boyhood," Edward Norton for "Birdman," Mark Ruffalo for "Foxcatcher" and J.K. Simmons for "Whiplash." Based on other precursor awards it looks like Brolin and Duvall will compete for the final spot in the category.  

The Best Supporting Actress race included Tilda Swinton for her performance in "Snowpiercer." However, it is unlikely she will be getting nominated at the Oscars as the film is not receiving a big enough campaign. Additionally the five other nominees have shown strength throughout the season. Patricia Arquette is likely to get nominated for work in "Boyhood" alongside Jessica Chastain for "A Most Violent Year," Keira Knightley for "The Imitation Game," Emma Stone for "Birdman" and Meryl Streep for "Into the Woods." 

The Critics' Choice awards will be handed out on Jan. 15, 2015, the day before the Academy Award nominations are announced.  

Full List of Nominees

BEST PICTURE

Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton - Birdman
David Oyelowo - Selma
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston - Cake
Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin - Inherent Vice
Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Meryl Streep - Into the Woods
Tilda Swinton - Snowpiercer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Ellar Coltrane - Boyhood
Ansel Elgort - The Fault in Our Stars
Mackenzie Foy - Interstellar
Jaeden Lieberher - St. Vincent
Tony Revolori - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Quvenzhane Wallis - Annie
Noah Wiseman - The Babadook

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Into the Woods
Selma

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay - Selma
David Fincher - Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman
Angelina Jolie - Unbroken
Richard Linklater - Boyhood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman - Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo
Boyhood - Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler - Dan Gilroy
Whiplash - Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
The Imitation Game - Graham Moore
Inherent Vice - Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything - Anthony McCarten
Unbroken - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson
Wild - Nick Hornby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
Birdman - Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Robert Yeoman
Interstellar - Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr. Turner - Dick Pope
Unbroken - Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
Birdman - Kevin Thompson/Production Designer, George DeTitta Jr./Set Decorator
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Inherent Vice - David Crank/Production Designer, Amy Wells/Set Decorator
Interstellar - Nathan Crowley/Production Designer, Gary Fettis/Set Decorator
Into the Woods - Dennis Gassner/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Snowpiercer - Ondrej Nekvasil/Production Designer, Beatrice Brentnerova/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
Birdman - Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
Boyhood - Sandra Adair
Gone Girl - Kirk Baxter
Interstellar - Lee Smith
Whiplash - Tom Cross

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Milena Canonero
Inherent Vice - Mark Bridges
Into the Woods - Colleen Atwood
Maleficent - Anna B. Sheppard
Mr. Turner - Jacqueline Durran

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Foxcatcher
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Into the Woods
Maleficent

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

BEST ACTION MOVIE
American Sniper
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Fury
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
Tom Cruise - Edge of Tomorrow
Chris Evans - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Brad Pitt - Fury
Chris Pratt - Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt - Edge of Tomorrow
Scarlett Johansson - Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Zoe Saldana - Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley - Divergent

BEST COMEDY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Favreau - Chef
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Bill Murray - St. Vincent
Chris Rock - Top Five
Channing Tatum - 22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne - Neighbors
Rosario Dawson - Top Five
Melissa McCarthy - St. Vincent
Jenny Slate - Obvious Child
Kristen Wiig - The Skeleton Twins

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Babadook
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
Wild Tales

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Citizenfour
Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me
Jodorowsky's Dune
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
The Overnighters

BEST SONG
Big Eyes - Lana Del Rey - Big Eyes
Everything Is Awesome - Jo Li and the Lonely Island - The Lego Movie
Glory - Common/John Legend - Selma
Lost Stars - Keira Knightley - Begin Again
Yellow Flicker Beat - Lorde - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat - The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson - The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez - Birdman
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar