On Thursday, the IFP announced the annual Gotham Awards with "Boyhood" leading the nominations.

The organization is known for curating independent films and the Gotham Awards choose the best of American Independent films every year. While it is not the best Oscar precursor awards, there are always a number of future Oscar nominees nominated for these awards.

The Gothams are also known for choosing some obscure films that, as a result of the nomination, get more attention from mainstream audiences.

In the Best Film category, "Birdman," "Boyhood," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Under the Skin" and "Love Is Strange" were nominated.

The Best Actor category was led by Miles Teller for his performance in "Whiplash," and Michael Keaton for his work in "Birdman." Oscar Isaac was also nominated for "A Most Violent Year," as well as Ethan Hawke for "Boyhood" and Bill Hader for "The Skeleton Twins."

The Best Actress race saw Patricia Arquette nominated for "Boyhood" with Julianne Moore for her work in "Still Alice." They were joined by three big surprises. Gugu Mbatha-Raw was nominated for "Beyond the Lights," while Scarlett Johansson was shortlisted for her acclaimed portrayal in "Under the Skin." Mia Wasikowska rounded out the nominees for her work in "Tracks"

In the Best Documentary category, "Citzenfour" was joined by "Manakamana," "Actress," "Point and Shoot" and "Life Itself."

The breakthrough Director nominations went to Dan Gilroy for "Nightcrawler," Ana Lily Amirpour for "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" and James Ward Byrkit for "Coherence." Eliza Hittman and Justin Simien round out the nominees for their work on "It Felt Like Love" and "Dear White People."

The Breakthrough actor nominees were Riz Ahmed for "Nightcrawler," Ellar Coltrane in "Boyhood," Macon Blair for "Blue Ruin," Joey King for "Wish I Was Here," Jenny Slate for "Obvious Child" and Tessa Thompson for "Dear White People."

In total, "Boyhood" lead with four nominations and solidified its status as an awards contender. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" got a boost from the organization after a number of pundits had stated it was no longer an Oscar contender, while "Birdman" continued to soar.

The nominations for "Love Is Strange" and "Under the Skin" come as a surprise, as "Under the Skin" is technically considered a European film and "Love Is Strange" has not been on anyone's radar. Unless the film's start racking up critics awards, these two pictures are unlikely to gain traction for the Academy Awards.

The acting categories basically reiterated a lot of what has been suspected for a long time. Moore and Arquette's Best Actress nominees are the front-runners in this category, while Keaton and Hawke are likely to win the Best Actor category.

Isaac's inclusion in the nominees is a bit of a surprise as the film has not been seen by many and it will open the AFI Film Festival. However, this may speak to the quality of work that the film must have.

The Gotham Awards will reveal their winners on Dec. 1 and will also honor Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Channing Tatum, who will be honored with a Gotham Jury Award for their ensemble performance in "Foxcatcher."

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