This time, it is James Cameron's Avatar, along with The Hurt Locker, that is leading the race for the Oscars, with nominations in 9 categories.

The movie has got nominations under the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects categories.

In fact, the film was expected to match up to the record of 'Titanic', which was in a whopping 14 categories. 'Avatar' has not bagged a single nomination in the performances category.

The film may have surpassed Titanic in Box Office grossings, but not at the Oscars race, is what everyone is saying. Titanic, which won 11 Oscars, will remain a greater won at the Academy than Avatar, which has received 9 nominations.

The film has not won nominations in Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress categories, which is why it has not been able to put up more staggering performance in nominations as was expected. Its rival will be The Hurt Locker, directed by his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow.

Watch 'Avatar' Trailer