The Critics Choice will finally announce their awards on Thursday.
Leading the pack with nominations is "American Hustle," which has 13 nods including Best Picture, Best Director (David O. Russell), and Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Lawrence). Christian Bale surprised in the Best Actor category while Bradley Cooper was shortlisted for Best Supporting Actor. The movie was also nominated for Best Ensemble, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Costume Design. The movie also obtained nominations in second tier categories including Best Comedy, Best Comedy Actor for Christian Bale and Best Comedy Actress for Amy Adams. After its big morning, which saw the film take home 10 nominations at the Oscars, a win from the critics could cement the film's status as the front-runner to win the Oscar in March. "Hustle" is the best combination of humor and drama and the fact that its four actors were nominated at the Academy makes it the favorite to win the award. The critics' 13 nominations also indicate that it is a favorite to take home the top prize on Thursday.
Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" is also a favorite as it has 13 nominations and has won most critics circles throughout awards season. Steve McQueen was nominated for Best director; Chiwetel Ejiofor was nominated for Best Actor; a Best Supporting Actor nod went to Michael Fassbender; Lupita Nyong'o was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and John Ridley was nominated for Best Screenplay. The movie also attained a number of technical nominations for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Score, Best Editing, Best Makeup, and Best Acting Ensemble.
The critics are generally good at predicting the eventual Oscar winner. Last year they picked "Argo," which won in 2013, and in 2012 they picked "The Artist"; both films won the Oscar for Best Picture in their respective years.
Other Best Picture nominees included "Gravity," which was nominated for 10 awards, and "Captain Phillips," which was nominated for six. "Her," "Nebraska" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" rounded out the category alongside "Inside Llewyn Davis," "Saving Mr. Banks," and "Dallas Buyers Club."
The show starts a 8 p.m. EST.