On Thursday, Jan. 22, the Academy of Motion Pictures announced its nominees for the 2009 Academy Awards.

Spanning 24 categories and 51 films, the 111 nominations were received with both surprise and expectance.

Oscar night’s formidable contenders are undoubtedly “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” which received 13 and 10 nominations, respectively. Both films are also candidates for the Best Picture Oscar.

Other Best Picture nominees include “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk” and “The Reader.”

For Outstanding Achievement in Direction, the nominees look very similar to the Best Picture category. They include David Fincher (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), Ron Howard (“Frost/Nixon”), Gus Van Sant (“Milk”) and Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”).

Nominees for Actress in a Leading Role include Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”), Angelina Jolie (“The Changling”), Melissa Leo (“Frozen River”), Meryl Streep (“Doubt”) and Kate Winslet (“The Reader”).

The nominees for Best Lead Actor look very different from the Lead Actresses, however, as neither category’s films overlap with the other.

The competing Lead Actors are Richard Jenkins (“The Visitor”), Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”), Sean Penn (“Milk”), Brad Pitt (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) and Mickey Rourke (“The Wrestler”).

Rourke holds the advantage in this category, though, considering his role in “The Wrestler” already earned him a Golden Globe.

“The Dark Knight” received a surprising eight nominations, including Best Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger), Art Direction, and Cinematography.

After winning the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, it is no shock that Ledger was nominated again for his menacing performance as the Joker.

What was not expected, however, was Robert Downey Jr.’s nomination. His role in “Tropic Thunder” as “the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude” must have impressed the Academy, as it put him too in the running for best supporting actor.

Other surprises include the whopping six nominations earned by the animated feature “WALL-E,” as well as the omission of Clint Eastwood and his latest film, “Gran Torino.”

As always, even more surprises will come when the winners are announced. The Academy Awards are 8 p.m. on Feb. 22.

Ian Bostick can be reached at [email protected]. Bestbes