The final Academy Awards nominees are in, and The Dark Knight has been widely passed over for the top honors. Beating out the Batman flick for the best picture Oscar: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire.
The fan favorite superhero flick, which currently sits at No. 2 on the all-time sales list at just under $1 billion in international box office, did get some love from the Academy. The late Heath Ledger got the best supporting actor nod for his portrayal of The Joker, and *Dark Knight *earned nominations in a wide variety of lower-profile categories (art direction, cinematography, film editing, makeup, visual effects and sound editing and mixing).
Director David Fincher's Benjamin Button led the pack with 13 nominations; Danny Boyle's Slumdog took 10. Pixar Animation Studios' charming Wall-E also scored big, with nominations in the best animated feature, best original screenplay, best score, best song and sound editing and mixing categories.
Other comic-book movies that won nominations included Iron Man (visual effects, sound editing), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (makeup) and Wanted (sound editing and mixing).
Dark Knight will no doubt get its sweet revenge this weekend when it reopens in theaters, a final run that should salve director Christopher Nolan's wounded spirits. (Treat yourself to an Imax showing at one of these theaters.)
The live Oscars awards ceremony telecast will take place Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. Read the full list of nominees on the Oscars website.
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