Oscars 2018: The Shape of Water tops nominations

Fantasy romance "The Shape of Water" yesterday topped the Oscars nominations list with 13 nods, as the Academy also gave a rare nomination to a woman in the directing category.

Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-set fairy tale scored nods for best picture, best director, best actress for its star Sally Hawkins, and supporting acting nominations for Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer.

It was also nominated for best original screenplay, with the rest of its nods coming in technical categories.

The haul fell one short of the record for most nominations ever, held jointly by "La La Land," "Titanic" and "All About Eve."

"This nomination is for every one of us who brought our hearts to this film," Hawkins said in a statement retweeted by the movie's official Twitter account.

"I'm here because of the greatness of others. I stand on the shoulders of giants."

In second place was tense World War II movie "Dunkirk," with eight nods, while crime drama "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," generally thought to be the favourite in the best picture category, picked up seven nominations.

The 90th Academy Awards -- the climax of Hollywood's awards season, to be hosted by late night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel -- will be held on March 4.

In a departure from previous years, there are very few clear frontrunners, making the major categories a genuine sprint to the finish line rather than the perfunctory coronation sometimes inflicted on viewers.

The announcements were seen as an opportunity for the industry to support female filmmaking, with the #MeToo and Time's Up campaigns against sexual misconduct and gender inequality a mainstay of the 2018 awards circuit.

Female filmmakers were snubbed at the Golden Globes, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be seen as having righted that wrong to some degree, with its nod for Greta Gerwig, the director of "Lady Bird."

Before yesterday, just four women had been nominated for best director since 1927.

There was also the first nod for a female cinematographer, Rachel Morrison, who shot Dee Rees's racial drama "Mudbound."