The Martin Scorsese 3D adventure movie Hugo has received 11 Oscar nominations, including for best picture, topping the widely-acclaimed, silent film The Artist with the most nominations.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees Tuesday in Beverly Hills, California.

The French-made tribute to Hollywood's silent movie era, The Artist, won 10 nominations, including for best picture. It is one of the favorites for the coveted award, after winning the best musical or comedy prize at this month's Golden Globes.

Among the nine nominees for best picture are baseball movie Moneyball, which took home five other nominations, as well as Steven Spielberg's World War One epic War Horse, which also scooped up six nominations in total.

Alexander Payne's Hawaii-based family drama The Descendants, which took home the best drama statue at the Golden Globes, is also among the contenders for best picture, as is the 1960s civil rights drama The Help. Romantic fantasy Midnight in Paris, a September 11 story, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and the family chronicle, The Tree of Life round out the nominees.

In the acting categories, The Artist star Jean Dujardin and The Descendants star George Clooney – both of them Golden Globe winners – were nominated for best actor along with Brad Pitt for his performance as a baseball executive in the hit Moneyball. Mexican-American actor Demian Bichir is also nominated for his role in A Better Life, as well as Gary Oldman in the Cold War-era film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

In the best actress category, oft-nominated Meryl Streep, received a nod for her portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. She is joined by Viola Davis for her performance as a black maid in The Help, Michelle Williams for her portrayal of film icon Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, Glenn Close for her role as a cross-dressing domestic in Albert Nobbs, and rising star Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The foreign film category includes Iran's A Separation, Belgium's Bullhead, Israel's Footnote, Poland's In Darkness and Canada's Monsieur Lazhar.

The 84th annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 26 in Hollywood.