Joker tops 92nd Academy Award nominations with 11 nods

Three other films including The Irishman, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood and 1917 trail closely behind at 10 a piece

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The supervillain origin story of Arthur Fleck's descent into madness and emergence as the titular Joker took home the most Academy Award nominations Monday with 11, including Best Picture.

Trailing closely behind Joker were a trio of films that each netted 10 nominations: Martin Scorsese's epic gangster film The Irishman, Quentin Tarantino's ode to Los Angeles Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, and Sam Mendes' World War I tale 1917.

Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Arthur Fleck as a clown for hire who transforms into the genesis of what would become Batman's arch-nemesis garnered the actor a Best Actor nomination for his performance, while director Todd Phillips received a nod for helming the film.

Joker also received nominations in Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

Phoenix becomes just the second actor to receive a nomination from the academy for playing a comic book character. The first was Heath Ledger who posthumously won Best Supporting Actor in 2009 for his portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, which is a separate telling of the Batman mythos.

The nominations show the ascendence of comic book films in the regal eyes of the academy, which has traditionally been recalcitrant towards honoring that type of cinema. Last year, Marvel's Black Panther became the first comic book film to receive a Best Picture nod.

But in this year's awards, Netflix continued to prove its place in the upper echelons of the film industry, leading all studios with 24 nominations for its films, including The Irishman, Marriage Story, The Two Popes,

Disney trailed closely behind with 23 nominations.

Adam Driver received a Best Actor nomination for his portray of a husband in the midst of divorce in Marriage Story. In addition to Phoenix, he is competing against Jonathan Pryce, who portrayed Pope Francis in The Two Popes, Leonardo DiCaprio, who played a fading actor in 1960's Los Angeles in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, and Antonio Banderas who portrayed a depressed Spanish director in Pain and Glory.

Scarlett Johansson, who appears in Marriage Story opposite Driver, received a Best Actress nomination for her role in the portrait of divorce. She is up alongside Charlize Theron, who played former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly in Bombshell, Cynthia Erivo, who played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, Saoirse Ronan, who portrayed Jo March in the remake Little Women, and Renee Zellweger, who portrayed Judy Garland in Judy.

The Best Picture category includes Joker, The Irishman, Marriage Story, 1917, Parasite, Ford V Ferrari, Little Women, and Jojo Rabbit.

Below is a summary of the top categories and their nominees.

Best Supporting Actor

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes

Al Pacino, The Irishman

Joe Pesci, The Irishman

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress

Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell

Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Scarlett Johannson, Jojo Rabbit