"Avatar," "The Hurt Locker" biggest winners of Oscar nominations

James Cameron and his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow are widely expected to slug it out during the 82nd Oscar Awards competition for the best director laureate as 3D sci- fi epic "Avatar" and Iraqi war story "The Hurt Locker," directed by the former spouse respectively, each garnered nine nominations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.

Aside from the two flicks, "The Blind Side," "District 9," "An Education," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel ` Push' by Sapphire," "A Serious Man," "Up" and "Up in the Air" also got their nods as this year's best picture slots have been expanded from five to 10, in a bid to attract audience and invigorate the race as the ratings have been slip-sliding for years.

In the acting categories, 12 performers are first-time nominees. Five -- Clooney, Freeman, Cruz, Mirren and Streep -- are previous acting winners, while Matt Damon received an Oscar for original screenplay in 1997 for "Good Will Hunting."

Nonetheless, the race is widely expected to boils down to a slugfest between "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker." The ex-couple Camemon and Bigelow will go after the mostly coveted honor.

Although "Avatar" won best drama and director at the Golden Globes and became No. 1 box office grosser in the Hollywood history, Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" beat out Cameron at the Directors Guild of America Awards, whose recipient usually goes on to earn the best-director Oscar. "The Hurt Locker" won the top prize from the Producers Guild of America -- an honor that has often foreshadowed a best-picture win on Oscar night. Bigelow also was named best director by the Directors Guild of America, becoming the first woman director laureate. She is only the fourth woman nominated for a directing Oscar, following Sofia Coppola for 2003's "Lost in Translation