NEW YORK — The brutal frontier saga “The Revenant” landed a leading 12 nominations for the 88th annual Academy, while the acting categories were again filled entirely by white performers.

The strong showing for “The Revenant,” including a best actor nod for Leonardo DiCaprio, follows its win at the Golden Globes. It sets director Alejandro Inarritu for a possible back-to-back win following his sweep for best picture, director and screenplay for “Birdman” last year.

“We gave it our all on this film and this appreciation from the Academy means a lot to me and my colleagues who made it possible,” said Inarritu in a statement. “Champagne and mezcal will run tonight!”

George Miller’s post-apocalyptic sequel “Mad Max: Fury Road” followed with 10 nominations, including best picture and best director for Miller. Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic “The Martian” landed 7 nominations, including best picture and best actor for Matt Damon, but, surprisingly, no best director nod for Scott.

Eight films were nominated for best picture. The other five were: Tom McCarthy’s investigative journalistic procedural “Spotlight,” Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies,” Adam McKay’s Michael Lewis adaptation “The Big Short,” the mother-son captive drama “Room” and the ‘50s Irish immigrant tale “Brooklyn.”

Left on the outside were Todd Haynes’ lesbian romance “Carol” and the N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton.” The miss for “Carol” meant one usual Oscar heavyweight — Harvey Weinstein — won’t have a horse in the best picture race for the first time since 2007.

The acting nominees, which notably omitted Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation” and Benicio Del Toro for “Sicario,” gave the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences an awkward repeat of the “OscarsSoWhite” backlash that followed last year’s acting nominees.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has since redoubled efforts to diversify the academy’s membership, and slated Chris Rock — who a year ago labeled Hollywood a “white industry” — to host this year’s Feb. 28 ceremony.

Alongside DiCaprio, the nominees for best actor are: Matt Damon (“The Martian”), Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”), Eddie Redmayne (“The Danish Girl”) and Bryan Cranston (“Trumbo”). One big name omitted was Johnny Depp for his icy Whitey Bulger in “Black Mass.”

The best actress field is led by favorite Brie Larson for “Room,” along with Jennifer Lawrence (for “Joy,” making her, at 25, the youngest four-time nominee), Cate Blanchett (her seventh nod, for “Carol”), Saoirse Ronan (“Brooklyn”) and Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years”).

Academy Award nominations:

1. Best Picture: “The Big Short,” “Bridge of Spies,” “Brooklyn,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Martian,” “The Revenant,” “Room,” “Spotlight.”

2. Actor: Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”; Matt Damon, “The Martian”; Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”; Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”; Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl.”

3. Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Carol”; Brie Larson, “Room”; Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”; Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”; Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn.”

4. Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, “The Big Short”; Tom Hardy, “The Revenant”; Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”; Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”; Sylvester Stallone, “Creed.”

5. Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”; Rooney Mara, “Carol”; Rachel McAdams, “Spotlight”; Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”; Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs.”

6. Directing: “The Big Short,” Adam McKay; “Mad Max: Fury Road,” George Miller; “The Revenant,” Alejandro G. Inarritu; “Room,” Lenny Abrahamson; “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy.

7. Foreign Language Film: “Embrace of the Serpent,” “Mustang,” “Son of Saul,” “Theeb,” “A War.”

8. Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short,” “Brooklyn,” “Carol,” “The Martian,” “Room.”

9. Original Screenplay: “Bridge of Spies,” “Ex Machina,” “Inside Out,” “Spotlight,” “Straight Outta Compton.”

10. Animated Feature Film: “Anomalisa,” “Boy and the World,” “Inside Out,” “Shaun the Sheep Movie,” “When Marnie Was There.”

11. Production Design: “Bridge of Spies,” “The Danish Girl,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Martian,” “The Revenant.”

12. Cinematography: “Carol,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Revenant,” “Sicario.”

13. Sound Mixing: “Bridge of Spies,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Martian,” “The Revenant,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

14. Sound Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Martian,” “The Revenant,” “Sicario,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

15. Original Score: “Bridge of Spies,” “Carol,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Sicario,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

16. Original Song: “Earned It” from “Fifty Shades of Grey”; “Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction”; “Simple Song #3” from “Youth”; “Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground”; “Writing’s on the Wall” from “Spectre.”

17. Costume Design: “Carol,” “Cinderella,” “The Danish Girl,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Revenant.”

18. Documentary Feature: “Amy,” “Cartel Land,” “The Look of Silence,” “What Happened, Miss Simone?,” “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom.”

19. Documentary (short subject): “Body Team 12,” “Chau, Beyond the Lines,” “Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah,” “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” “Last Day of Freedom.”

20. Film Editing: “The Big Short,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Revenant,” “Spotlight,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

21. Makeup and Hairstyling: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared,” “The Revenant.”

22. Animated Short Film: “Bear Story,” “Prologue,” “Sanjay’s Super Team,” “We Can’t Live Without Cosmos,” “World of Tomorrow”

23. Live Action Short Film: “Ave Maria,” “Day One,” “Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut),” “Shok,” “Stutterer.”

24. Visual Effects: “Ex Machina,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Martian,” “The Revenant,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”