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Los Angeles - The nominations for the 90th Oscars were announced earlier this week, with The Shape of Water, Dunkirk and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri leading the pack.
But the statistical quirks that the annual event throws up can be as intriguing as tracking which movies get the most nods.
Here are some fun facts and figures from this year's list of nominees:
The 7 000-plus voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences managed to remember this year that women make movies too.
Greta Gerwig, recognised for Lady Bird, is only the fifth female best director nominee, and the first since Kathryn Bigelow won for The Hurt Locker in 2010.
Rachel Morrison, the director of photography on Mudbound, is the first woman to receive a nomination for cinematography.
Meryl Streep increases her lead as the most nominated performer in history with her 21st nod for Steven Spielberg's The Post.
Her three wins were for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011).
John Williams adds to his record number of music scoring nominations with his 46th for Star Wars: The last Jedi.
His overall total of 51 nominations - including five for original song - is the most for any living person, and second only to Walt Disney at 59.
Basketballer Kobe Bryant, an 18-time NBA all-star, is an Oscar nominee thanks to his collaboration with artist Glen Keane and composer John Williams for the short Dear Basketball.
"What?? This is beyond the realm of imagination," Bryant, 39, tweeted following the announcement.
What?? This is beyond the realm of imagination. It means so much that the @TheAcademy deemed #DearBasketball worthy of contention. Thanks to the genius of @GlenKeanePrd & John Williams for taking my poem to this level. It's an honor to be on this team. #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/M2joyk9D1V
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 23, 2018
But not everyone will be delighted with the nod.
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, it will be a reminder that the Los Angeles Lakers legend was arrested over the suspected rape of a 19-year-old hotel worker in Colorado in 2003.
Bryant admitted to a sexual encounter, but insisted it was consensual. The criminal case was dropped when the accuser refused to testify, but Bryant faced a civil suit.
As part of an out-of-court settlement, he publicly apologised to his accuser, but admitted no guilt.
(Photos: AP)
