(Adds list with other nomination categories)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AFP)--Period love story "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" emerged as the front-runner for the Academy Awards on Thursday after landing a whopping 13 nominations.

The critically acclaimed romance, a co-production of Viacom Inc.'s (VIA) Paramount Pictures and Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) Warner Bros. and starring Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse, edged out the India-set rags-to-riches drama "Slumdog Millionaire," which scored 10 nominations. "Slumdog" was produced by Fox Searchlight, a unit of News Corp. (NWS).

"Benjamin Button" scored nominations in most of the elite categories including best picture and best director, while the film's leading man Pitt also earned a best actor nod.

The film's 13 nods was just one shy of the all-time record of 14 nominations held by 1997's "Titanic" and the 1950s Bette Davis classic "All About Eve," which both went on to earn best picture.

But there was disappointment for Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight," which failed to earn nominations in either the best picture or best director categories, two areas where the film had been tipped to score.

However, the Warner Bros.-produced "Dark Knight" did earn a poignant posthumous Oscar nomination for Australian actor Heath Ledger, exactly one year to the day after the heartthrob died of an accidental overdose in New York.

Ledger picked up a best supporting actor nomination for his spellbinding performance as the Joker and is now the heavy favorite heading into the Feb. 22 awards extravaganza at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.

Thursday's nominations have reignited the Oscars hopes of "Benjamin Button," which was all but ignored earlier this month at the Golden Globes when "Slumdog Millionaire" walked away with four honors.

David Fincher's epic love story is now the film to beat. Historically the movie with the most nominations has tended to win the coveted best picture Oscar.

Other contenders in the best picture category are political drama "Frost/Nixon" and Gus Van Sant's biopic "Milk," starring Sean Penn as trailblazing gay politician Harvey Milk. "Frost/Nixon" was produced by General Electric Co.'s (GE) Universal Pictures, while "Milk" is a production of GE unit Focus Features.

The surprise nominee which appeared to squeeze out "The Dark Knight" is Stephen Daldry's Nazi drama "The Reader," produced by privately held Weinstein Co.

In the acting categories, "Benjamin Button" star Pitt will be up against sentimental favorite Mickey Rourke, superb as a washed-up prizefighter in "The Wrestler," from Fox Searchlight; Penn for his role in "Milk"; and Frank Langella, who plays disgraced former U.S. president Richard Nixon in "Frost/Nixon." Richard Jenkins of "The Visitor," from Liberty Media Corp.'s (LINTA, LINTB) Overture Films, completes the lineup.

Pitt's partner, Angelina Jolie, is meanwhile nominated in the best actress category for her performance in Universal Pictures' "Changeling." Her rivals will be Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Melissa Leo.

 
   Here is a list of nominees in other major categories for the 81st 
   annual Academy Awards: 
 
   Best Supporting Actor: 
   Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"; Josh Brolin, "Milk"; Philip Seymour 
   Hoffman, "Doubt," from Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) Miramax Films division; 
   Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder," Paramount Pictures; Michael Shannon, 
   "Revolutionary Road," Viacom's Paramount Vantage 
 
   Best Supporting Actress: 
   Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," the Weinstein Co.; Viola Davis, 
   "Doubt"; Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"; Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case 
   of Benjamin Button"; Amy Adams, "Doubt" 
 
   Best Director: 
   Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"; David Fincher, "The Curious Case of 
   Benjamin Button"; Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"; Gus Van Sant, "Milk"; 
   Ron Howard "Frost/Nixon" 
 
   Best Foreign-Language Film: 
   "Waltz with Bashir" (Israel), from Sony Corp.'s (SNE) Sony Pictures 
   Classics; "The Baader Meinhof Complex" (Germany); "The Class" (France); 
   "Departures" (Japan); "Revanche" (Austria) 
 
   Best Animated Feature: 
   "WALL-E," from Disney's Pixar Animation Studios; "Kung-Fu Panda," 
   Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA); "Bolt," Disney Pictures

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