'Birdman,' 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' head into Oscars ceremony with 9 nods apiece

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The comedies Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel are heading into Sunday's Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles with a matching lead nine nominations apiece.

Winners will be announced in a telecast hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and scheduled to air on ABC. Musical performances will include Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Anna Kendrick, Tim McGraw, Jack Black, Adam Levine, Common and John Legend. Among the scores of A-list stars who will serve as presenters throughout the evening will be last year's prize winners Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey and Lupita N'yongo.

All of the actors who were Saturday night's Independent Spirit Award winners -- Patricia Arquette, Michael Keaton, Julianne Moore and J.K. Simmons -- are also nominated for Oscars. Birdman was named Best Feature at the Spirit Awards ceremony, which recognized excellence in films with budgets of about $20 million or less. Movies with all budgets are eligible for Oscar consideration.

The nominees for the top Oscars are:

BEST PICTURE American Sniper Birdman Boyhood The Grand Budapest Hotel The Imitation Game Selma The Theory of Everything Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR Alejandro G. Iñárritu Birdman Richard Linklater Boyhood Bennett Miller Foxcatcher Wes Anderson The Grand Budapest Hotel Morten Tyldum The Imitation Game

BEST ACTOR Steve Carell Foxcatcher Bradley Cooper American Sniper Benedict Cumberbatch The Imitation Game Michael Keaton Birdman Eddie Redmayne The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS Marion Cotillard Two Days, One Night Felicity Jones The Theory of Everything Julianne Moore Still Alice Rosamund Pike Gone Girl Reese Witherspoon Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Robert Duvall The Judge Ethan Hawke Boyhood Edward Norton Birdman Mark Ruffalo Foxcatcher J.K. Simmons Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Patricia Arquette Boyhood Laura Dern Wild Keira Knightley The Imitation Game Emma Stone Birdman Meryl Streep Into the Woods

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bo Birdman Richard Linklater Boyhood E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman Foxcatcher Wes Anderson The Grand Budapest Hotel Dan Gilroy Nightcrawler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Jason Hall American Sniper Graham Moore The Imitation Game Paul Thomas Anderson Inherent Vice Anthony McCarten The Theory of Everything Damien Chazelle Whiplash