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Call it a David versus Goliath battle for Oscar glory.

In the left corner, we have "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button:" a sweeping, sentimental Hollywood picture boasting a massive budget, superstar Brad Pitt and enough computer-generated gadgetry to make Steve Jobs turn green.

And in the right corner, we have "Slumdog Millionaire:" a low-budget movie which stars unknown actors and barely made it into North American theatres.

On Thursday, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" led all Academy Awards contenders with 13 nominations, including a best actor nod for Brad Pitt.

But "Slumdog" also notched 10 Oscar nominations and could easily outstrip "Button" on Feb. 22 in the best picture category.

After all, at the Golden Globes earlier this month, it was "Slumdog" that managed to win the coveted best picture prize, beating out "Button."

"Slumdog" is the tale of an 18-year-old orphan who gets a shot at millions of dollars on an Indian game show.

"The whole film is a Bollywood film in terms of its genre," NOW Magazine film critic Norm Wilner said Thursday.

"It follows the same story, it just does it in a different manner than we've seen before."

The other best picture nominations were handed to: "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," and "The Reader."

Meanwhile, joining Pitt in the best-actor category were Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor;" Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon;" Sean Penn, "Milk;" and Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."

But Wilner said his pick in the category would be Penn, followed by Rourke or Langella.

"When I think of the other candidates for that award I think of performances that shape the film," Wilner told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet.

"In the case of 'Benjamin Button,' Pitt is very clearly shaped by the film, he's acting to specifics so that'll probably work against him in the long run."

Meanwhile, exactly one year after his untimely death, Heath Ledger earned an Academy Award nomination for his role as the Joker in "The Dark Knight."

Ledger, who died at age 28 of an accidental prescription-pill overdose, was nominated for best supporting-actor alongside Josh Brolin, "Milk;" Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder;" Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt;" and Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road."

TheEnvelope.com's Pete Hammond said Thursday that Ledger appears unbeatable in the category.

However, "The Dark Knight" was shut out of all the other top categories.

"Many people thought that "Dark Knight" was going to be a best picture nominee, a best director nominee and best screenplay nominee," Hammond told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.

"The Academy are a bit of snobs when it comes to popular pictures."

In the best-actress category, Pitt's real-life partner Angelina Jolie also received an Oscar nomination for her work in the missing-child drama "Changeling."

Jolie was nominated along with Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married;" Melissa Leo, "Frozen River;" Meryl Streep, "Doubt;" and Kate Winslet in "The Reader."

Winslet, who won two Golden Globes for her work in "Revolutionary Road," did not receive any nominations for that film.

"Benjamin Button" star Taraji Phenson was nominated for best actress in a supporting role alongside Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona;" Viola Davis, "Doubt;" Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler" and Amy Adams, "Doubt."

In the director category, "Benjamin Button" director David Fincher was nominated alongside Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon;" Gus Van Sant, "Milk;" Stephen Daldry, "The Reader" and Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire."

The 81st annual Academy Awards will be held Feb. 22, 2009 in Los Angeles.