Best Picture Nominees 2011

The King's Speech
By coincidence or cynicism, The King's Speech fits nearly all requirements for a Best Picture winner. Set in the historical past, it features loads of British acting talent and a real-life figure battling severe disability. The gambit paid off: The King's Speech got 12 Oscar nominations to The Social Network's eight and a new perch as the film to beat. Colin Firth, as Bertie, is a shoo-in for Best Actor, and David Seidler could win for original screenplay. The face-off with The Social Network recalls the Oscars of 1942, when a complex study of a media mogul was up against a traditional family drama set in the United Kingdom and How Green Was My Valley won Best Picture over ... Citizen Kane.

• Oscars 2011: Who Will Win and Who Got Snubbed