On January 14th, 2016 Guillermo del Toro and Ang Lee announced the nominees in the following categories: Animated Feature Film, Cinematography, Costume Design, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Song, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.

John Krasinski and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs then took the stage and unveiled the nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Directing, Film Editing, Foreign Language Film, Original Score, Best Picture, Production Design, Visual Effects, Adapted Screenplay and Original Screenplay.