MUMBAI: James Cameron‘s Avatar and the war movie The Hurt Locker have locked horns claiming nine Oscar nominations each including best film, pitting the two against each other as front runners for the world‘s highest film honours.

The contrast between the two presents several intriguing elements. James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, his ex-wife and director of Hurt Locker will compete against each other in the category for best director. 

Avatar is a big-budget science-fiction space adventure from major studio 20th Century Fox is the highest-grossing movie of all time after it eclipsed the‘s previous blockbuster Titanic.

O the other side is Hurt Locker, a low-budget film about soldiers who defuse bombs in Iraq. The film has been made by Summit Entertainment. Its worldwide ticket sales stand at a mere $16 million.

Only one nod behind Avatar and Hurt Locker was Quentin Tarantino‘s World War Two fantasy, Inglourious Basterds that is also in the best film and best director race.