Los Angeles (CNN) -- The Oscar battle Sunday pits the story of a king overcoming a speech impediment to lead his people through World War II against the saga of how a college student created Facebook, which is now credited helping citizens overthrow their leader.
The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be presented Sunday night at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
"The King's Speech," a low-budget film that has earned $300 million worldwide, has a dozen Oscar nominations, including for best picture, best actor, best supporting actor, best supporting actress and best original screenplay.
"The Social Network" is nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture and Jesse Eisenberg's nomination for best actor.
"True Grit," based on the same book as the 1969 John Wayne film, was nominated 10 times, including Jeff Bridges for best actor, Hailee Steinfeld for best supporting actress and in the best movie competition.
"Inception," a film that explores the human mind and dreams, got eight nominations, including for best picture. Most of the film's nominations, though, are in the technical categories.
The other six best picture nominees are "The Fighter," "Black Swan," "The Kids Are All Right," "Toy Story 3," "127 Hours" and "Winter's Bone".
"The King's Speech," about Britain's King George VI, gathered 12 nominations, including for best picture and in three of the four acting categories.
Colin Firth, who portrayed the stuttering King George VI in "The King's Speech," is widely seen as the favorite for best actor. The category's other nominees are Javier Bardem, who starred in "Biutiful," Bridges for "True Grit," Eisenberg for "The Social Network," and James Franco for "127 Hours".
Natalie Portman, who played a dancer in "Black Swan," and Annette Bening for "The Kids Are Alright," are viewed as frontrunners for best actress. The other nominees are Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine".
"What an extraordinary journey this film has taken me on," Kidman said after hearing of her nomination.
Nominees for best supporting actress are Amy Adams for "The Fighter," Helena Bonham Carter for "The King's Speech," Melissa Leo for "The Fighter," Steinfeld for "True Grit" and Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom".
Best supporting actor nominees include Christian Bale for "The Fighter," John Hawkes for "Winter's Bone," Jeremy Renner for "The Town," Mark Ruffalo for "The Kids Are All Right" and Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech".
"This story has struck such a rich, resonant chord with audiences of all ages, which is very exciting," Australian actor Rush said when he was nominated. "To have your work honored by your industry peers is even better". CNN
