You know that film awards season’s getting going when the Critics Choice Awards announce their nominees, and this year they’ve made history by nominating Steven Spielberg’s biopic Lincoln for 13 awards – the most ever received by a film from the Critics Choice panel.

The next few days are where things get really interesting for any potential Oscar nominees, with the Critics Choice, The Golden Globes and the Screen Actors’ Guild all announcing the candidates for their own awards in quick succession. Traditionally, these three showcases have been good indicators as to whose going to feature at the prestigious Academy event – which means good news for Lincoln. Previously, Black Swan had taken the most nominations at the Critics Choice, with 12 back in 2011. The Critics Choice Movie Awards are decided on by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) with some 270 radio and online critics getting in on the voting. The winners of the categories will be announced on January 10, 2013 in Santa Monica, California.

Though Lincoln came out top of the nominee pile, there were others scooping up some acclaim too; Les Miserables – which had its premiere New York premiere earlier in the week – took a mighty 11 nods whilst Silver Linings Playbook wasn’t far behind on 10. Of the actors, it was Silver Linings’ Jennifer Lawrence who led the way with four nominations having appeared in that and The Hunger Games earlier in the year. Her Silver Linings Playbook co-star Bradley Cooper led the male nominees with three.