Following last year's trend of nominating Bradley Cooper for a movie with the word "American" on the title, the Clint Eastwood war film was the biggest surprise in the 2015 Academy Awards nominations this past Thursday, as the chances for an "American Sniper" Oscar become larger.

Critics have hailed it as the best Clint Eastwood film in years, but it was still seen as a bit of a long shot to see "American Sniper" at Oscars this year, particularly considering it had been majorly snubbed in other big award shows this season, including the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild.

According to Detroit Free Press, "American Sniper" Oscar chances were clear, as it has been widely considered by critics to be a breath of fresh air in the filmography of Clint Eastwood, the legendary actor and director that has seen years of success, though none of his movies had gotten any Oscar nominations since the 2007 war epic "Letters of Iwo Jima."

Though Eastwood's directing abilities got snubbed in the category, the "American Sniper" Oscar nominations were far more than had been previously thought: according to The Washington Times, the Chris Kyle biopic received a total of six nominations, in the categories of Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Editing, Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor in a Leading Role (for Cooper) and the highly coveted top prize, the Academy Award for Best Picture of the year 2014.

As news outlets like The Blaze have been reporting since the official announcement this Thursday, other Best Picture nominees include awards favorites "The Grand Budapest Hotel," Richard Linklater's "Boyhood," the dark comedy "Birdman," Alan Turing biopic "The Imitation Game," Stephen Hawking movie "The Theory of Everything," "Whiplash" and "Selma," which deals about the 1965 Alabama march of Martin Luther King in the midst of the civil rights movement.

Only time will tell if the "American Sniper" Oscar nominations will be successful.