JMW Turner biopic Mr Turner has been nominated for seven London Critics' Circle Film gongs - with its star Timothy Spall pitted against Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne for best actor.

The movie leads the way with the most nominations, including Film Of The Year, British Film and Director for filmmaker Mike Leigh.

Spall is up for Actor Of The Year for his performance as the famous painter.

His rivals in the same category include Cumberbatch for his role as codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, Redmayne for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything, as well as US actors Jake Gyllenhaal for crime thriller Nightcrawler and Michael Keaton for his part as a washed-up Hollywood actor in Birdman.

In the Actress Of The Year category, Julianne Moore has two separate nominations for her performance as a Harvard professor suffering from early onset Alzheimer's in Still Alice, and her role in David Cronenberg's black comedy Maps To The Stars.

She is up against French actress Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Australian Essie Davis (The Babadook), and Scarlett Johansson (Under The Skin).

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film industry satire Birdman follows Mr Turner with six nominations, voted for by print, online and broadcast film critics.

Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The Theory Of Everything and Under The Skin have five.

The winners will be announced on January 18 at The May Fair Hotel in London.

35th London Critics' Circle Film Awards main nominations

Film of the year

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ida

Leviathan

Mr Turner

Nightcrawler

The Theory of Everything

Under the Skin

Whiplash

British Film of the year

The Imitation Game

Mr Turner

Pride

The Theory of Everything

Under the Skin

Actor of the year

Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game

Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler

Michael Keaton - Birdman

Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Timothy Spall - Mr Turner

Actress of the year

Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night

Essie Davis - The Babadook

Scarlett Johansson - Under the Skin

Julianne Moore - Maps to the Stars

Julianne Moore - Still Alice

Supporting Actor of the year

Riz Ahmed - Nightcrawler

Ethan Hawke - Boyhood

Edward Norton - Birdman

Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher

JK Simmons - Whiplash

Supporting Actress of the year

Patricia Arquette - Boyhood

Marion Bailey - Mr Turner

Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year

Agata Kulesza - Ida

Emma Stone - Birdman

British Actor of the year

Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game

Tom Hardy - Locke, The Drop

Jack O'Connell - Starred Up, '71 & Unbroken

Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Timothy Spall - Mr Turner

British Actress of the year

Emily Blunt - Into the Woods & Edge of Tomorrow

Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything

Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game, Begin Again & Say When

Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Belle

Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl & What We Did On Our Holiday

Director of the year

Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jonathan Glazer - Under the Skin

Alejandro G Inarritu - Birdman

Richard Linklater - Boyhood

Mike Leigh - Mr Turner