LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The 85th Academy Awards ceremony begins Sunday evening at the Dolby Theatre.

It is the first Oscar big night after the theater changed the name from Kodak Theater to Dolby Theater last year.

Some 282 features were eligible for Best Picture this year and the number of members voted secretly for the awards was 5,856, according to the Academy.

It is estimated that people from more than 225 countries and regions will watch the telecast of the ceremony while the U.S. audience will reach 39.2 million.

Among the favorites, Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy's "Lincoln" is in the lead with 12 nominations. But Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney's "Argo," a CIA thriller, is a strong competitor to win the night's top prize.