The BAFTA 2026 Film Awards nominations have been released for immediate scrutiny, reflecting the fierce competition of this year’s awards season. While several expected frontrunners dominated the list, limited top-tier slots, especially in Best Picture, sidelined notable contenders, resulting in a lineup defined by clear winners, high-profile snubs, and contradictions with Oscar voting patterns. The Oscar nominations came earlier this year, so the mix of outrage and surprise was more pronounced and significant.
Heavyweights hold the line
As predicted, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Hamnet and Marty emerged as the backbone of the Supreme 2026 BAFTA nominations. Each film appeared in multiple top-tier categories, confirming their status as awards-season juggernauts rather than late-season surprises. Their dominance reflected months of significant momentum and strong industry support, with BAFTA voters largely confirming the consensus that had already formed in the race.
5 Slot Problem: Best Movie Casualties
There’s a long list of films that had buzz, longlist strength or Oscar support but ultimately failed to get a BAFTA Best Film nomination. For example, Wicked: for goodOne of the most high-profile, however, was abandoned. Despite eight longlist mentions and major studio backing, the sequel failed to land in the top category and was limited to costume and hair and makeup nominations. Another mistake was Guillermo del Toro’s frankenstein. The film received solid support in the craft categories and a supporting actor nod for Jacob Elordi, yet it missed out on Best Picture altogether. This was particularly notable as the film scored a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, highlighting the apparent BAFTA-Academy divide.
i swear is one of the strongest performers on the long list, converting five of its six mentions into nominations. The only mistake? Best film. The snub suggested strong branch-level support, but not the broad consensus needed to make the final five.
Yorgos Lanthimos Bugonia It received high-profile nominations, including Best Director and Acting for Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, but still failed to score Best Picture.
Whereas nurembergWhile being left out of Best Picture by nominations morning was no less surprising, the film’s failure to convert any of its six long-listed spots made it one of the most dramatic results of the year and placed it firmly among the casualties of a crowded field.
Wicked: left in the cold for good
Already reeling from its complete Oscar shutout, Wicked: For Good found a little solace at the BAFTAs. Despite eight nominations on the longlist, the sequel only received two nominations, both in technical categories. The absence of acting recognition for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, coupled with the omission of Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay, cemented the film as one of the year’s most conspicuous underperformers, a stark contrast to the scale of its ambition and cultural footprint.
bafta supports its
True to its format, BAFTA showed particular enthusiasm for talent with strong UK and Irish ties. Paul Mescal’s Supporting Actor nomination for Hamnet marked his third BAFTA nod in four years following his rejection at the Oscars, solidifying his status as a BAFTA favourite. Meanwhile, One Battle After Another breakout Chase Infinity and Marty Supreme’s Odessa Azien both received acting nominations despite being snubbed by the Academy Awards, highlighting BAFTA’s desire to champion emerging artists before Hollywood fully takes hold.
Records, firsts and milestones
Beyond wins and losses, the 2026 nominations made history. Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet became the most nominated film by a woman in BAFTA history with 11 awards, while Zhao was the only female director nominated. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners set a new record as the most nominated film by a Black director, while Leonardo DiCaprio’s seventh Best Actor nomination for One Battle After Another tied him with some of the most famous names in the category. Together, these milestones added a layer of significance to an already conversation-driven year.
Long list of kings who lost and converted
The journey from the long list to the final nomination proved to be decisive. James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg suffered the harshest fate, with none of its six longlists converting into nominations. In contrast, Joachim Trier’s Emotional Value emerged as the gold standard for adaptations, earning nominations in every category for which it was long listed. Sinners nearly equaled that feat, missing just one category, while Marti Supreme also posted an impressive conversion rate, underscoring its broad-based support across branches.
Studio Scorecard: Who Won the Numbers Game
Warner Bros. Discovery topped the distributor leaderboard with 27 nominations, driven primarily by twin powerhouses One Battle After the Other and Sinners. Universal/Focus Features, buoyed by Hamnet and The Ballad of Wallis Island, followed closely with 24 nominations. Netflix led the streaming platforms with 14 nominations, including strong representation in the documentary and technical categories, while Mubi’s 13 nominations marked one of the strongest BAFTA performances ever.
BAFTA vs Oscar: Same tastes, different priorities
While there was broad coordination between BAFTA and the Oscars on major titles, notable differences revealed themselves in the details. BAFTA’s acting categories featured exclusively English-speaking performances, leaving Oscar nominee Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) off the longlist as well. The contradiction highlighted BAFTA’s comparatively narrow international reach, especially when measured against the academy’s growing global membership.
The 79th BAFTA Film Awards ceremony will take place on February 22, 2026.