The BAFTA 2026 Film Awards nominations were unveiled to immediate scrutiny, reflecting the fierce competition of this year’s awards season. While several expected frontrunners dominated the list, the limited top-category slots, especially in best film, left notable contenders on the sidelines, resulting in a lineup defined by clear winners, high-profile snubs and contrasts with Oscar voting patterns. The Oscar nominations came earlier this year, so the mix of snubs and surprises was more glaring and crucial.
Heavyweights hold the line
As predicted, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Hamnet and Marty Supreme emerged as the backbone of the 2026 BAFTA nominations. Each film appeared across multiple top-tier categories, confirming their status as awards-season juggernauts rather than late-breaking surprises. Their dominance reflected months of critical momentum and strong industry backing, with BAFTA voters largely affirming the consensus that had already formed earlier in the race.
The 5 slot problem: Best film casualties
There is a considerable list of films that had buzz, longlist strength or Oscar support but ultimately failed to land a BAFTA best film nomination. For instance, Wicked: For Good, one of the most high-profile, was omitted. Despite eight longlist mentions and major studio backing, the sequel failed to break into the top category and was limited to costume and hair & make-up nominations. Another miss was Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. The film found solid support in craft categories and picked up a supporting actor nod for Jacob Elordi, yet it missed out on Best Film entirely. This was especially notable given that the movie did secure a Best Film nomination at the Oscars, highlighting a clear BAFTA–Academy split.
I Swear is one of the stronger longlist performers, converting five of its six mentions into nominations. The only miss? Best Film. The snub suggested strong branch-level support, but not the broad consensus needed to crack the final five.
Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia landed high-profile nominations, including best director and acting nods for Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, but still failed to make the Best Film slot.
While Nuremberg‘s exclusion from best film was less surprising by nomination morning, the film’s failure to convert any of its six longlist spots made it one of the most dramatic fallouts of the year and firmly placed it among the casualties of an overcrowded field.
Wicked: For Good left out in the cold
Already smarting from a complete Oscar shutout, Wicked: For Good found little consolation at BAFTA. Despite eight longlist appearances, the sequel secured just two nominations, both in technical categories. The absence of acting recognition for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, combined with misses in best film, director and screenplay, positioned the film as one of the year’s most conspicuous underperformers, a stark contrast to the scale of its ambition and cultural footprint.
BAFTA backs its own
True to form, BAFTA showed particular enthusiasm for talent with strong UK and Irish ties. Paul Mescal’s supporting actor nomination for Hamnet followed his Oscar snub and marked his third BAFTA nod in four years, reinforcing his standing as a BAFTA favourite. Meanwhile, One Battle After Another breakout Chase Infiniti and Marty Supreme’s Odessa A’zion both landed acting nominations despite being overlooked by the Academy Awards, highlighting BAFTA’s willingness to champion emerging performers before Hollywood fully catches up.
Records, firsts and milestones
Beyond the 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 nods, even as Zhao stood as the sole female director nominee. 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 category’s most legendary names. Together, these milestones added a layer of significance to an already conversation-driving year.
Longlist losers and conversion kings
The journey from longlist to final nominations proved decisive. James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg suffered the harshest fate, converting none of its six longlist mentions into nominations. In contrast, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value emerged as the gold standard for conversion, securing nominations in every category it was longlisted for. Sinners nearly matched that feat, missing only one category, while Marty 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, largely driven by the twin powerhouses One Battle After Another and Sinners. Universal/Focus Features followed closely with 24 nominations, buoyed by Hamnet and The Ballad of Wallis Island. Netflix led the streaming platforms with 14 nominations, including strong representation in documentary and technical categories, while Mubi’s 13 nominations marked one of its strongest BAFTA performances to date.
BAFTA vs the Oscars: Similar tastes, different priorities
While there was broad alignment 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) outside even the longlist. The contrast highlighted BAFTA’s comparatively narrower international reach, particularly when measured against the Academy’s increasingly global membership.
The 79th BAFTA Film Awards ceremony will take place on February 22, 2026.
