Back-to-back battles lead BAFTA nominations – because one film breaks a record

One Battle After Another, the politically charged dark comedy thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a betrayed revolutionary, leads this year’s BAFTA nominees with 14 nominations.

This nominee list is followed by the period vampire horror Sinners, which has 13, and the frenetic ping-pong flick Marty Supreme and Shakespeare drama Hamnet, which each have 11.

All four are nominated for Best Picture, with the category completed by the Norwegian film Sentimental Value, which tells the story of an estranged father reuniting with his daughters.

For Hamnet, consent brings a BAFTA. A record for director Chloé Zhao, the British-produced film made history as the most nominated film ever by a female director.

BAFTA 2026: Full list of nominations.

hamnet’s irish star Jessie Buckley Widely considered a favourite after winning a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice for her portrayal of the Bard’s wife, Agnes, she is up for lead actress, while Marty is supreme star Timothy Chalamet. He also repeated his awards season success so far with a nomination in the Leading Actor category.

DiCaprio’s One Battle After Another is also nominated for Best Film and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, among its 14 awards.

The film is based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, and DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson – a paranoid former fundamentalist living off-grid in California – who sets out on a frantic quest to find his missing daughter Willa, played by Chase Infiniti – a first-time BAFTA nominee who is up for Best Actress.

Its supporting stars are also heavily represented, with Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro also nominated.

The Sinners nominations include Michael B. Jordan in the Best Actor category and Ryan Coogler in the Best Director category, while Buckley’s Hamnet co-star Paul Mescal also received recognition in the Supporting Actor category.

Emma Stone is on the leading actress shortlist for her performance in the conspiracy theory drama Bugonia.

The BAFTAs also include categories recognising British films and talent, including I Swear and The Ballad of Wallis Island as well as Hamnet.

Robert Aramayo is the only UK nominee in the Best Actor category for his role as real-life Tourette’s preacher John Davidson in I Swear, while his co-star Peter Mullan is also the only UK nominee for Best Supporting Actor. Aramayo is also up for a Rising Star award, which recognises actors early in their careers.

The UK’s strongest category is Best Supporting Actress, where three of the six nominees are British: Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), Carey Mulligan (The Ballad of Wallis Island) and Emily Watson (Hamnet).

Wicked: For Good star Cynthia Erivo is one of the biggest surprises left off the list, but the film generally hasn’t performed as well this awards season as the 2025 sequel did. Unlike the Oscars, it’s not completely decked out with nods for costumes, makeup and hair.

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BAFTA nominations – everything you need to know

BAFTA’s chief executive, Jane Millichip, said the nominations reflected “the incredible breadth of storytelling.”

He said: “There are some big topics being tackled, whether it’s the ambiguities of activism, Black identity, corruption… some really big topics are being tackled in very different ways… then films that are excellent personal films, like Hamnet and I Swear.”

Emily Stillman, chair of the Bafta film committee, said: “It feels like most of the films this year are around human connection and human stories and especially in times like these, it promotes kindness and thought about human relationships, and that’s especially important with what’s going on in the world right now.”

The BAFTA ceremony will take place at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, 22 February, and will be hosted by actor and US Traitors host Alan Cumming.