‘One Battle After Another’ leads the pack in nominations for UK’s BAFTA
film awards
[January 28, 2026]
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON (AP) — Paul Thomas Anderson’s politically charged action thriller
“One Battle After Another” leads the race for the British Academy Film
Awards, securing 14 nominations Tuesday including acting nods for five
of its cast.
Ryan Coogler’s blues-steeped vampire epic “Sinners” is close behind with
13 nominations for Britain's equivalent of the Oscars, while Chloé
Zhao’s Shakespearean family tragedy “Hamnet” and Josh Safdie’s ping-pong
odyssey “Marty Supreme” have 11 apiece.
Guillermo del Toro's reimagining of “Frankenstein” and Norwegian family
drama “ Sentimental Value” each got eight nominations, rounding out a
six-pack of leading contenders for both the British and Hollywood
Academy Awards.
The best film nominees are “One Battle After Another,” “Hamnet,” “Marty
Supreme,” “Sinners” and “Sentimental Value.”
BAFTA Chief Executive Jane Millichip said the nominations recognized
“films like ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Sinners,’ tackling really big
societal issues — the moral ambiguity of activism, Black identity,”
alongside films exploring “the most intimate side of family
relationships.”
“They're all doing it in quite different ways: Strong flavors, really
bold storytelling," she said.
Hollywood heavyweights and rising stars
Best leading actor contenders are Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,”
Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for
Broadway biopic “Blue Moon,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners” and Jesse
Plemons for “Bugonia” and British actor Robert Aramayo for playing a man
with Tourette’s syndrome in biographical drama “I Swear.”
Aramayo said it was “really crazy” to be nominated alongside Hollywood
heavyweights.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” he said. "I admire each and every one of them
so much.”
The leading actress category includes awards-season favorite Jessie
Buckley for her performance as Agnes Hathaway, wife of William
Shakespeare, in “Hamnet.” She's up against Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs
I’d Kick You,” Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” Chase Infiniti for “One
Battle After Another,” Renate Reinsve for “Sentimental Value” and Emma
Stone for dystopian tragicomedy “Bugonia.”
“One Battle” actors Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are
all nominated for supporting performances.
The Associated Press was recognized in the best documentary category
with a nomination for Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing Ukraine war portrait
“2000 Meters to Andriivka,” co-produced by the AP and PBS Frontline.
The winners will be announced at a Feb. 22 ceremony in London hosted by
actor Alan Cumming. The U.K. prizes — officially called the EE BAFTA
Film Awards — often provide clues about who will triumph at Hollywood’s
Academy Awards, held this year on March 15.
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A BAFTA mask after the nominations for the Orange British Academy
Film Awards 2011 were announced, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, in
Piccadilly, London. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)
 This year, unusually, Oscar
nominations were announced first, with “Sinners” securing a record
16 nominations, followed by 13 for “One Battle After Another.”
The British academy has recognized several performers overlooked by
the Oscars, including supporting actor nominees Paul Mescal for
“Hamnet” and Odessa A’zion for “Marty Supreme.”
The BAFTAs also have a distinctly British accent, with a separate
category of best British film. Its 10 nominees include “The Ballad
of Wallis Island,” “Pillion,” “I Swear” and “Bridget Jones: Mad
About the Boy.”
Tom Basden, co-writer and star of “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” the
story of a musical duo reluctantly reunited by a superfan, said it
was gratifying to receive three nominations for a movie filmed on a
tiny budget in 18 days. Carey Mulligan, who spent 10 days on set, is
nominated for best supporting actress.
“Sort of against the odds, we managed to create something in those
conditions that we’re really proud of and that’s really hit home
with people,” Basden said. “So it’s a lovely kind of underdog story
in many ways.”
In search of diversity
Most BAFTA winners are chosen by 8,500 members of the U.K. academy
of industry professionals, with one – the Rising Star Award –
selected by public vote from a shortlist of nominees. This year’s
rising star contenders are Infiniti, Aramayo, “Sinners” star Miles
Caton and British actors Archie Madekwe and Posy Sterling.
Like other major movie awards, Britain’s film academy has introduced
changes in recent years to increase diversity, including the
addition of a longlist round before the final nominees are selected.
Diversity has improved since 2020, when no women were nominated as
best director for the seventh year running, and all 20 of the main
acting nominees were white.
Still, Zhao is the only female nominee in the best director
category, alongside Anderson, Safdie, Cooger, Yorgos Lanthimos for
“Bugonia” and Joachim Trier for “Sentimental Value.” Across all
categories including documentaries and shorts, 25% of the directing
nominees are women.
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Associated Press writer Hilary Fox contributed to this story.
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