The BAFTA nominees were announced this morning but there was no recognition for high profile movies such as Queer, Challengers, Babygirl, and Paddington In Peru. Meanwhile, musical Wicked was shut out of the Best Film and Best Director categories.
Luca Guadagnino’s duo Queer and Challengers were both Golden Globe nominated, including for leads Daniel Craig and Zendaya, but neither made the cut this morning. Both had made the BAFTA longlist.
Nicole Kidman won a best actress award at Cannes and was also Golden Globe nominated but couldn’t woo the BAFTA crowd for her performance in steamy drama Babygirl.
Paddington in Peru, the third film in a beloved bear franchise, had the biggest opening for a British film since 2021 and has made a whopping $43M in the UK, but reviews weren’t as favourable as the first two films in the series and the movie couldn’t find BAFTA favour even after the org introduced a new kids and family category this year.
In one of the more bizarre awards season streaks, Denzel Washington remains without a single BAFTA nomination across his illustrious career. Gladiator II star Washington, a ten-time Oscar nominee and two-time winner, is joint-second favourite with the bookies for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar but his performances continue to be shunned by BAFTA.
As we already knew from the BAFTA longlist, there was also no love in the acting categories this year for Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres, whose performance in Brazilian drama I’m Still Here has drawn widespread acclaim. Walter Salles’ potent film has been considered an awards season dark horse but only managed to get one nomination today, in the Film Not In The English Language category.
Well-reviewed drama Nickel Boys also only has one nomination, while there was no recognition for Margaret Qualley’s turn in The Substance or Michele Austin for Hard Truths.
Meanwhile, neither Moana 2 or Memoir Of A Snail could make it into the animated or new kids category, somewhat surprisingly.
Angelina Jolie drew praise at Venice for her performance as opera singer Maria Callas but the film’s awards prospects have slid since then and as we knew from the longlist there will be no high note for the film at the BAFTAs.
Among pleasant surprises this morning were the six nominations for British indie film Kneecap. After getting shut out by the Golden Globes, prospects were expected to be better ‘on home soil’ for the film and so it proved. The dramedy about a Belfast hip hop duo who rap in their native Irish has been one of the best-reviewed Brit indie films of the year and is perhaps the biggest low-budget local success story this season.
Hugh Grant received his fourth nomination for horror movie Heretic, thirty years after his first nomination for Four Weddings And A Funeral. There was also a return for Brit actress and Hard Truths star Marianne Jean-Baptiste, whose last film nomination came back in 1997 for Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies.
A particular shoutout to The Outrun star Saoirse Ronan who scored her SEVENTH nomination this morning at the age of only 30. That must be a record for an actor – or anyone — by the age of 30. Quite a feat, especially considering they are all for separate flms.
Body-horror The Substance continues its once improbable awards run with five nominations, including a first ever BAFTA nomination for Hollywood veteran Demi Moore, and there was also five nominations for horror Nosferatu, which had received no nominations at the recent Golden Globes.
Meanwhile, Sundance favourite Daughters continues to build momentum in the documentary category. As expected, Karla Sofia Gascon made history as the first out trans actress to score a BAFTA film nomination for Emila Perez.
