BAFTA is a big deal if you follow the Oscar race. Last year, BAFTA members made up around half (325) of the UK Academy voters (650). There has definitely been a rise in the number of international voters in the Oscar race; the UK bloc is the largest, followed by various European countries. So, whoever wins might have an impact on the Oscars.
That said, the 2026 BAFTA Awards went largely as expected, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” taking Best Film and Best Director. The film won six BAFTAs overall, including Screenplay, Editing, and a surprise win for Cinematography. After this latest victory, PTA’s acclaimed film appears destined for a Best Picture Oscar win.
The biggest surprises came in the acting categories. Sean Penn won Supporting Actor over Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”) and his “One Battle After Another” co-star Benicio del Toro. I always had Penn winning the Oscar — his role is bound to be the most iconic of the five nominees a decade from now.
Supporting Actress was a shocker. Wunmi Mosaku won for her performance in “Sinners.” The supposed Oscar frontrunner, Teyana Taylor, may now have some competition. For the life of me, I can’t understand how Mosaku’s nothingburger role could be rewarded with a BAFTA, let alone an Oscar, but let’s save that for another write-up.
More surprises: the British indie “I Swear” saw its lead, Robert Aramayo, take Best Actor over Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Michael B. Jordan. I haven’t seen the film yet, as it still hasn’t been released stateside — any good? I’ve been reading positive things about it. Regardless, this gives people further pause when predicting Timothée Chalamet for the Oscar — I still think he’ll win — but the voting will come down to the wire.
As expected, Jessie Buckley won Lead Actress for “Hamnet,” which also took Best British Film. Buckley seems to be the only true lock in this year’s acting Oscar categories. “Sinners” also saw Ryan Coogler take his first BAFTA for Original Screenplay, while Ludwig Göransson won his second for Original Score.
My condolences to all Brazilian cinephiles: “Sentimental Value” won Film Not in the English Language over “The Secret Agent.” This BAFTA category tends to consistently parallel the Oscar winner for Best International Feature Film.
“Zootopia 2” took Animated Feature (“KPop Demon Hunters” was not eligible), and “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” won Documentary over “The Perfect Neighbor.”
The sequel will arrive more than 20 years after the original and nearly two decades after “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” with Turteltaub returning to direct.