The 2025 EE BAFTA nominations have been announced by actor/director Will Sharpe (a scene-stealer in The White Lotus) and Mia McKenna-Bruce who delivered a strong performance in 2022's How to Have Sex.
This year's clutch of nominations appears to be a three-way tie between several dominant films, and as ever one can expect the usual round of surprise nods and complete snubs. Scroll down to find out more.
The Brutalist, Conclave and Anora lead the way
All three of the above movies have been nominated in the pivotal Best Film category at the BAFTAs, and Jacques Audiard's genre-blending trans musical Emilia Perez also performed strongly. It's now The Brutalist's prize to lose: Brady Corbet's sprawling, four-hour epic (released in the UK on January 24th) recently won the Golden Globe award for Best Film - Drama and following its BAFTA nod is building up a head of steam for the Oscar nominations (announced January 23rd). Corbert has himself been nominated for Best Director.
That said, Conclave also performed well at the Globes and has yielded a strong batch of BAFTA nominations for Best Film, Best Director (for Edward Berger), Best Actor for Ralph Fiennes and Best Adapted Screenplay for Peter Straughan. Given that Straughan won the Golden Globe for his engrossing and multi-layered adaptation of Robert Harris' novel, one imagines that the BAFTA is his for the taking.
As far as Best Actor goes, it appears to be a title fight between The Brutalist's Adrien Brody, who has the advantage of a Golden Globe win in the Best Drama category, and Fiennes. Timothée Chalamet has also been recognised for his transformative turn as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (also nommed for Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay), but his failure to capitalise on his nod at the Golden Globes likely means Chalamet will cede ground to either Brody or Fiennes. Sebastian Stan was also recognised for his performance as Donald Trump in The Apprentice.
The race for Best Director is perhaps more open. Anora's Sean Baker has received widespread acclaim for his sensitive drama focusing on a sex worker's impromptu Las Vegas marriage, his nomination backing up further nods for Best Film, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress (for Mikey Madison). That said, Anora was ignored by Golden Globes voters so this may have relegated the drama to the back of the pack.
There's a solitary 'top line' nod for the staggering Dune: Part II. It received a Best Director nod for Denis Villeneuve, recognition for his jaw-dropping vision in stitching together both the physically and morally complex fabric of Frank Herbert's dense source novel. In the wider scheme of things, Villeneuve is very much a dark horse compared to the likes of Brady Corbet, Edward Burger and Sean Baker, all of whom have opened up a more sizeable critical and awards-courting lead.
The Substance performs strongly
It's a rare year when a grisly and gonzo horror movie lands with both audiences and awards voters (this is a genre that's routinely and snobbishly shut out of awards conversation). Coralie Fargeat's wonderfully demented The Substance has yielded BAFTA nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress for Demi Moore. The film has a strong chance of winning in the Best Actress field following Moore's win for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes, but may well be too outré to succeed in the Best Director category.
If Fargeat loses out on her work behind the camera, maybe that will boost the film's chance of winning for its provocative script, which acts as a lacerating take-down of Hollywood's beauty system. It's a subject matter that's very much in the spotlight, and the film's willingness to embrace risk may well strike a chord with BAFTA voters.
Wicked receives less than many expected
For those expecting Wicked to be the 'Popular' choice with BAFTA members, think again. It scored few 'above the line' nominations except for Best Actress for Cynthia Erivo and Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande. These were shoo-in nominations given that the film is propelled on the strength of their fractious chemistry and singing, but the absence of a Best Film nod, even if it were to just acknowledge the film's sheer popularity, is surprising.
That said, Wicked's sheer level of craft was recognised by BAFTA voters, yielding nominations for Costume Design, Production Design, Hair & Make-Up, Sound and Special Visual Effects. On an aesthetic level, Wicked will be competing with the likes of Nosferatu, another surprise horror inclusion that has received nods for Best Cinematography (Jarin Blaschke) and Best Original Score (Robin Carolan).
The likes of Babygirl, Maria and Gladiator II are snubbed
Babygirl star Nicole Kidman was notably absent from the nominations list, as was Maria star Angelina Jolie. This is a competitive category this year, and the BAFTA nods may now explicitly reconfigure the Oscars race around Mikey Madison for Anora, Demi Moore for The Substance and Cynthia Erivo for Wicked.
There were some pleasant surprises in the Best Actress field with the otherwise overlooked Saoirse Ronan recognised for Orkney-based drama The Outrun. Marianne Jean-Baptiste has also been nominated for her powerful performance in Mike Leigh's forthcoming Hard Truths (released January 31st) – this is her first collaboration with the noted British filmmaker since their searing work on 1996's Secrets and Lies. Given Leigh's standing with the BAFTAs, there may be both sentimental and pragmatic reasons to award this to Baptise.
Gladiator II failed to entertain the BAFTA voters with barely a nod for Best Director (Ridley Scott) or Best Film. More surprising is the absence of Denzel Washington for Best Supporting Actor. Although he's almost certain to receive an Oscars nod in the same category, one might sense his chances slipping away given he lost the Golden Globe to A Real Pain's Kieran Culkin who maintains his momentum as favourite with a newly minted BAFTA nomination.
Hugh Grant receives his first nomination in years
2024 really was the year of the Hugh Grant-led 'Grantaissance' and it's now yielding dividends. The one-time heartthrob turned villainous expert has been BAFTA-nominated for Best Actor for the creepy horror movie Heretic, in which he plays a sinister loner who traps two Mormon women inside his house. It's the actor's first BAFTA nod since 2017's Paddington 2 and if he wins, it would be his first since Four Weddings and a Funeral way back in 1994. That would make it a truly historic moment in the actor's career.
Grant takes precedence over Queer star Daniel Craig, who has been shut out of the BAFTA nominations altogether. The Supporting Actor field looks to be a close-run thing between The Brutalist's Guy Pearce, Anora's Yuri Borisov and The Apprentice's Jeremy Strong.
There's homegrown love for Kneecap, Hard Truths and The Outrun
Raucous Irish biopic Kneecap has been (perhaps controversially) recognised in the Best British Film and Outstanding British debut categories, and also in the Best Original Screenplay field. There's more love for Mike Leigh's penetrating Hard Truths, continuing Leigh's success at the BAFTAs, and The Outrun.
When do the BAFTAs take place?
The 2025 BAFTAs get underway on February 16th. Visit the link below for a full list of this year's nominations.
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