Consolidating its long-touted status as the breakout film of this awards season, One Battle After Another ranks at the top of the longlisted titles in the first round of voting for the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic, hard-hitting and increasingly topical political satire about extremism and polarization in the United States received 16 votes across 25 categories, the highest since the longlist round was first introduced in 2021. As expected, Chase Infinity, Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio Del Toro, and Sean Penn dominated the cast list, along with Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Proceed to next round.
It was followed by Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet and Ryan Coogler’s The Sinners, each leading a tight pack of films with 14 longlist slots. Close behind, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme was nominated with 13 points, while Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein both received 12 points. Meanwhile, “Sentimental Value” and “Wicked: For Good” both found room on the list at eight (down from the 10 points the first “Wicked” earned last year, with Jon M. Chu once again missing out on directing, but with Cynthia Erivo joining the mix despite recent disdain from SAG and Critics Choice).
In addition to the expected big names joining the race, there was also good news for British cinema. “I Swear” and “Pillion” made it to six lists, including performance categories, and “The Ballad of Wallis Island” made it to five lists. I Swear’s Robert Aramayo and Peter Mullan, Pillion’s Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, and Wallis Island’s Carey Mulligan all made it to the second round.
“Wallis Island” and “The Vow” also received enough support from BAFTA voters to earn a spot in the top 10 best film shortlist, as did “Nuremberg,” which won six slots overall.
Speaking of scorn, some may be surprised that Palme d’Or winner Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident didn’t make more than one longlist, excluding original screenplays and non-English language films. “The Secret Agent” made the same list as “It Was an Accident,” but it’s notable that star Wagner Moura, who was still considered an Oscar contender, walked out empty-handed. And despite the growing buzz, “Sirāt” only managed two things: casting and cinematography in English (though not the audio, as many expected).
Meanwhile, many major films that were expected to win awards glory early on ended up with even less recognition. “Smashing Machines” found a spot with just the make-up and hair stylist, “Jay Kelly” got a supporting role for Adam Sandler, and “Hedda” got a lead actress slot for Tessa Thompson. Despite being critically acclaimed and nominated for multiple awards at home, local titles “Urchin” (Harris Dickinson’s directorial debut) and “My Father’s Shadow” also received only one slot each on the longlist (Akinola Davis Jr.’s “My Father’s Shadow” unexpectedly didn’t even make the British Best Films list). In the complete shutout, “After the Hunt” and “Ang Lee’s Will” were not included at all.
As always, everything could change dramatically when the full list of nominations is announced on January 27th (with the exception of the Rising Star Award nominations, which will be announced on January 14th). The BAFTA Film Awards ceremony will be held on February 22nd at London’s Royal Festival Hall, with Alan Cumming hosting for the first time.
See the full shortlist below.
Best movie award
“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“Bugonia”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“i swear”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nuremberg”
“One battle after another”
“Emotional value”
“Sinners”
outstanding british films
“28 years later”
“The Little Player’s Ballad”
“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”
“The Chorale”
“Die My Love”
“Goodbye June”
“H is for Hawk”
“Hamnet”
“i swear”
“Mr. Burton”
“Pillion”
“The Rose”
“Steve”
“war”
An outstanding debut film from the British writer, director and producer
“Ritual”
“The Man in My Basement”
“Mother Vera”
“Father’s Shadow”
“Pillion”
“Ocean with David Attenborough”
“Shadow Scholars”
“Sea urchin”
“The desire inside her”
“Waste shop”
Children & Family Movies
“Arco”
“Boom”
“Elio”
“growing up”
“How to train your dragon”
“Lilo & Stitch”
“Little Amelie”
“Zootropolis 2”
movies not in english
“It was just an accident.”
“La Grazia”
“Left-handed girl”
“There is no other choice.”
“Nouvelle Berg”
“Rental Family”
“Secret Agent”
“Emotional value”
“Silaat”
“Voice of Hind Rajab”
documentary
“2000 meters left to Andriivka”
“Tropical Apocalypse”
“Becoming Led Zeppelin”
“cover up”
“Librarians”
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”
“Ocean with David Attenborough”
“One to One: John & Yoko”
“The perfect neighbor”
“Riefenstahl”
anime movie
“Arco”
“The Bad Guys 2”
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Castle”
“Elio”
“Little Amelie”
“Zootropolis 2”
director
“Bugonia” Yorgos Lanthimos
“Die My Love” Lynne Ramsay
“Hamnet” Chloe Zhao
“House of Dynamite” Kathryn Bigelow
“Marty Supreme” Josh Safdie
“The battles come one after the other” Paul Thomas Anderson
“Rental Family” Hikari
Joachim Trier “Sentimental Value”
“The Sinners” Ryan Coogler
“Voice of Hind Rajab” Kauser Ben Hania
original script
“Blue Moon”
“Dynamite House”
“i swear”
“Do you have this?”
“It was just an accident.”
“Marty Supreme”
“Secret Agent”
“Emotional value”
“Sinners”
“weapons”
adapted screenplay
“28 years later”
“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“Bugonia”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Nuremberg”
“One battle after another”
“Pillion”
“Train Dream”
“Wake Up Dead Man: Knives Out Mystery”
Leading actress
Jesse Buckley “Hamnet”
Rose Byrne: “If I had legs, I’d kick you.”
Cynthia Erivo “Wicked: For Good”
Kate Hudson “Son San Bleu”
Chase Infinity “One Battle After Another”
Jennifer Lawrence “Die My Love”
Renate Rheinwe “Sentimental Value”
Andrea Riseborough “Dragonfly”
Emma Stone “Bugonia”
Tessa Thompson “Hedda”
Leading actor
Robert Aramayo “I swear”
Timothée Chalamet “Marty Supreme”
Russell Crowe “Nuremberg”
Leonardo DiCaprio “One Battle After Another”
Joel Edgerton “Train Dreams”
Ethan Hawke “Blue Moon”
Michael B. Jordan “Sinners”
Harry Melling “Pillion”
Cillian Murphy “Steve”
Jesse Plemons “Bugonia”
support actress
Odessa Azion “Marty Supreme”
Brenda Blethyn “Dragonfly”
Ariana Grande “Wicked: For Good”
Inga Ebsdotter Lilias “Sentimental Value”
Amy Madigan “Weapons”
Shigesaku Kumomi “Sinners”
Carey Mulligan “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
Gwyneth Paltrow “Marty Supreme”
Teyana Taylor “One Battle After Another”
Emily Watson “Hamnet”
supporting actor
Benicio Del Toro “One Battle After Another”
Jacob Elordi “Frankenstein”
Delroy Lindo “Sinners”
Paul Mescal “Hamnet”
Peter Mullan “I swear”
Sean Penn “One Battle After Another”
Adam Sandler “Jay Kelly”
Andrew Scott “Blue Moon”
Alexander Skarsgård “Pillion”
Stellan Skarsgård “Sentimental Value”
casting
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Dynamite House”
“i swear”
“Marty Supreme”
“One battle after another”
“Pillion”
“Emotional value”
“Sinners”
“Silaat”
Cinematography
“The Little Player’s Ballad”
“Bugonia”
“Die My Love”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“One battle after another”
“Sinners”
“Train Dream”
costume design
“Bugonia”
“Downton Abbey: Grand Finale”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nouvelle Berg”
“Nuremberg”
“One battle after another”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: For Good”
edit
“28 years later”
“Bugonia”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Dynamite House”
“Marty Supreme”
“One battle after another”
“Sinners”
“weapons”
Makeup & Hair
“Bugonia”
“Downton Abbey: Grand Finale”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nuremberg”
“One battle after another”
“Sinners”
“The Smashing Machine”
“Wicked: For Good”
original score
“28 years later”
“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“Bugonia”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nuremberg”
“One battle after another”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: For Good”
production design
“The Little Player’s Ballad”
“Bugonia”
“Fantastic Four: First Steps”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Mickey 17”
“One battle after another”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: For Good”
special visual effects
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“How to train your dragon”
“Jurassic World Rebirth”
“The Lost Bus”
“Mickey 17”
“Superman”
“Tron: Ares”
“Wicked: For Good”
sound
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“Bugonia”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“The Lost Bus”
“Mission: Impossible: Final Reckoning”
“One battle after another”
“Sinners”
“war”
“Wicked: For Good”
british short animation
“Brain Space”
“cardboard”
“The pinnacle of death”
“Ovarian action”
“winter solstice”
“Two Black Boys in Paradise”
british short films
“22+1”
“Blondie”
“Majid/Zafar”
“Neil Armstrong and Langholmite”
“Nostalgia”
“Pearl Comb”
“terence”
“This is endometriosis.”
“Welcome home freckles”
“Wonder Wall”
