The Conclave, a film about a gossipy and scheming group of cardinals who gather in Rome to elect a new pope, leads this year’s Bafta film award nominations with 12 nominations.
It is followed by Netflix’s Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez, about a Mexican cartel leader who leaves the world of crime to live a new life as a transgender woman.
The leaders in the Bafta acting categories are Cynthia Erivo and Demi Moore for leading actress and Adrien Brody and Timothee Chalamet for leading actors.
But Denzel Washington and Daniel Craig failed to make the shortlist for Gladiator II and Queer, respectively.
Hugh Grant’s nomination in the lead actor category for the horror film Heretic and Saoirse Ronan’s lead actress nomination for The Outrun are just some of the surprises.
Jamie Lee Curtis is nominated in the supporting actress category for The Last Showgirl, but lead actress Pamela Anderson, who plays an aging Las Vegas actress, is not nominated.
Leading films in Bafta nominations
12 nominations – Conclave
11 – Emilia Pérez
9 – Brutalist
7 – Anora, Dina: Second part and Wicked
6 – Complete unknown and patella
5 – Nosferatu and substance
Another film tipping for success in the current awards season is Anora, which has seven Bafta nominations, including Best Picture.
It follows the stormy romance between a New York sex worker and the son of a rich Russian oligarch.
Mikey Madison is nominated for lead actress and is also up for the public-voted Rising Star award.
Her co-star Yura Borisov is nominated for Best Supporting Actor and director Sean Baker has his first Bafta nomination for Best Director.
Half of the Best Director nominees are first-time nominees, including Brutalist’s Brady Corbett, who won the same award at the Golden Globes.
The film about a Hungarian architect hired by a wealthy American after the Second World War has a total of nine nominations, and is also tipped to be a major Oscar contender.
Substance director Coralie Fargeat is another first-time director nominee and is the only woman nominated in this category.
Demi Moore has been nominated for best actress in a motion picture, weeks after winning the Golden Globe – putting her in a strong position for the Oscars.
British actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s nomination in the same category for her portrayal of an irritable woman struggling with depression in Hard Truths gave her the boost to get an Oscar nomination.
The Bafta shortlist is often a strong indicator for the Oscars, and last year the winners of the top six categories coincided perfectly across the two ceremonies.
Another Oscar-winning film is A Complete Unknown, which follows Bob Dylan’s rise to fame in the 1960s.
It has six Bafta nominations, including Best Picture, with Timothee Chalamet and Edward Norton nominated in the acting categories.
Kneepcap, about an Irish-speaking hip-hop trio, also received six nominations, including outstanding British film and film not in the English language.
Blockbuster films fared relatively well in nominations, with Dune: Part Two and Wicked receiving seven nominations each.
Gladiator II has three nominations – but none are in the acting categories, with Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Washington absent. Director Sir Ridley Scott was also overlooked.
Erivo and his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande have their first Bafta nominations – but Wicked missed out on a Best Picture nomination.
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón also received their first Bafta nominations, for Emilia Pérez.
For the first time, children’s and family films have their own special category at the award ceremony.
Wallace and Gromit: Revenge Most Fowl and The Wild Robot are nominated alongside Michael Morpurga’s adaptation of Kensuke’s Kingdom and Flow, about animals who must work together to survive a flood.
The dialogue-free film was the surprise winner of the Golden Globes in the animated film category.
The Bafta Film Awards, hosted by David Tennant, will take place on February 16 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Read more about this year’s nominated films:
