Awards Season celebrates all things entertainment, with activities stretching from late November until April each year. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards event sits smack in the middle of the season. Our film celebration event follows this year's Golden Globes awards in the US. So, you may already be familiar with many of the BAFTA-nominated titles, but you must be curious to see if the BAFTA list holds any surprises for you.
What to Know About the BAFTA Film Awards
- 🎤 The ceremony will air live from London's Royal Festival Hall on BBC One and iPlayer on 22 February 2026.
- 🎭 BAFTA 2026 is the show's 73rd edition; the first awards ceremony was in 1949.
- 🎬 This year's event will honour the best of cinema across 26 categories.
- 🤵 For the third year, Scottish talent headlines the event - Alan Cumming will host, following David Tennant's two years as host.
🔑 BAFTA 2026: Key Details
The BAFTAs are the UK's leading awards ceremony for film, television, and games, often considered the British equivalent of the Oscars. The ceremony is widely seen as a key indicator of Oscar success, as the two events often share many of the same nominees and winners. What other key details could there be? As a handy reference, here they are, in summary.
🤝 Meet the BAFTA 2026 Host
Soon, you'll discover which categories and films the event will celebrate, and you have plenty more to learn about. But let's spend some time with our engaging, intriguing, multi-talented host. 😍
Alan, himself a BAFTA Award recipient (for 1992's Prague), has hosted a number of reality shows. His career spans a respectable 45 years, with roles in film, television, and stage. Of late, he's best known for The Traitors; he's claimed four awards for his work on that show over the last two years.
🤔 More BAFTA Curious Facts
Even if you're familiar with British culture only in passing, you likely already know what BAFTA means. What's most puzzling to people is why it's sometimes called the EE BAFTAs and other times, just BAFTA.
It takes a lot of money to put on a show like the BAFTAs, and that money has to come from somewhere. The telecommunications company EE ponies up the cash, so it gets naming rights. But we mostly continue to call the show the BAFTAs, without the EE in front. Sorry, EE! 😔
The awards ceremony is by invitation only, generally reserved for industry professionals. However, film fans may request access to the red carpet 'fan-pen'.
Fan access areas put enthusiastic film-goers within eyeball distance of the stars they love to watch. But you can't simply head to Southbank Centre and take your place behind the stretchy barrier. You must apply for access (at no cost) from ApplauseStore1. Unfortunately, if you haven't already done so, you're out of luck; the application window closed on February 8. 😭
But wait, we have an 11th-hour reprieve! If you vote in the EE Rising Star Award campaign, you'll enter in a drawing for two free tickets. Not just to the red carpet, outdoor, fan-pen, but to the spectacle itself! 🤯 If you haven't yet cast your ballot, rush-rush to the EE website (before 20 February) to vote for your top nominee!💨
❎ BAFTA 2026 Categories and Nominees
We finally get to the good stuff! 😍 Not that all the stuff so far hasn't been good, but maybe you just want to know if your favourite film and actor are in the running for an award. Now's the time for you to find out!
📹 BAFTA Film Awards Categories
You have to admit that 26 categories is a lot. Most of them make sense - best actor, best film, and so on. But some categories are real head scratchers! 😕 Here, we explain what all those categories mean and share a bit of their background.
| 📜Category | 🔍What it represents | 📜Category | 🔍What it represents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Film | Excellence in cinema BAFTA's very first award! | Best Costume Design | Category added in 1964 |
| Best Director | Excellence in film directing Formerly called the David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction. | Best Editing | Category added in 1966 |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | Best Make Up & Hair | Category added in 1982 |
| Best Actress in a Leading Lole | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | Best original score | Excellence in film music |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Best Production Design | Category added in 1964 |
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | Best sound | Category added in 1969 |
| Best Original Screenplay | Ror an original work written exclusively for the screen. | Best Special Visual Effects | Achievements in the crafts of special effects and visual effects |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | For a previously published work adapted for the screen. | Outstanding British Film | Excellence in British cinema |
| Best Animated film | Excellence in animated films | Outstanding debut from a British writer, director or producer | Excellence in the debut from a British writer, director or producer |
| Best Documentary | In recognition of the number of high-quality theatrical documentaries released in cinemas | Best British Short Animation | Category added in 1989 |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | Excellence in world cinema | Best British Short Film | Category added in 1959 |
| Best Casting | Category added in 2019 to honour agents who cast actors in their roles. | Best Children's & Family Film | Excellence in family films Category added in 2024 |
| Best Cinematography | Category added in 1963 | Rising Star Award | Category added in 2004, honouring casting director Mary Selway |
👉 BAFTA Film Award Nominations
Often, industry insiders say that the BAFTAs are the predictors of Oscar wins. In the US, this year's Oscars ceremony will be on 15 March, about three weeks after our grand night. It's a fair bet that many of these names and titles will also grace the Oscars stage.
| 📜Category | 🏆Nominations | 📜Category | 🏆Nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Film | Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sentimental Value Sinners | Best Costume Design | Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme Sinners Wicked: For Good |
| Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another Ryan Coogler – Sinners Yorgos Lanthimos – Bugonia Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value Chloé Zhao – Hamnet | Best Editing | F1 A House of Dynamite Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Robert Aramayo – I Swear Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon Michael B. Jordan – Sinners Jesse Plemons – Bugonia | Best Make Up & Hair | Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme Sinners Wicked: For Good |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Jessie Buckley – Hamnet Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value Emma Stone – Bugonia | Best Original Score | Bugonia Frankenstein Hamnet One Battle After Another Sinners |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein Paul Mescal – Hamnet Peter Mullan – I Swear Sean Penn – One Battle After Another Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value | Best Production Design | Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners |
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Odessa A'zion – Marty Supreme Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners Carey Mulligan – The Ballad of Wallis Island Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another Emily Watson – Hamnet | Best sound | F1 Frankenstein One Battle After Another Sinners Warfare |
| Best Original Screenplay | Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme Ryan Coogler – Sinners Kleber Mendonça Filho – The Secret Agent Kirk Jones – I Swear Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value | Best Special Visual Effects | Avatar: Fire and Ash F1 Frankenstein How to Train Your Dragon The Lost Bus |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another Tom Basden and Tim Key – The Ballad of Wallis Island Harry Lighton – Pillion Will Tracy – Bugonia Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell – Hamnet | Outstanding British Film | 28 Years Later The Ballad of Wallis Island Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Die My Love H Is for Hawk Hamnet I Swear Mr Burton Pillion Steve |
| Best Animated film | Elio Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Zootropolis | Outstanding debut from a British writer, director or producer | The Ceremony – Jack King, Hollie Bryan, and Lucy Meer My Father's Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr. and Wale Davies Pillion – Harry Lighton A Want in Her – Myrid Carten Wasteman – Cal McMau, Hunter Andrews, and Eoin Doran |
| Best Documentary | 2000 Meters to Andriivka Apocalypse in the Tropics Cover-Up Mr Nobody Against Putin The Perfect Neighbor | Best British Short Animation | Cardboard Solstice Two Black Boys in Paradise |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | It Was Just an Accident The Secret Agent Sentimental Value Sirāt The Voice of Hind Rajab | Best British Short Film | Magid / Zafar Nostalgie Terence This Is Endometriosis Welcome Home Freckles |
| Best Casting | I Swear Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sentimental Value Sinners | Best Children's & Family Film | Arco Boong Lilo & Stitch Zootropolis 2 |
| Best Cinematography | Frankenstein Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners Train Dreams | Rising Star Award | Robert Aramayo Miles Caton Chase Infiniti Archie Madekwe Posy Sterling |
🎰 A Nod to BAFTA Game Awards
Mark your calendar for 17 April 2026!
You can livestream the awards ceremony on the BAFTAs' YouTube and Twitch channels.
Despite BAFTA meaning Film and Television Awards, this charity's reach extends into all things entertainment, including music and gaming. BAFTA incorporated gaming into its awards lineup in 2004, just as gaming was going mainstream. This year's BAFTA Games Awards promises to be this show's best edition ever, with game titles from around the world nominated.
🧙♂️ BAFTA 2026 Predictions
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
Oscar Wilde
Some might argue that all the speculation and build-up ahead of the BAFTA Film Awards is half the fun. Who will be there? Who will win? Who will smash it on the red carpet and who will turn up a hot mess3?
The BAFTA awards buzz is building to a fever pitch. Morning programmes on the telly are already making wild predictions, and the vlogosphere is full of purported insider information. As an aside, we're not immune to such; we've made a few predictions on the upcoming edition of the Brit Awards.
But here, we give it to you straight from the horse's mouth. 🐴 Who are the favourites to win, according to the pros? Which title is set to sweep the awards table? And what excitement does the show promise?
🦉 Industry Insiders' Predictions
One Battle After Another commanded a whopping 16 nominations on the BAFTA Awards longlist. Now that the nominees list has been pared down to its show-ready form, that film boasts a still-respectable 14 nods.
Sinners comes hot on Battle's heels with 13 nominations. This American horror masterpiece features lead actor Michael B. Jordan playing a double role (yes, he's nominated!). Critics and viewers love this story in equal measure, and it's already racked up several awards.
Hamnet follows close behind with 11 nominations. We probably don't need to detail this tragic story (no spoilers! 😡), but it doesn't hurt to mention Ms Zhao's achingly tender direction. Her talent for coaxing the most poignant performances out of her cast is an art in itself.
Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value round out insiders' top picks. The first is a sports film and the second one is a family drama. In both cases, the value is less about the topic and more about the emotional impact. Both of these will grab your heart!
Sentimental Value has an advantage: it won the 2025 Cannes Grand Prix. Of all the films in every Awards Season guide - including ours, Sentimental Value is one of just a handful of films to have Cannes fame attached it.
👏 Fan Favourites and Public Predictions
Show me a person’s spending, and I can show you what they love.
Ramit Sethi, entrepreneur
Is that just a fancy way to say "Put your money where your mouth is"? Whether you go with one sentiment or the other, they're on the money (pardon the pun!). 🤑 And, these days, people have more ways than ever to let their money do the talking.
To gauge public sentiment for BAFTA Awards nominees, we scanned popular blogs, vlogs, and social media.
The strategy is far more efficient than relying only on social media aggregators for hints of what people are feeling. Again, resorting to a truism: talk is cheap but money matters - and social media is all talk, right?
But if people are willing to lay good money down on which films will claim awards, that's a fair indicator of which films they love. Wouldn't you know it? According to the website TV Cave4, fans love the same films the industry insiders do. And in just about the same order, too!
So, we'll have to wait and see what happens on awards night. It's not too far away, just about a week and a half more. While you wait, how about taking in our Grammys 2026 wrap-up?
🔎 Find Out More About BAFTA 2026
- Webphoria Website Development Ltd (2013. “Book Tickets for 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards Red Carpet | Applausestore.” Applausestore.com, 2026, www.applausestore.com/book-2026-ee-bafta-film-awards-red-carpet. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
- Davis, Clayton. “BAFTA and WGA Awards Nomination Predictions 2026”: Variety, 26 Jan. 2026, variety.com/2026/film/awards/bafta-wga-awards-predictions-2026-1236641136/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
- DeFalco, Ryane. “The Most Inappropriate Outfits in BAFTA Awards History.” Glam, 4 Feb. 2026, www.glam.com/2093365/most-inappropriate-outfits-bafta-awards-history/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
- Robbie. “BAFTA Nominations 2026: Who Should Win, Who Will Win, and Who Was Snubbed.” The TV Cave, 27 Jan. 2026, www.thetvcave.com/post/bafta-nominations-2026. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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