BAFTA Nominations 2026: Who Should Win, Who Will Win, and Who Was Snubbed

David Jonsson and Aimee Lou Wood announced the BAFTA nominations today — and unsurprisingly, I have a lot to say about them.

First off, I was genuinely happy to see I, Swear receive so much love, landing five nominations, including Best Actor for Robert Aramayo. Aramayo delivered my favourite performance of last year, and it’s great to see that recognised here. Honestly, I’m just glad I, Swear didn’t slip through the cracks.

The biggest snub that surprised me, though, was Amy Madigan, who is notably absent from the Supporting Actress category.

With all that said, here are my predicted winners in each category, based on a mix of personal preference and BAFTA voting patterns.

EE Rising Star Award

• Robert Aramayo

• Miles Caton

• Chase Infiniti

• Archie Madekwe

• Posy Sterling

My Pick: Robert Aramayo

Best Children’s & Family Film

• Arco – Ugo Bienvenu, Félix De Givry, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman

• Boong – Lakshmipriya Devi, Ritesh Sidhwani

• Lilo & Stitch – Dean Fleischer Camp, Jonathan Eirich

• Zootropolis 2 – Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino

My Pick: Zootropolis 2

Best British Short Film

• Magid / Zafar – Luis Hindman, Sufiyaan Salam, Aidan Robert Brooks

• Nostalgie – Kathryn Ferguson, Stacey Gregg, Marc Robinson, Kath Mattock

• Terence – Edem Kelman, Noah Reich

• This Is Endometriosis – Georgie Wileman, Matt Houghton, Harriette Wright

• Welcome Home Freckles – Huiju Park, Nathan Hendren

My Pick: N/A

Best British Short Animation

• Cardboard – J.P. Vine, Michaela Manas Malina

• Solstice – Luce Angus

• Two Black Boys in Paradise – Baz Sells, Dean Atta, Ben Jackson

My Pick: N/A

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

• The Ceremony – Jack King, Hollie Bryan, Lucy Meer

• My Father’s Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies

• Pillion – Harry Lighton

• A Want in Her – Myrid Carten

• Wasteman – Cal McMau, Hunter Andrews, Eoin Doran

My Pick: My Father’s Shadow

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

My Pick: Hamnet

Best Special Visual Effects

• Avatar: Fire and Ash

• F1

• Frankenstein

• How to Train Your Dragon

• The Lost Bus

My Pick: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Sound

• F1

• Frankenstein

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

• Warfare

My Pick: Warfare

Best Production Design

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

My Pick: Frankenstein

Best Original Score

• Bugonia

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

My Pick: Sinners

Best Make Up & Hair

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Marty Supreme

• Sinners

• Wicked: For Good

My Pick: Frankenstein

Best Editing

• F1

• A House of Dynamite

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

My Pick: One Battle After Another

Best Costume Design

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Marty Supreme

• Sinners

• Wicked: For Good

My Pick: Frankenstein

Best Cinematography

• Frankenstein

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

• Train Dreams

My Pick: Train Dreams

Best Casting

• I Swear

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• Sentimental Value

• Sinners

My Pick: Sinners

Best Film Not in the English Language

• It Was Just an Accident

• The Secret Agent

• Sentimental Value

• Sirāt

• The Voice of Hind Rajab

My Pick: The Secret Agent

Best Documentary

• 2000 Meters to Andriivka

• Apocalypse in the Tropics

• Cover-Up

• Mr Nobody Against Putin

• The Perfect Neighbor

My Pick: The Perfect Neighbor

Best Animated Film

• Elio

• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

• Zootropolis 2

My Pick: Zootropolis 2

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

• Tom Basden & Tim Key – The Ballad of Wallis Island

• Harry Lighton – Pillion

• Will Tracy – Bugonia

• Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet

My Pick: One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay

• Marty Supreme

• Sinners

• The Secret Agent

• I Swear

• Sentimental Value

My Pick: I Swear

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

My Pick: Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

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

My Pick: Paul Mescal – Hamnet

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

My Pick: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet

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

My Pick: Robert Aramayo – I Swear

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

My Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

Best Film

• Hamnet

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• Sentimental Value

• Sinners

My Pick: One Battle After Another

For my picks, I’ve gone with a mix of personal taste and historical BAFTA voting tendencies. I can absolutely see Robert Aramayo pulling off a very BAFTA-coded move: winning Best Actor here and missing out at the other major awards.

We’ll find out on 22nd February, when Alan Cumming hosts the ceremony. For UK viewers, the BAFTAs will air on BBC One.