BAFTA nominations: snubs and surprises: “Challengers,” Denzel Washington

The 2025 BAFTA film nominees were announced this morning, but no recognition was given to high-profile films such as Weird, Challengers, Little girlAnd Paddington in Peru. Meanwhile, the musical Wicked was excluded from the Best Film and Best Director categories.

The duo of Luca Guadagnino Weird And Challengers were both nominated for Golden Globes, including for leads Daniel Craig and Zendaya, but neither made the cut this morning. Both were on the BAFTA longlist.

Nicole Kidman won the best actress award at Venice and was also nominated at the Golden Globes, but failed to wow BAFTA audiences for her performance in the steamy drama. Little girl.

Paddington in Peruthe third film in the beloved Bear franchise, had the biggest opening for a British film since 2021 and grossed a whopping $43 million in the UK, but reviews weren’t as favorable as the first two films in the series and the film could not get a BAFTA nomination even after the organization introduced a new children’s and family category this year. The previous two Paddington the films received several BAFTA nominations.

In one of the most bizarre awards streaks, Denzel Washington remains without a single BAFTA nomination in his illustrious career. Gladiator II Star Washington, a 10-time Oscar nominee and two-time winner, is the bookmakers’ second favorite for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but his performances continue to be shunned by the BAFTAs.

As we already knew from the BAFTA longlist, there was also no love in the acting categories this year for Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres, whose performance in the Brazilian drama I’m still here was widely acclaimed. Walter Salles’ powerful film was considered an awards season dark horse, but only managed to secure one nomination today, in the Film Not In The English Language category.

Well rated drama Nickel Boys also has only one nomination, while there was no recognition for Margaret Qualley’s turn in The bottom or Michele Austin for Hard truths.

Meanwhile, neither Moana 2 Or Memory of a snail could fall into the cartoon or new kids category, somewhat surprisingly.

Angelina Jolie received praise in Venice for her performance as opera singer Maria Callas, but the film’s awards prospects have since dwindled and as we knew from the long list, there won’t be good score for the film at the BAFTAs.

Surprises

Among this morning’s pleasant surprises were the six nominations for British-Irish independent film Ball joint. After being shut out by the Golden Globes, it was expected that the prospects would be better “at home” for the film and it proved so. The comedy-drama about a Belfast hip hop duo who rap in their native Irish was one of the highest-rated British independent films of the year and is perhaps the biggest local low-budget success story this season.

Hugh Grant received his fourth horror film nomination Heretic30 years after his first nomination for Four weddings and a funeral. There was also a comeback for the British actress and Hard truths Marianne Jean-Baptiste, whose last film nomination dates back to 1997 for Mike Leigh Secrets and lies.

Special thanks to THE Exceed star Saoirse Ronan who landed her SEVENTH nomination this morning at the age of just 30. That has to be a record for an actor – or anyone – at the age of 30. Quite an achievement, especially since they are all intended for separate films.

Body horror The bottom continues its once-unlikely awards run with five nominations, including a first-ever BAFTA nomination for Hollywood veteran Demi Moore, and there were five nominations for horror Nosferatuwho did not receive any nominations at the recent Golden Globes.

Meanwhile, Sundance favorite Girls continues to gain momentum in the documentary category. As expected, Karla Sofía Gascón made history as the first trans actress to earn a BAFTA nomination for Emile Pérez.