BAFTA 2025: What ‘Conclave’, ‘Emilia Perez’ leading the pack means for the Oscar race

If history is any guide, the overlap between BAFTA and Oscar winners will likely be as close as it was last year with ‘Oppenheimer’ clinching both top prizes, when both ceremonies aligned across six major categories.

The BAFTA 2025 nominations have landed, and as the season’s penultimate indicator, they’ve given us plenty to parse ahead of the Academy Awards. Leading the pack is Edward Berger’s Conclave, with an impressive 12 nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. The satirical drama about scheming cardinals jockeying for influence in a papal election has clearly struck a chord with BAFTA voters, securing a dominant position as an Oscar frontrunner.

Hot on its heels is Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language musical with 11 nods. The story of a cartel leader’s transformative journey as a transgender woman showcased some groundbreaking representation. Standout performances from Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofía Gascón have placed them firmly in the Oscar conversation.

The acting categories brought their own surprises. Cynthia Erivo (Wicked) and Demi Moore (The Substance) lead the Best Actress field. Moore, fresh off her Golden Globe win, now looks like a serious Oscar contender, while Erivo’s first BAFTA nod lends her critical momentum. Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) and Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) anchor the Best Actor race. However, the omission of Denzel Washington (Gladiator II) and Daniel Craig (Queer) raised eyebrows, particularly given their prominence in earlier predictions.

One of the season’s breakout performances belongs to Mikey Madison in Anora, a whirlwind romance that earned seven nominations, including Best Film. Madison, also up for the Rising Star Award, is carving a path as a key Oscar contender. Her co-star Yura Borisov’s supporting nod and director Sean Baker’s recognition further bolster Anora’s campaign.

Another film gaining steam is The Brutalist, which explores a Hungarian architect’s post-World War II journey to America. Brady Corbet’s direction, which already secured him a Golden Globe, has earned him a first BAFTA nod, positioning the film as a dark horse for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Blockbusters, often overlooked, managed respectable showings. Dune: Part Two and Wicked both landed seven nominations, proving that big-budget spectacle still has its place in awards season. However, Gladiator II underwhelmed, with just three nominations, none in the marquee categories, marking a rare stumble for Ridley Scott.

The so-called “BAFTA Best Film curse” has long been a source of intrigue and frustration for awards pundits. While the BAFTAs often set the tone for the Oscars, their top prize has historically been something of a rogue element, diverging from the Academy’s final choice more often than not. Notable examples of late include The Power of the Dog, which dominated BAFTA only to lose to CODA at the Oscars, and 1917, a homegrown war epic that swept BAFTA but fell to Parasite on the global stage. This pattern, some argue, reflects BAFTA’s preference for technically masterful or British-leaning fare, while the Oscars lean toward films with broader emotional resonance. With Conclave leading this year’s BAFTA pack, the question looms: will it solidify its frontrunner status or join the storied list of films that triumph in London only to falter in Los Angeles?

If history is any guide, the overlap between BAFTA and Oscar winners will likely be as close as it was last year with Oppenheimer clinching both top prizes, when both ceremonies aligned across six major categories.

Here’s a full list of nominees from the BAFTAs 2025:

Best Film

Anora

The Brutalist

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Outstanding British Film

Bird

Blitz

Conclave

Gladiator II

Hard Truths

Kneecap

Lee

Love Lies Bleeding

The Outrun

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Director

Anora Sean Baker

The Brutalist Brady Corbet

Conclave Edward Berger

Dune: Part Two Denis Villeneuve

Emilia Pérez Jacques Audiard

The Substance Coralie Fargeat

Leading Actress

Cynthia Erivo Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascón Emilia Pérez

Marianne Jean-Baptiste Hard Truths

Mikey Madison Anora

Demi Moore The Substance

Saoirse Ronan The Outrun

Leading Actor

Adrien Brody The Brutalist

Timothée Chalamet A Complete Unknown

Colman Domingo Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes Conclave

Hugh Grant Heretic

Sebastian Stan The Apprentice

Supporting Actress

Selena Gomez Emilia Pérez

Ariana Grande Wicked

Felicity Jones The Brutalist

Jamie Lee Curtis The Last Showgirl

Isabella Rossellini Conclave

Zoe Saldaña Emilia Pérez

Supporting Actor

Yura Borisov Anora

Kieran Culkin A Real Pain

Clarence Maclin Sing Sing

Edward Norton A Complete Unknown

Guy Pearce The Brutalist

Jeremy Strong The Apprentice

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Hoard Luna Carmoon (Director, Writer)

Kneecap Rich Peppiatt (Director, Writer)

Monkey Man Dev Patel (Director)

Santosh Sandhya Suri (Director, Writer), James Bowsher (Producer), Balthazar de Ganay (Producer)

Sister Midnight Karan Kandhari (Director, Writer)

Original Screenplay

Anora Written by Sean Baker

The Brutalist Written by Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold

Kneecap Writer Rich Peppiatt, Story by Rich Peppiatt, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh

A Real Pain Written by Jesse Eisenberg

The Substance Written by Coralie Fargeat

Adapted Screenplay

A Complete Unknown Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks

Conclave Screenplay by Peter Straughan

Emilia Pérez Written by Jacques Audiard

Nickel Boys Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes

Sing Sing Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield

Film Not in the English Language

All We Imagine as Light Payal Kapadia, Thomas Hakim

Emilia Pérez Jacques Audiard

I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui) Walter Salles

Kneecap Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney

The Seed of the Sacred Fig Mohammad Rasoulof, Amin Sadraei

Animated Film

Flow Gints Siibalodis, Matīss Kaža

Inside Out 2 Kelsey Mann, Mark Nielsen

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek

The Wild Robot Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann

Published - January 16, 2025 01:06 pm IST