By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — The politically charged thriller “One Battle After Another” took six prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, building momentum ahead of the Oscars next month.
Blues-steeped vampire epic “Sinners” and gothic horror story “Frankenstein” won three awards each, while Shakespearean family tragedy “Hamnet” was named best British film.
Jessie Buckley, as widely predicted, also won the best actress prize for her role in “Hamnet.”
In a major upset, Robert Aramayo took the best actor prize for the British indie film “I Swear,” beating stars including Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet.
“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s explosive film about a group of revolutionaries in conflict with the state, won the awards for directing, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, and Sean Penn’s supporting performance.
“Sinners” took home trophies for original screenplay, musicals score and for Wunmi Mosaku’s supporting actress performance.
Hollywood stars and British celebrities, from Paddington Bear to the Princess of Wales, gathered Sunday for the awards.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales attended, three days after William’s uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by police and held for 11 hours over allegations he sent sensitive government information to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The scandal has rocked the royal family led by King Charles III, though William and Kate remain popular standard-bearers for the monarchy. William is due to present an award in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Among the biggest receptions from gathered fans was for Paddington, the puppet bear who stars in a musical stage adaption of the beloved children’s classic.
Oscars bellwether
“One Battle” went into the ceremony with 14 nominations, including best picture and acting nods for five of its cast. “Sinners” was just behind with 13, while “Hamnet” and the ping-pong odyssey “Marty Supreme” each had 11 nominations.
“Frankenstein” took awards for production design, costume design and for the hair and makeup artists who spent 10 hours a day transforming Jacob Elordi into the movie’s monstrous creature.
“Sentimental Value” won the prize for the best film not in English.
The British prizes, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, often provide hints about who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held this year on March 15. In the Oscar nominations, “Sinners” leads the race with a record 16 nominations, followed by “One Battle After Another” with 13.
The BAFTA ceremony airs on BBC in the United Kingdom starting at 7 p.m. (1900 GMT) and on E! in the U.S. at 8 p.m. EST.
Winners of the 2026 British Academy Film Awards:
Film — “One Battle After Another”
British Film — “Hamnet”
Director — Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Actor — Robert Aramayo, “I Swear”
Actress — Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
Supporting Actor — Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
Supporting Actress — Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
Rising Star (voted for by the public) — Robert Aramayo
Outstanding British Debut — Akinola Davies Jr. and Wale Davies for writing and directing “My Father’s Shadow”
Original Screenplay — Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Adapted Screenplay — Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Film Not in the English Language — “Sentimental Value”
Musical Score — “Sinners”
Cinematography – Michael Bauman, “One Battle After Another”
Editing – Andy Jurgensen, “One Battle After Another”
Production Design — “Frankenstein”
Costume Design – Kate Hawley, “Frankenstein”
Sound — “F1”
Casting — Lauren Evans, “I Swear”
Visual Effects — “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Makeup and Hair — “Frankenstein”
Animated Film — “Zootropolis 2” (released in the U.S. as “Zootopia 2”)
British Short Film — “This is Endometriosis”
British Short Animation — “Two Black Boys in Paradise”
Children’s and Family Film – “Boong”
Documentary – “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”
Outstanding British contribution to cinema — Clare Binns, Creative Director of PictureHouse Cinemas
BAFTA Fellowship — NBCUniversal Entertainment chairperson Donna Langley
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Associated Press writer Hilary Fox contributed to this report.
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