- EE BAFTA Film Awards 2026 longlist revealed
- One battle after another leads the way with 16 initial nominations
- There’s a glaring omission from this year’s long list
The EE BAFTA Film Awards 2026 longlist has been revealed and, in news that will surprise fans, Kpop Demon Hunters has not received a single nomination.
The Netflix pop culture phenomenon, which was one of the most talked about films of 2025, has been completely ignored by the British Film Academy. In fact, the incredibly popular animated musical (it’s been watched more than 325 million times since its debut on the world’s top streaming service) can’t be considered in notable categories like ‘Children & Family Film,’ ‘Animated Film,’ and ‘Original Music.’
Considering Kpop Demon Hunters is the most-watched Netflix original film of all time and dominated the movie news cycle in the second half of 2025, fans will be absolutely shocked that it didn’t appear on this year’s BAFTAs longlist.
However, there is a valid reason why the Sony Pictures Animation film was left out of the competition.
By deadline, Kpop Demon Hunters did not qualify because it did not meet the British Film Academy’s strict criteria. In fact, according to BAFTA regulations, films must have “at least 10 commercial screenings in the United Kingdom for at least seven days in total.”
Kpop Demon Hunters was released in UK cinemas after its explosion on Netflix: the powerful film hit 264 theaters on the weekend of August 23 and 24, and then a further 568 last Halloween.
However, despite Netflix’s attempts to obtain an exemption under the ruling which states that “a film that has been made available to UK audiences through other patterns or forms of distribution (e.g. event cinema) may be considered for entry”, the BAFTA Film Committee rejected the streaming giant’s application. The committee also dismissed Netflix’s subsequent appeal.
Deadline added that, if Kpop Demon Hunters It had been assigned a day and date of release, that is, it had been released simultaneously in theaters and on Netflix on release day; would have been eligible. However, as things stand, one of the top 33 films of 2025 will continue to see its peers compete for this year’s awards.
Which films are on the longlist for the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards?
Kpop Demon HuntersDespite the omission, many other critically acclaimed, profitable, and fan-favorite films have made it to this year’s longlist.
Leading the charge is One battle after anotherthe action thriller directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who has been nominated 16 times. Hamnet and sinners They follow closely with 14 nominations each, marty supreme has landed 13, and Bugonia and frankenstein each scored 12.
It would be remiss of me to point out that this it’s not the official list of nominees. A second round of voting, which will narrow down the aforementioned list to the final contenders, will take place between today (January 9) and January 20. The official list of nominations will be announced on January 27 before the actual ceremony takes place on February 6.
In the meantime, here’s the full lineup for the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2026:
Best Film
- The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Bugonia
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- I swear
- marty supreme
- Nuremberg
- One battle after another
- sentimental value
- sinners
best british film
- 28 years later
- Ballad of a little player
- The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Bridget Jones: Crazy about the boy
- The Coral
- Die my love
- Goodbye June
- H is for Falcon
- Hamnet
- I swear
- Mr. Burton
- Pillion
- the roses
- Stephen
- War
Best debut by a British writer, director or producer
- the ceremony
- The man in my basement
- mother vera
- my father’s shadow
- Pillion
- Ocean with David Attenborough
- The Shadow Scholars
- Urchin
- A wish in her
- garbage collector
Children and Family Cinema
- Bow
- boong
- elio
- Grow
- How to train your dragon
- lilo and stitch
- little amelia
- Zootopia 2
Movie not in English
- It was just an accident
- Grace
- left handed girl
- There is no other option
- New Vague
- Rental family
- The secret agent
- sentimental value
- sirat
- Hind Rajab’s voice
Documentary
- 2000 meters to Andriivka
- Apocalypse in the tropics
- Becoming Led Zeppelin
- Cover
- The librarians
- Mr. Nobody against Putin
- Ocean with David Attenborough
- One on One: John and Yoko
- The perfect neighbor
- Riefenstahl
Animated movie
- Bow
- The bad guys 2
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
- elio
- little amelia
- Zootopia 2
Director
- A house of dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)
- Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)
- Die my love (Lynne Ramsay)
- Hamnet (Chloé Zhao)
- marty supreme (Josh Safdie)
- One battle after another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Rental family (Hikari)
- sentimental value (Joaquín Trier)
- sinners (Ryan Coogler)
- Hind Rajab’s voice (Kauther Ben Hania)
Original script
- A house of dynamite
- blue moon
- I swear
- Is this on?
- It was just an accident
- marty supreme
- The secret agent
- sentimental value
- sinners
- Arms
Adapted script
- 28 years later
- The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Bugonia
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Nuremberg
- One battle after another
- Pillion
- dream train
- Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Lead actress
- Jessie Buckley Hamnet
- rose byrne, If I had legs I would kick you
- Cynthia Erivo, Evil: forever
- kate hudson, blue sung song
- chase infinity, One battle after another
- Jennifer Lorenzo, Die my love
- Renate Reinsve, sentimental value
- Andrea Riseborough, Dragon-fly
- emma stone, Bugonia
- Tessa Thompson, Hedda
Main actor
- Roberto Aramayo, I swear
- Timothée Chalamet, marty supreme
- Russell Crowe Nuremberg
- Leonardo DiCaprio, One battle after another
- Joel Edgerton dream train
- Ethan Hawke blue moon
- Michael B. Jordan, sinners
- Harry Melling, Pillion
- Cillian Murphy Stephen
- Jesse Plemons Bugonia
supporting actress
- Odessa A’zion, marty supreme
- Brenda Blethyn Dragon-fly
- Ariana Grande, Evil: forever
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, sentimental value
- Amy Madigan Arms
- Wunmi Mosaku, sinners
- Carey Mulligan The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Gwyneth Paltrow marty supreme
- Teyana Taylor, One battle after another
- emily watson, Hamnet
Supporting actor
- Benicio Del Toro, One battle after another
- Jacob Elordi, frankenstein
- Delroy Lindo, sinners
- Pablo Mescal, Hamnet
- Peter Mullan, I swear
- Sean Penn One battle after another
- Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
- Andres Scott, blue moon
- Alexander Skarsgard, Pillion
- Stellan Skarsgard, sentimental value
Foundry
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- A house of dynamite
- I swear
- marty supreme
- One battle after another
- Pillion
- sentimental value
- sinners
- sirat
Cinematography
- Ballad of a little player
- Bugonia
- Die my love
- F1
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- marty supreme
- One battle after another
- sinners
- dream train
costume design
- Bugonia
- Downton Abbey: the grand finale
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- marty supreme
- New Vague
- Nuremberg
- One battle after another
- sinners
Edition
- 28 years later
- Bugonia
- F1
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- A house of dynamite
- marty supreme
- One battle after another
- sinners
- Arms
Makeup and Hairstyle
- Bugonia
- Downton Abbey: the grand finale
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- marty supreme
- Nuremberg
- One battle after another
- sinners
- The crushing machine
- Evil: forever
Original score
- 28 years later
- The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Bugonia
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- marty supreme
- Nuremberg
- One battle after another
- sinners
- Evil: forever
production design
- Ballad of a little player
- Bugonia
- The fantastic four: first steps
- frankenstein
- Hamnet
- marty supreme
- Mickey 17
- One battle after another
- sinners
- Evil: forever
Special visual effects
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- F1
- frankenstein
- How to train your dragon
- Jurassic World Rebirth
- The lost bus
- Mickey 17
- Superman
- Tron: Ares
- Evil: forever
Sound
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Bugonia
- F1
- frankenstein
- The lost bus
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
- One battle after another
- sinners
- War
- Evil: forever
British animated short film
- Brain space
- Cardboard
- Death Peak
- Ovarian performance
- Solstice
- Two black boys in paradise
British short film
- 22+1
- blonde
- Magid/Zafar
- Neil Armstrong and the Langholmites
- nostalgia
- The pearl comb
- terence
- This is endometriosis
- Welcome home freckles
- wonderful wall
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