Get Ready for Bafta 2026: Stars, Showdowns, and Surprises Await!

The Bafta Film Awards are almost here, and London is getting ready for a night full of movie stars and excitement. This event is the biggest night for films in the UK, and it always brings together some of the most famous names in the industry. This year, actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti, and Teyana Taylor are all nominated for their roles in the movie One Battle After Another. They were seen together at a promotional event in London last year, looking stylish in their jackets and ready for the big night.

The ceremony will take place on Sunday at the Royal Festival Hall, with Alan Cumming as the host. He is taking over from David Tennant, who hosted the last two years. People in the UK can watch the show on BBC One starting at 7:00 PM, while viewers in the US can tune in on E! at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. The ceremony actually starts two hours before it is shown on TV, so the winners might be announced online or in the news before you see them on television.

This year, the movie One Battle After Another leads the nominations with 14, making it the top contender. Sinners, a vampire-horror film directed by Ryan Coogler, follows closely with 13 nominations. Other films to watch out for include Hamnet, a drama about William Shakespeare, and Marty Supreme, a biopic about a table tennis player. Both Hamnet and Marty Supreme have 11 nominations each.

In the acting categories, Timothée Chalamet is the favorite to win best actor for his role in Marty Supreme, but he faces tough competition from Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B Jordan, Ethan Hawke, Robert Aramayo, and Jesse Plemons. Jessie Buckley is expected to win best actress for playing Shakespeare's wife in Hamnet, but she will have to beat Rose Byrne, Renate Reinsve, Emma Stone, Chase Infiniti, and Kate Hudson.

British talent is also being recognized this year. Wunmi Mosaku is nominated for best supporting actress for her role in Sinners, and Robert Aramayo is the only British actor up for best actor for his performance in I Swear, a film about Tourette's campaigner John Davidson. The best supporting actress category has several British nominees, including Emily Watson and Carey Mulligan. Scottish actor Peter Mullan is nominated for best supporting actor, along with Stellan Skarsgård, Paul Mescal, Benicio del Toro, Jacob Elordi, and Sean Penn.

The Baftas also have special categories to honor British films and new British filmmakers. Movies like I Swear, 28 Days Later, Pillion, H is for Hawk, Hamnet, and The Ballad of Wallis Island are all recognized. Even though Wicked: For Good did not get any Oscar nominations, it received two Bafta nominations for costume design and make-up and hair.

Winning a Bafta can be a good sign for the Oscars, which are coming up next month. In the past two years, all the Bafta acting winners also won at the Oscars. In fact, 13 of the last 15 Bafta best actor winners and 10 of the last 12 best actress winners went on to win at the Oscars.

There will also be performances during the ceremony. K-Pop singers Jae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami will perform their hit song Golden from the animated movie KPop Demon Hunters. Jessie Ware will sing during the In Memoriam section, which honors artists who have passed away in the last year.

Many famous people will be presenting awards, including Aimee Lou Wood, Bryan Cranston, Cillian Murphy, Riz Ahmed, Delroy Lindo, Gillian Anderson, Glenn Close, Olivia Cooke, Patrick Dempsey, Sadie Sink, Stormzy, Alicia Vikander, and Little Simz. Some nominees, like Michael B Jordan and Kate Hudson, will also present awards. Dame Donna Langley, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, will receive the Bafta Fellowship honor for her contributions to the film industry.

With so many talented actors, exciting films, and special performances, the 2026 Bafta Film Awards promise to be a memorable night for everyone who loves movies.