There’s a lot to unpack with these nominations. First, it should be noted, that BAFTA never nominates more than five films for Best Picture. They are one of the few groups who have resisted that urge, thus the five nominated here are also strong contenders for Best Picture at the Oscar along with others that weren’t cited. Second, there’s a pronounced nationality effect. That means films like Darkest Hour, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Paddington 2, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, among a handful of others, are going to be over-sampled here. Third, while they have a tendency to recognize Brit-themed films, especially ones that resonate with them historically (Darkest Hour), they tend to not get or care about films that resonate with American audiences, especially of a political or historical nature. Thus, The Post had a terrible day for a historical film, as did Get Out and Lady Bird from a political perspective.

Some films undboutedly got a boost from these nominations, namely Call Me by Your Name, which some had thought was a bit on the bubble lately; Phantom Thread, which also had some concern building around its recent exclusions; Blade Runner 2049, which came on strong with eight nominations and, had it been in Best Picture, would have tied the two British Film nominees for second-most nominations, and did manage to pick up the all-important Best Director citation; and I, Tonya, which has made the kind of late surge that a studio desperatly wants, as long as it’s not TOO late.

Nominations Tallies

(12) The Shape of Water
(9) Darkest Hour, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
(8) Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk
(5) I, Tonya
(4) Call Me by Your Name, Phantom Thread
(3) Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Lady Bird, Paddington 2

The Nominations

Best Film

Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Animated Film

Coco
Loving Vincent
My Life as a Courgette

Best Director

Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
Luca Guadagnino – Call Me by Your Name
Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
Denis Villeneuve – Blade Runner 2049

Best Actor

Jamie Bell – Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour

Best Actress

Annette Bening – Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird

Best Supporting Actor

Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project
Hugh Grant – Paddington 2
Woody Harrelson – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Plummer – All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress

Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Kristin Scott Thomas – Darkest Hour
Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water

Best Original Screenplay

Get Out
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Adapted Screenplay

Call Me by Your Name
The Death of Stalin
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Molly’s Game
Paddington 2

Best Original Music

Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water

Best Editing

Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Cinematography

Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Production Design

Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water

Best Costume Design

Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
I, Tonya
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water

Best Makeup & Hair

Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
I, Tonya
Victoria & Abdul
Wonder

Best Sound

Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Special Visual Effects

Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes

Best Film Not in the English Language

Elle
First They Killed My Father
The Handmaiden
Loveless
The Salesman

Best Documentary

City of Ghosts
I Am Not Your Negro
Icarus
An Inconvenient Sequel
Jane

Best British Short Animation

Have Heart
Mamoon
Poles Apart

Best British Short Film

Aamir
Cowboy Dave
A Drowning Man
Work
Wren Boys

Best British Film

Darkest Hour
The Death of Stalin
God’s Own Country
Lady Macbeth
Paddington 2
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Rising Star Award

Timothée Chalamet
Daniel Kaluuya
Josh O’Connor
Florence Pugh
Tessa Thompson

Outstanding Debut

The Ghoul
I Am Not a Witch
Jawbone
Kingdom of Us
Lady Macbeth

British Academy of Film & Television Arts Data

Year Founded: 1947
First Awards: 1959 (59)