BAFTA Film Awards: ‘Oppenheimer’ Wins Seven Honors, ‘Poor Things’ Gets Five (2024)

“And the BAFTA goes to… Oppenheimer” Those words were on BAFTA Film Awards ceremony presenters’ lips a total of seven times in London on Sunday at the ceremony, hosted by Scottish actorDavid Tennant(Doctor Who,Inside Man) at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in the British capital.

Those included the lips of Michael J. Fox, who unveiled the best film award for Oppenheimer after coming on stage to a huge welcome and standing ovation.

The wins for Oppenheimer included the best actor award for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor nod for Robert Downey Jr., director award for Christopher Nolan and best film, for Nolan and other members of the film team. The two BAFTAs for Nolan mean that third time was the charm for the big-name British export who had previously never won a British Academy award.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ black-comedy science fantasyPoor Things, which had been nominated 11 times, also had a strong BAFTA evening, winning five of the famous BAFTA mask trophies, including one for Emma Stone as best actress.Jonathan Glazer’sThe Zone of Interest was honored three times out of nine noms.

But Martin Scorsese’s Western crime dramaKillers of the Flower Moon, which had also reachednine nods, ended up winless, as did Barbie and Maestro.

German star Sandra Hüller also left without a trophy after having been nominated for The Zone of Interest in the best supporting actress category and as best leading actress for her role inAnatomy of a Fall. In the end, the best supporting actress trophy went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers, while Stone was honored with the best actress BAFTA. The latter’s win in a very competitive field of nominees, which included Fantasia Barrino(The Color Purple) and Vivian Oparah(Rye Lane) means that BAFTA viewers continue to have to wait for the first-ever Black best actress winner.

Stone enchanted the crowd with an acceptance speech, in which she thanked her mother, for giving her life and being the best person she knows, and her dialect coach, for not laughing when he had to teach her how to say “water” the British rather than the American way, given that her character was British. “Thank you, England, for accepting me,” she added.

She also drew laughs when she thanked Poor Thing screenwriter Tony McNamara for the line “I must go punch that baby.” Said Stone: “It was life-changing for me.”

Downey Jr. also had the BAFTA crowd in stitches with his acceptance speech that ran through several famous names he has encountered during his career. “When I was 15, I wanted to be Peter O’Toole,” he shared. “When I was 25, I worked for Richard Attenbourgh and Anthony Hopkins. When I was 35, I finally understood why Dickie thought Tony would be a better role model for me than Peter. He continued: “I then played a guy named Tony in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) for about 12 years. And then recently, that dude Chris Nolan suggested I attempt an understated approach as a last-ditch effort to perhaps resurrect my dwindling credibility.”

Another memorable moments of the night was the best animation film win for The Boy and The Heronfrom Japanese anime legend Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki. The winners weren’t in attendance though.

But actor-writer-director Samantha Morton, known for playing Alpha in The Walking Dead, was on hand to accept the BAFTA Fellowship, the organization’s highest honor, dedicating it to children in need.

Meanwhile, several performances earned rave reviews. Singer-songwriterSophie Ellis-Bextor performedher 2001 smash hit “Murder on the Dancefloor,” featured in Emerald Fennell’s BAFTA-nominated filmSaltburn, having the audience moving along to the beats in their seats.

And two Ted Lassostars brought very different moods to the stage. Nick Mohammed, known as the Richmond FC’s “wunderkind” Nate Shelley, performed a few minutes of comedy as Mr. Swallow, his alter ego from England’s Leeds –on roller skates. And Hannah Waddinghamsang a very emotional and heartfelt rendition of “Time After Time,” adding a somber note to the proceedings.

Last year, Netflix’s German antiwar epic All Quiet on the Western Frontmade good on its record number ofBAFTAnominations with a haul of seven wins, including for best film, best director and best adapted screenplay.

The 77th BAFTA film awards ceremony kicked off late Sunday afternoon local time.BAFTA chair Sara Putt welcomed attendees by highlighting that BAFTA was working with a focus on “championing talent,” emphasizing that “we constantly work to remove barriers.” She also welcomed Prince William, the Prince of Wales, who serves as president of BAFTA in the audience and wished improving health to his wife Kate Middleton and King Charles III.

Putt also said the past year has been one of “immense challenge for our industry and the world.” But she added with delight that audiences rediscovered cinemas “turbo-boosted by Barbenheimer.”

A video showing Tennant doing video calls with the likes of his Good Omens and Staged co-star Michael Sheen, who asked Tennant to dog sit, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hiddleston and Judi Dench followed. The host then hit the stage, dressed in a kilt, with Sheen’s dog in hand and playing surprised to see Sheen sitting in the front row. In the end, the host dropped the dog in Sheen’s lap.

In his opening monologue, Tennant quipped that the stars in their nice outfits reminded him of characters from Saltburn, but he added that he hoped the ceremony wouldn’t end like the film.

Check out the winners in each category, highlighted in bold, below.

Best Film

ANATOMY OF A FALLMarie-Ange Luciani, David Thion
THE HOLDOVERSMark Johnson
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOONDan Friedkin, Daniel Lupi, Martin Scorsese, Bradley Thomas
OPPENHEIMERChristopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas (WINNER)
POOR THINGSEd Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone

Leading Actress

FANTASIA BARRINOThe Color Purple
SANDRA HÜLLERAnatomy of a Fall
CAREY MULLIGANMaestro
VIVIAN OPARAHRye Lane
MARGOT ROBBIEBarbie
EMMA STONEPoor Things (WINNER)

Leading Actor

BRADLEY COOPERMaestro
COLMAN DOMINGORustin
PAUL GIAMATTIThe Holdovers
BARRY KEOGHANSaltburn
CILLIAN MURPHYOppenheimer (WINNER)
TEO YOOPast Lives

EE Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)

PHOEBE DYNEVOR
AYO EDEBIRI
JACOB ELORDI
MIA MCKENNA-BRUCE (WINNER)
SOPHIE WILDE

Director

ALL OF US STRANGERSAndrew Haigh
ANATOMY OF A FALLJustine Triet
THE HOLDOVERSAlexander Payne
MAESTROBradley Cooper
OPPENHEIMERChristopher Nolan (WINNER)
THE ZONE OF INTERESTJonathan Glazer

Make Up & Hair

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOONKay Georgiou, Thomas Nellen
MAESTROSian Grigg, Kay Georgiou, Kazu Hiro, Lori McCoy-Bell
NAPOLEONJana Carboni, Francesco Pegoretti, Satinder Chumber, Julia Vernon
OPPENHEIMERLuisa Abel, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Jason Hamer, Ahou Mofid
POOR THINGSNadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, Josh Weston (WINNER)

Costume Design

BARBIEJacqueline Durran
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOONJacqueline West
NAPOLEONDave Crossman, Janty Yates
OPPENHEIMEREllen Mirojnick
POOR THINGSHolly Waddington (WINNER)

Outstanding British Film

ALL OF US STRANGERSAndrew Haigh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
HOW TO HAVE SEXMolly Manning Walker, Emily Leo, Ivana MacKinnon, Konstantinos Kontovrakis
NAPOLEONRidley Scott, Mark Huffam, Kevin J. Walsh, David Scarpa
THE OLD OAKKen Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
POOR THINGSYorgos Lanthimos, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone, Tony McNamara
RYE LANERaine Allen-Miller, Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo, Damian Jones, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia
SALTBURNEmerald Fennell, Josey McNamara, Margot Robbie
SCRAPPERCharlotte Regan, Theo Barrowclough
WONKAPaul King, Alexandra Derbyshire, David Heyman, Simon Farnaby
THE ZONE OF INTERESTJonathan Glazer, James Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska (WINNER)

British Short Animation

CRAB DAYRoss Stringer, Bartosz Stanislawek, Aleksandra Sykulak (WINNER)
VISIBLE MENDINGSamantha Moore, Tilley Bancroft
WILD SUMMONKarni Arieli, Saul Freed, Jay Woolley

British Short Film

FESTIVAL OF SLAPSAbdou Cissé, Cheri Darbon, George Telfer
GORKAJoe Weiland, Alex Jefferson
JELLYFISH AND LOBSTERYasmin Afifi, Elizabeth Rufai (WINNER)
SUCH A LOVELY DAYSimon Woods, Polly Stokes, Emma Norton, Kate Phibbs
YELLOWElham Ehsas, Dina Mousawi, Azeem Bhati, Yiannis Manolopoulos

Production Design

BARBIESarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOONJack Fisk, Adam Willis
OPPENHEIMERRuth De Jong, Claire Kaufman
POOR THINGSShona Heath, James Price, Zsuzsa Mihalek (WINNER)
THE ZONE OF INTERESTChris Oddy, Joanna Maria Kuś, Katarzyna Sikora

Sound

FERRARIAngelo Bonanni, Tony Lamberti, Andy Nelson, Lee Orloff, Bernard Weiser
MAESTRORichard King, Steve Morrow, Tom Ozanich, Jason Ruder, Dean Zupancic
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING PART ONEChris Burdon, James H. Mather, Chris Munro, Mark Taylor
OPPENHEIMERWillie Burton, Richard King, Kevin O’Connell, Gary A. Rizzo
THE ZONE OF INTERESTJohnnie Burn, Tarn Willers (WINNER)

Original Score

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOONRobbie Robertson
OPPENHEIMERLudwig Göransson (WINNER)
POOR THINGSJerskin Fendrix
SALTBURNAnthony Willis
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSEDaniel Pemberton

Documentary

20 DAYS IN MARIUPOLMstyslav Chernov, Raney Aronson Rath (WINNER)
AMERICAN SYMPHONYMatthew Heineman, Lauren Domino, Joedan Okun
BEYOND UTOPIAMadeleine Gavin, Rachel Cohen, Jana Edelbaum
STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIEDavis Guggenheim, Jonathan King, Annetta Marion
WHAM!Chris Smith

Adapted Screenplay

ALL OF US STRANGERSAndrew Haigh
AMERICAN FICTIONCord Jefferson (WINNER)
OPPENHEIMERChristopher Nolan
POOR THINGSTony McNamara
THE ZONE OF INTERESTJonathan Glazer

Supporting Actress

EMILY BLUNTOppenheimer
DANIELLE BROOKSThe Color Purple
CLAIRE FOYAll of Us Strangers
SANDRA HÜLLERThe Zone of Interest
ROSAMUND PIKESaltburn
DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPHThe Holdovers (WINNER)

Supporting Actor

ROBERT DE NIROKillers of the Flower Moon
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.Oppenheimer (WINNER)
JACOB ELORDISaltburn
RYAN GOSLINGBarbie
PAUL MESCALAll of Us Strangers
DOMINIC SESSAThe Holdovers

Cinematography

KILLERS OF THE FLOWERMOON Rodrigo Prieto
MAESTROMatthew Libatique
OPPENHEIMERHoyte van Hoytema (WINNER)
POOR THINGSRobbie Ryan
THE ZONE OF INTERESTLukasz Zal

Editing

ANATOMY OF A FALLLaurent Sénéchal
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOONThelma Schoonmaker
OPPENHEIMERJennifer Lame (WINNER)
POOR THINGSYorgos Mavropsaridis
THE ZONE OF INTERESTPaul Watts

Casting

ALL OF US STRANGERSKahleen Crawford
ANATOMY OF A FALLCynthia Arra
THE HOLDOVERSSusan Shopmaker (WINNER)
HOW TO HAVE SEXIsabella Odoffin
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOONEllen Lewis, Rene Haynes

Film Not in the English Language

20 DAYS IN MARIUPOLMstyslav Chernov, Raney Aronson Rath
ANATOMY OF A FALLJustine Triet, Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion
PAST LIVESCeline Song, David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
SOCIETY OF THE SNOWJ.A. Bayona, Belen Atienza
THE ZONE OF INTERESTJonathan Glazer (WINNER)

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

BLUE BAG LIFELisa Selby (Director), Rebecca Lloyd-Evans (Director, Producer), Alex Fry (Producer)
BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENTChristopher Sharp (Director) [also directed Moses Bwayo]
EARTH MAMASavanah Leaf (Writer, Director, Producer), Shirley O’Connor (Producer), Medb Riordan (Producer) (WINNER)
HOW TO HAVE SEXMolly Manning Walker (Writer, Director)
IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?Ella Glendining (Director)

Animated Film

THE BOY AND THE HERONHayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki (WINNER)
CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGETSam Fell, Leyla Hobart, Steve Pegram
ELEMENTALPeter Sohn, Denise Ream
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSEJoaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Avi Arad, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, Christina Steinberg

Special Visual Effects

THE CREATORJonathan Bullock, Charmaine Chan, Ian Comley, Jay Cooper
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3Theo Bialek, Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING PART ONENeil Corbould, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland, Alex Wuttke
NAPOLEONHenry Badgett, Neil Corbould, Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet
POOR THINGSSimon Hughes (WINNER)

Original Screenplay

ANATOMY OF A FALLJustine Triet, Arthur Harari (WINNER)
BARBIEGreta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
THE HOLDOVERSDavid Hemingson
MAESTROBradley Cooper, Josh Singer
PAST LIVESCeline Song