Oppenheimer, a three-hour epic about the making of the atomic bomb during World War Two, was the big winner at the BAFTAs on Sunday, picking up seven prizes in total.
One of the highest-grossing films of 2023, it won the night’s top prize – best film. It also picked up awards for leading actor Cillian Murphy, supporting actor Robert Downey Jnr, editing, cinematography, original score and director for Christopher Nolan, his first such BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award.
“I have so many people to thank for this, an incredible cast … an incredible crew,” Nolan said in his acceptance speech.
Emma Stone picked up the leading actress award for sex-charged gothic comedy Poor Things, which won five prizes overall.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the supporting actress prize for her role in The Holdovers, a comedy set in a boys’ boarding school.
Courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall won the first prize of the night, original screenplay.
The Zone of Interest, about the commandant of Auschwitz and his family living next to the Nazi death camp, won prizes for outstanding British film, the film not in the English language and sound.
Oppenheimer tops Oscar nominees, with Barbie, Poor Things also going for gold
Oppenheimer tops Oscar nominees, with Barbie, Poor Things also going for gold
Best documentary went to 20 Days in Mariupol, journalist Mstyslav Chernov’s personal account of the siege of the Ukrainian city in 2022.
“This is not about us, this about Ukraine, about people of Mariupol … the day before yesterday another Ukrainian city has fallen … many cities before that,” Chernov said in his acceptance speech.
“So the story of Mariupol is a symbol of everything that happened, a symbol of struggle.”
The guest list at the Royal Festival Hall by the River Thames in central London also included BAFTA president Prince William and the ceremony was hosted by Scottish actor David Tennant.
Before the ceremony, nominees including Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jnr, Rosamund Pike, Ryan Gosling and Ayo Edebiri all walked the red carpet along with presenters Andrew Scott, Cate Blanchett and David Beckham.
The ceremony included musical performances by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, singing Time After Time, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, singing her 2001 hit Murder on the Dancefloor, which shot back up the charts after featuring in Saltburn.
Actress Samantha Morton received the academy’s highest honour, the BAFTA Fellowship, and film curator June Givanni, founder of the June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive, was honoured for outstanding British contribution to cinema.
Additional reporting by Associated Press