Oppenheimer and Poor Creatures are the big winners at the 2024 BAFTAs. The vibrant British ceremony was hosted by David Tennant, in the presence of Prince William and highlighted by a live performance from Sophie Ellis-Bextor with Murder on the Dance Floor.
The 77th BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) ceremony took place on February 18, 2024, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Following the Golden Globes in January, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer scooped seven BAFTAs, while Greta Gerwig’s Barbie went home empty-handed, despite having won two statues at the Golden Globes.
The British ceremony, broadcast on the BBC, was hosted by David Tennant, star of Doctor Who and Good Omens.
The Success of Oppenheimer
Often contrasted with Barbie due to their identical release dates and diametrically opposed aesthetics, Nolan’s film emerged as the grand winner of the 2024 BAFTAs. Nominated 13 times, it won awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Leading Actor (Cillian Murphy), and Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.). Greta Gerwig’s film left empty-handed despite its 5 nominations.
Oppenheimer generated nearly $1 billion at the box office on a $100 million budget. The film is based on the biographical work by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin about Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. “My film ends on a note of despair. But with this trophy, I want to pay tribute to the efforts of these men and women who fight for peace and show how necessary it is. Since 1967, much progress was made before recently starting to move in the wrong direction again,” highlighted Christopher Nolan while holding his very first BAFTA trophy.
Poor Creatures
In second place, Yórgos Lánthimos’s unique work, nominated in 11 categories, won 5 awards for Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costumes, and notably, Best Actress for Emma Stone. The film incorporates elements of the Frankenstein tale, transporting Bella (Emma Stone) on an initiatory adventure that alternates between raw violence and a philosophical search for the relationship between creator and creature.
Emma Stone walked the BAFTA red carpet in a dress by Louis Vuitton.
Sandra Hüller did not manage to win Best Actress for The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, which, however, won three awards out of its nine nominations, namely Best British Film, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Sound.
From France, Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet won Best Original Screenplay out of its seven nominations.
Celebrities and Showtime
The host, David Tennant, called upon his Good Omens co-star, Michael Sheen, for the opening act. He asked him to take care of his dog, Bark Ruffalo (a nod to Mark Ruffalo who stars in Poor Creatures, with bark meaning to bark in English).
Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor performed her 2001 single, Murder on the Dance Floor, which made a comeback in the Top 50 thanks to Saltburn, a dark comedy released in November 2023 with 5 BAFTA nominations.
Prince William, honorary president of the Bafta since 2010, attended the ceremony without Princess Kate Middleton, who is currently recuperating after undergoing an abdominal operation last month. The prince was alongside his friend Cate Blanchett during the show.
The BAFTAs have set the tone for the upcoming César Awards ceremony in France, scheduled for February 23, and the Oscars, on March 10.
Nominee List by Category
Best Film
Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
Winter Break by Alexander Payne
Poor Creatures by Yórgos Lánthimos
Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan
Killers Of The Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese
Best British Film
Without Ever Knowing Us by Andrew Haigh
How To Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker
Napoleon by Ridley Scott
The Old Oak by Ken Loach
Poor Creatures by Yórgos Lánthimos
You and Me? by Raine Allen Miller
Saltburn by Emerald Fennell
Scrapper by Charlotte Regan
Wonka by Paul King
The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer
Best Direction
Andrew Haigh, Without Ever Knowing Us
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Alexander Payne, Winter Break
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
Best Actress
Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Vivian Oparah, You and Me?
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Emma Stone, Poor Creatures
Best Actor
Colman Domingo, Bayard Rustin
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Paul Giamatti, Winter Break
Barry Keoghan, Saltburn
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Teo Yoo, Past Lives
Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Claire Foy, Without Ever Knowing Us
Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest
Rosamund Pike, Saltburn
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Winter Break
Best Supporting Actor
Robert De Niro, Killers Of The Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer
Jacob Elordi, Saltburn
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Paul Mescal, Without Ever Knowing Us
Dominic Sessa, Winter Break
Best Animated Film
The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki
Elemental by Peter Sohn
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin Thompson
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget by Sam Fell
Best Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
Barbie, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
Winter Break, David Hemingson
Maestro, Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer
Past Lives, Celine Song
Best Adapted Screenplay
Without Ever Knowing Us, Andrew Haigh
Poor Creatures, Tony McNamara
The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer
American Fiction, Cord Jefferson
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan
Best Original Score
Killers Of The Flower Moon, Robbie Robertson
Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson
Poor Creatures, Jerskin Fendrix
Saltburn, Anthony Willis
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Daniel Pemberton
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Cover Photo: David Tennant©BAFTA
