Baftas 2026: One Battle After Another leads with six wins as Robert Aramayo shocks best actor field

The winners of the Baftas 2026 were unveiled in a night that saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another pick up six trophies while I Swear, Sinners and Frankenstein earned three apiece and Hamnet secured two awards. The results reshaped expectations in key categories and left several high-profile contenders, including Timothée Chalamet, without the prizes they had been tipped for.

Baftas 2026: One Battle After Another’s six awards

Paul Thomas Anderson’s counterculture comedy One Battle After Another emerged as the ceremony’s most honoured film, converting the most nominations into the most wins. The film entered the evening with 14 nominations and left with six awards, including best film and best director for Anderson, as well as wins in cinematography, editing, supporting actor and adapted screenplay. Jonny Greenwood received credit for the film’s music and several lead performers and contributors associated with the title — Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, Chase Infiniti, Sean Penn and Sara Murphy — were present at the ceremony.

Paul Thomas Anderson and the tribute to Adam Somner

Accepting best director, Paul Thomas Anderson framed the victory in personal terms, paying tribute to producer Adam Somner, who died in 2024. Anderson said Somner had learned of his illness three weeks into production yet stayed through the shoot, a circumstance Anderson described as making the project and its success feel particularly poignant. The director also defended the state of cinema and celebrated collaborators on the film’s team.

Jessie Buckley and Hamnet’s two awards

Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, won two Baftas, among them outstanding British film and a leading actress prize for Jessie Buckley. Buckley became the first Irish performer to take the leading actress Bafta, earning praise for an intimate portrayal of a mother grieving the death of her 11-year-old son. She spoke of storytelling, credited Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell for the role and noted the personal significance of parenting while working, saying her daughter had been on the road with her since she was six weeks old.

Robert Aramayo’s upset in best actor and I Swear’s recognition

In one of the ceremony’s largest surprises, Robert Aramayo won best actor for I Swear, the British biopic about writer and campaigner John Davidson that explores Tourette syndrome. Aramayo beat contenders including Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke and Michael B. Jordan. Earlier in the evening he had also been honoured with the EE Bafta rising star award; I Swear had been nominated in five categories and additionally claimed the prize for casting. Aramayo’s emotional acceptance reflected the unexpected nature of his victory.

Sinners, Frankenstein and other category winners

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, described as a vampire thriller that examines racial and cultural erasure, won three Baftas: best original screenplay, best original score and best supporting actress. Frankenstein likewise picked up three awards. Other individual winners named at the ceremony included Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value and Carey Mulligan for The Ballad of Wallis Island. Claire Binns, the creative director of Picturehouse Cinemas and Picturehouse Entertainment, was also singled out as a winner in a distinct honour, illustrating recognition for both filmmaking and exhibition contributions. The event’s rising star distinction was noted as separate from the traditional golden Bafta trophies.

Red carpet names and broader implications

The red carpet featured high-profile arrivals such as Timothée Chalamet, Jessie Buckley and Leonardo DiCaprio, underscoring the night’s mix of expected glamour and unexpected results. What makes this notable is how a film with 14 nominations translated that scale of recognition into six wins, while a smaller British biopic turned the spotlight on a previously emerging actor in Robert Aramayo. The pattern of multiple winners — One Battle After Another with six, I Swear, Sinners and Frankenstein with three each, and Hamnet with two — frames the Baftas 2026 as an awards season inflection point that will influence conversations leading into March’s further industry prizes.