Joker leads the 2020 BAFTAs with 11 nominations, including Best Film
Joker dominated the 2020 British Academy Film Awards nominations with an impressive 11 nods, although Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is maintaining its position as Oscar frontrunner.
The nominations for the 2020 BAFTAs, the British equivalent of the Oscars, were announced Tuesday, and Joker scored nominations for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and more. This comes after the Golden Globe Awards, where the film took two prizes and was nominated for best drama film. 1917 ultimately took this top award.
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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood scored 10 BAFTA nominations, including a surprise supporting actress nomination for Margot Robbie, who has two nods in that category; the other is for her performance in Bombshell. The Irishman also earned 10 BAFTA nominations.
Oscar pundits each year keep eye on the BAFTAs as an Oscars precursor, as there is some overlap between the two voting bodies, The New York Times notes. The BAFTAs and the Oscars don't always agree on their choice for the top film award, but the Best Picture Academy Award winner almost always scores a BAFTA nomination for Best Film.
Like the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs nominated no female directors this year, snubbing Little Women's Greta Gerwig in the Best Director category. The organization also received criticism for nominating only white actors.
The award season website Gold Derby keeps track of 35 significant Oscar precursor nominations and wins including the BAFTAs and found that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has the most of any other at this point with 15, with the site writing it's the "Best Picture favorite heading into Oscar nominations." The Irishman has 13, while Joker has 12.
The Academy Award nominations will be announced on Jan. 13.
