In an unexpected twist, the blockbuster fantasy film BARBIE has been notably absent from the Best Film category nominations for the upcoming Baftas, despite claiming the title of the highest-grossing movie of 2023 with an impressive £1.1 billion at the box office.

When the nominations were revealed today, BARBIE secured only five nods, falling far behind the atomic bomb biopic Oppenheimer, which leads the pack with an impressive 13 nominations, including a Leading Actor nomination for Cillian Murphy.

Surprisingly, Barbie’s creator, Greta Gerwig, failed to secure a nomination in the director category. However, the film’s leading lady, Margot Robbie, managed to secure a spot in the competitive Leading Actress competition. Robbie will be vying for the coveted award against strong contenders such as Emma Stone for Poor Things and Carey Mulligan for Maestro.

Poor Things, a film exploring the sexual awakening of a revived woman, emerged as the second-most nominated film for the event with a total of 11 nominations. Martin Scorsese’s epic three-and-a-half-hour Western crime drama Killers Of The Flower Moon and the historical drama The Zone Of Interest both earned nine nominations each.

Other notable contenders include Anatomy Of A Fall, The Holdovers, and Maestro, each with seven nominations. All Of Us Strangers secured six, while Saltburn matched BARBIE with five nominations.

The Leading Actor category sees Barry Keoghan nominated for Saltburn and Bradley Cooper, who both starred in and directed Maestro, as fierce competitors.

In the supporting actor and actress categories, the competition is equally fierce, with nods for Paul Mescal, Ryan Gosling, Robert De Niro, Claire Foy, Rosamund Pike, and Emily Blunt. The star-studded ceremony, set to be hosted by David Tennant, is scheduled to take place at London’s Royal Festival Hall on February 18.

Despite the glamour and anticipation surrounding the event, Bafta faced criticism from actress Kate Beckinsale, 50, who accused the organisation of insensitivity. Beckinsale revealed in an online post that Bafta initially declined to guarantee her TV director step–father, Roy Battersby, a Bafta lifetime achievement recipient who passed away last week at the age of 87, would be featured in the night’s In Memoriam segment. In a heartfelt plea, Beckinsale expressed her distress, stating, “That has broken my heart all over again. I am paralyzed, sick, and sickened, and I will honour him and his work every day of my life.” Bafta later confirmed that A Touch Of Frost director Roy Battersby would indeed be included in the In Memoriam segment.