Awards season thought it had its narrative locked. The Golden Globes crowned their winners, the Oscars confirmed the favorites, and then BAFTA blew up the script. One of the biggest shocks in the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards nominations was not who made the list, but who did not. 

Because in a twist nobody had on their bingo card, one of the Oscars’ most buzzed-about contenders, KPop Demon Hunters, was nowhere to be found.

Kpop Demon Hunters was completely shut out from the BAFTA nominations that were announced on January 27,, instantly turning into the season’s most high-profile snub. As the BBC reported, BAFTA confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters failed to meet specific eligibility requirements tied to UK theatrical exhibition and release timing. Despite its strong Oscars momentum, the Netflix-backed project did not qualify under BAFTA’s rules governing commercial cinema screenings and national release windows.

The decision reflects BAFTA’s continued emphasis on traditional theatrical runs, BBC further noted. While the Academy Awards allows streaming-first films to qualify with limited releases in select markets, BAFTA maintains stricter standards around commercial cinema play in the UK. As a result, KPop Demon Hunters became a rare casualty of awards season bureaucracy rather than voter taste.

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The snub was not the only curveball. The 2026 BAFTA Film Awards nominations revealed a season split between heavyweight prestige cinema and a few conspicuous omissions.

The BAFTA nominations that were announced by David Jonsson and Aimee Lou Wood at BAFTA’s headquarters started, with One Battle After Another leading the pack at 14 nominations, followed closely by Sinners with 13. Marty Supreme and Hamnet picked up 11 each, while Frankenstein landed eight and I Swear, a biographical drama about Scottish activist John Davidson, gained five nominations.

On the flip side, KPop Demon Hunters was not the only high-profile absentee. Several streaming-driven titles with strong US awards momentum also failed to appear. While the Oscars continue to evolve with digital-first cinema, BAFTA remains loyal to theatrical tradition, even if that means shutting out some of the most globally popular films of the year.

For KPop Demon Hunters, the BAFTA snub may sting, but it hardly dents its Oscars chances. If anything, it has turned the film into the season’s most talked-about absentee. 

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What do you think? Should BAFTA modernize its rules, or is theatrical exclusivity still essential for film awards?