Yahoo Movies The 5 Bafta-nominated movies you have to watch from Kneecap to Conclave
Some of the Bafta-nominated movies are easier to recommend than others
The nominations for the 2025 Baftas have been announced with papal thriller Conclave, crime epic Emilia Perez, and historical drama The Brutalist leading the pack with 12, 11, and nine nominations apiece. A total of 42 films received nominations — including Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, A Complete Unknown, and Wicked — but with so little time available between now and the ceremony itself on 16 February, which movies should you prioritise first?
Some of the nominated movies are more accessible than others, and many are even available to watch at home from the comfort of your sofa, so these are the five movies that Yahoo insists you add to your watchlist now.
Anora
Seven nominations: Best Film, Director, Original Screenplay, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor, Casting, Editing
Written and directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project/Tangerine) Anora tells the rags to riches story of a New York stripper who marries a Russian oligarch's son. The unpredictable wild trip of a movie kicks off with the most incongruous use of Take That's Greatest Day ever committed to film, and takes audiences on an unforgettable rollercoaster of emotions, incorporating slapstick humour, social satire, and copious amounts of drugs.
It drew instant comparisons to Pretty Woman when it won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival in May, and should do for breakout star Mikey Madison's career what that film did for Julia Roberts'.
Likely a tricky watch for the prudish, Anora is wildly funny, and undeniably entertaining.
Anora is in cinemas now, and will be streaming soon.
A Real Pain
Two nominations: Original Screenplay, Supporting Actor
Although Jesse Eisenberg — who wrote and directed A Real Pain — insists his family drama was not written with awards season in mind, it's emerging as a real player, with Kieran Culkin tipped for glory in the Best Supporting Actor category at the Oscars.
Playing in UK cinemas now, A Real Pain is probably the Bafta-nominated movie that requires the least effort to watch on the big screen — alongside Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and historical drama The Brutalist which both hit cinemas on Friday — but it's much easier to recommend than both of those contenders, as it's heartfelt and charming, despite its heavy subject matter.
It follows the story of two brothers who make a trip to Poland as part of a Holocaust tour, as they visit their late grandmother's family home that was lost to the Nazis during World War II.
A Real Pain is in cinemas now.
Conclave
12 nominations: Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Leading Actor, Supporting Actress, Editing, Casting, Costume Design, Cinematography, Original Score, Production Design.
Telling the fictional story of the race to elect a new Pope following the death of a beloved pontiff, the subject matter of Edward Berger's Conclave might sound quite bland, but the movie is anything but. Adapted by Peter Staughan from the Robert Harris novel, the film plays out like a thriller as Ralph Fiennes' Cardinal-Dean Lawrence oversees the election process, in which all the candidates vying to win over their peers all appear to have ulterior motives.
With secrets and scandals emerging at every turn, Conclave is gripping from start to finish, even if the ending stretches credulity to breaking point.
Conclave in cinemas and available to rent or buy on digital download now.
Kneecap
Six nominations: Outstanding British Film, Outstanding Debut, Film Not In The English Language, Casting, Editing
Kneecap follows in the fine tradition of fictionalised rock biopics that play fast and loose with the truth (see also A Hard Day's Knight), and tells the supposed story of Irish-language rap trio Kneecap. Liam Óg "Mo Chara" Ó Hannaidh, Naoise "Móglaí Bap", and JJ "DJ Próvaí" Ó Dochartaigh play themselves — all incredibly making their acting debuts — as they form a group as a way to bring the Irish language to younger audiences.
Riotously funny, and visually madcap, Kneecap is the best rock biopic in years - sorry Robbie, and Bob.
Kneecap is streaming on Prime Video.
The Substance
Five nominations: Director, Original Screnplay, Leading Actress, Makeup & Hair, Sound
Your tolerance for The Substance will depend how well you cope with gore, as Coralie Fergeat's movie features some of the most disturbing and stomach-churning scenes of body horror you're likely to ever see in a Hollywood movie.
However, if you have the stomach for it, the movie is richly rewarding as an astute take on Hollywood's handling of ageing on screen, as leading actresses find themselves frozen out after passing 40, while many leading men are allowed to age gracefully on our screens for decades. It features a career-best performance from Demi Moore who seems likely to go all the way to Oscar glory at the Academy Awards.
The Substance is streaming on MUBI.
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