Despite being one of the most successful films of the year, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was considered by many to be snubbed at the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, a move that the show’s film committee head explains as a product of a competitive year.
The 2024 BAFTA Film Award nominations were released on Thursday, and while Barbie was nominated for five awards overall, many were surprised to see it not land a Best Director of Best Film nomination. Although the film was placed on the BAFTA longlist for both awards, it ended up not making the cut.
According to the chair of BAFTA’s film committee Anna Higgs, the competitive nature of this year of nominees, combined with the varied opinions of its members, makes it impossible to expect any film to be nominated.
“There’s no such thing as expected at BAFTA,” said Higgs (via Variety). “I think to play a guessing game with our expert members and where they can go, particularly in a year that’s so competitive, is really hard.”
Higgs also mentioned that the number of films that voters watch go up every year, making the voting process as a whole “more and more competitive, and more intense.”
Barbie received 5 BAFTA nominations in total
In total, Barbie was nominated for five BAFTAs, including Best Leading Actress (Margot Robbie), Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design.
Barbie was directed by Gerwig from a screenplay she co-wrote with husband Noah Baumbach. It was produced by Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerly for LuckyChap and Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner along with Josey McNamara and Ynon Kreiz. During its theatrical run, it earned a worldwide gross of over $1.4 billion, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2023.
