'Oppenheimer,' 'Poor Things' top BAFTA nominations; 'Barbie' only gets 5 nods

LONDON, United Kingdom — "Oppenheimer"  led the shortlist of films vying for recognition at Britain's forthcoming BAFTA awards, earning an unrivalled 13 nominations, including a first ever for leading actor Cillian Murphy.

Christopher Nolan's epic movie about the creation of the atomic bomb, which has grossed more than a billion dollars, has already cleaned up at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards this month.

It is now the clear frontrunner for Oscars glory in March, some three weeks after the highlight of the annual British film calendar, the BAFTAs, on February 18.

The blockbuster won BAFTA nominations for best film, for Nolan (director and adapted screenplay), as well as for Murphy (leading actor), Emily Blunt (supporting actress) and Robert Downey Jr. (supporting actor).

"Poor Things," a surreal dark comedy, followed closely behind with 11 nods, including in the best film category and for Emma Stone's portrayal of a Victorian reanimated corpse with the brain of an infant.

The American actress has already scooped Golden Globe and Critics Choice best actress awards for her no-holds-barred performance.

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She will compete with Margot Robbie ("Barbie"), Carey Mulligan ("Maestro"), Sandra Huller ("Anatomy of a Fall"), Fantasia Barrino ("The Colour Purple") and Vivian Oparah ("Rye Lane").

Other contenders for best film, aside from "Oppenheimer" and "Poor Things," include French courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Fall," 1970s-set prep school comedy "The Holdovers" and Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon".

Both Scorsese and his historical epic's leading man Leonardo DiCaprio missed out on BAFTA nods but the movie amassed nine nominations in total.

'Barbenheimer'

The best director award will pit Nolan against Andrew Haigh ("All Of Us Strangers"), Justine Triet ("Anatomy of a Fall), Alexander Payne ("The Holdovers"), Bradley Cooper ("Maestro") and Jonathan Glazer ("The Zone Of Interest").

None of the contenders has won a BAFTA before for directing.

Cooper also earned individual nominations for his acclaimed bio-pic for original screenplay (shared with screenwriter Josh Singer) and best