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Not So Quiet on the BAFTA Front as Anti-war Remake Tops the Billing

US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
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Not So Quiet on the BAFTA Front as Anti-war Remake Tops the Billing

US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)

A German remake of anti-war classic "All Quiet on the Western Front" leads the contenders at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, the country's highest accolade for the industry.

Based on the 1928 novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque about the horrors of World War One from the perspective of a young German soldier, the Netflix drama overtook other award season favorites to gather 14 nominations.

It will compete for the night's top prize - best film - alongside dark comedy "The Banshees of Inisherin", the biopic "Elvis", dimension-hopping "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and music drama "Tár".

"Banshees", about two feuding friends on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, and "Everything Everywhere" each have received 10 nominations.

The latter's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert were named the best film directors of 2022 at the Directors Guild of America awards on Saturday.

Competition is tight in the leading actor category, which includes "Banshees"'s Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser for "The Whale", in which he plays a sick obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter, as well as Austin Butler for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in "Elvis".

Bill Nighy ("Living"), Paul Mescal (Aftersun") and Daryl McCormack ("Good Luck to You, Leo Grande") complete the leading actor nominees list.

Michelle Yeoh, who has already won awards for her portrayal of a laundromat owner unexpectedly introduced to an alternate multiverse in "Everything Everywhere", and Cate Blanchett, who plays a conductor of a Berlin orchestra whose career comes tumbling down due to an abuse scandal in "Tár", are the two favorites for the leading actress prize.

Celebrities and Britain's Prince and Princess of Wales will attend the awards ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall overlooking the River Thames.

One person who will stay away is Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, who features in nominated documentary "Navalny" about jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Grozev, whom Russia put on a wanted list in December, said on Twitter on Friday he and his family had been "banned by British police from attending".

"The reason stated: we 'represent a public security risk'," he wrote.

In response, London's Metropolitan's Police said "police do not and cannot ban anyone from attending a private event," adding that decisions on attendance were for event organizers.

"We cannot comment on the safety of an individual or the advice they may have been given," it said.

"However, the situation that journalists face around the world and the fact that some journalists face the hostile intentions of foreign states whilst in the UK is a reality that we are absolutely concerned with."

BAFTA Chief Executive Jane Millichip said while Grozev would not attend the ceremony, the film's nominated producers would.

"There's quite a party from the 'Navalny' doc coming," she told Reuters on the red carpet.

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Entertainment

‘Sinners’ Surges Past ‘Minecraft’ to Lead Box Office

Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)
Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)
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‘Sinners’ Surges Past ‘Minecraft’ to Lead Box Office

Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)
Director Ryan Coogler, left, and Michael B. Jordan pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Sinners" on Monday, April 14, 2025, in London. (AP)

Brand names, not filmmakers or stars, are said to rule the box office these days. But Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” led by twin Michael B. Jordans, proved a bloody exception to modern movie rules, launching with $45.6 million in ticket sales in US and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

“Sinners,” a Warner Bros. release that cost about $90 million to produce, was a bold gamble on originality — albeit with genre elements — and one of the most bankable American directors in Coogler. The “Creed” and “Black Panther” director wrote and produced “Sinners,” a 1932-set vampire movie about bootlegging brothers (both played by Jordan) who open a juke joint in their Mississippi hometown.

“A Minecraft Movie,” the year’s biggest Hollywood hit, followed close behind in second, collecting $41.3 million in its third week of release. That gave Warner Bros., after a handful of disappointments, an enviable one-two punch at the box office with one original, director-driven movie and one IP-based property.

“A Minecraft Movie,” which Warner Bros. co-produced with Legendary Pictures, has amassed $720.8 million worldwide in three weeks of release.

Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, co-chairs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, celebrated the two films’ resonance with moviegoers. The studio accounted for a remarkable 64% of the domestic box office for the Easter weekend.

“Movies have the power to transport us to worlds only seen on the big screen, and Warner Bros. Pictures remains committed to bringing singular in-theater experiences to audiences looking for bold movies, both original and those based on beloved existing properties,” Abdy and De Luca said in a statement Sunday.

But all eyes were on the performance on “Sinners,” which Warner Bros. went to extreme lengths to secure. Abdy and De Luca agreed to give Coogler not just a cut of gross ticket sales but ownership of the film after 25 years — a virtually unheard of concession.

But Coogler and Jordan, whose collaborations stretch back to “Fruitvale Station,” make up one of the industry’s most potent director-actor duos. Reviews (98% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) were stellar for “Sinners” and audiences, too, were enthralled by its supernatural twists. The film earned an “A” CinemaScore from moviegoers.

Overseas, “Sinners” faced a more uphill battle. It collected $15.4 million in 71 international markets. Domestically, “Sinners” attracted a diverse audience: 38% Black, 35% white, 18% Hispanic and 5% Asian.

Before “Sinners,” dual roles had been rough business for Warner Bros. The studio saw flops in both “The Alto Knights” (a period gangster film featuring a doubled Robert De Niro) and “Mickey 17” (a sci-fi movie with two Robert Pattinsons).

But the strong opening for “Sinners,” which should be sustained in the coming weeks given the strong word of mouth, cements Coogler’s place as one of a handful of filmmakers whose name draws big audiences. Another would be Jordan Peele, whose “Nope” (2022) debuted similarly with $44.3 million.

Angel Studios’ “The King of Kings,” an animated tale of Jesus’ life aimed at Christian audiences, capitalized on the Easter weekend, grossing $17.2 million in its second week of release. That was nearly equal to its opening weekend ($19.1 million), and brought “The King of Kings” to a domestic total of $45.3 million.

Bleecker Street’s “The Wedding Banquet,” Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 comedy of errors, opened on 1,142 North American screens with $922,906 in ticket sales. “The Wedding Banquet,” a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, stars Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran and newcomer Han Gi-chan.