BAFTA nominations announced: Carol and Bridge of Spies lead

The BAFTA nominations have been announced and Steven Spielberg’s Tom Hanks starrer Bridge of Spies leads the pack tied with Cate Blanchett Roney Mara lesbian romance Carol with nine nominations apiece.

Steven Spielberg’s spy thriller Bridge of Spies starring Tom Hanks and Todd Haynes’ lesbian drama Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara led nominations on Friday for Britain’s Bafta film awards, seen as a predictive precursor to the Oscars.

Carol and Bridge of Spies scored nine nominations apiece at the BAFTAs

Both Cold War era stories set in the United States in the 1950s, the films have nine nominations each and are both nominated in the best film category. They are up against financial drama The Big Short and survival tale The Revenant, which has eight nominations.

Also in the running for best film is Spotlight -- the story of the journalists who uncovered sexual abuse in the Catholic Church which led nominations of the Golden Globes along with Carol. The awards will be announced on February 14, two weeks before the Oscars.

Read: Golden Globe nominations announced: Big movies shown big love

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, 21, is nominated for best actress for her performance in Brooklyn, the story of an Irish immigrant to New York which has six nominations. The other nominees for best actress are Cate Blanchett for Carol, Brie Larson for Room, Maggie Smith for The Lady in the Van and Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl -- who is also up for best supporting actress for her role in thriller Ex Machina.

Watch the trailer for Room here

Vikander’s fellow star in The Danish Girl, British actor Eddie Redmayne, who plays a transgender artist, is nominated for best actor for the same film. It is Redmayne’s second best actor nomination in a row after winning the award last year for portraying scientist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Read: Mad Max tops NBR’s extremely cool best films of 2015 list

Redmayne will be up against Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant, Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs, Matt Damon for The Martian and Trumbo star Bryan Cranston -- known for his leading role in television hit Breaking Bad.

Matt Damon scored a nomination for his role in Ridley Scott’s The Martian.

In the best director category, Spielberg is up against Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Britain’s Ridley Scott, and US directors Adam McKay and Todd Haynes.

Read: Mad Max: Fury Road leads Critic’s Choice Awards nominations

The main nominations:

Best film

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Carol

The Revenant

Spotlight

Outstanding British film

45 Years

Amy

Brooklyn

The Danish Girl

Ex Machina

Best director

Adam McKay for The Big Short

Steven Spielberg for Bridge of Spies

Todd Haynes for Carol

Ridley Scott for The Martian

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for The Revenant

Leading actor

Bryan Cranston for Trumbo

Matt Damon for The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant

Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmaybe for The Danish Girl

Leading actress

Cate Blanchett for Carol

Brie Larson for Room

Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn

Maggie Smith for The Lady in the Van

Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl

Supporting actor

Christian Bale for The Big Short

Benicio del Toro for Sicario

Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation

Mark Ruffalo for Spotlight

Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies

Supporting actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh for The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara for Carol

Alicia Vikander for Ex Machina

Julie Walters for Brooklyn

Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs

Follow @htshowbiz for more