Which film won Best Original Screenplay at the 2026 BAFTAs?

Sinners won Best Original Screenplay at the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards.

Ryan Coogler received the award for writing Sinners, his period horror film about twin brothers returning to Mississippi in 1932 and confronting a supernatural threat. Coogler directed the film as well as writing it, and the screenplay combines historical racism, Black music culture, family conflict and vampire mythology.

The category included Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, I Swear and The Secret Agent. Sinners’ screenplay victory was part of a three-award BAFTA haul: the film also won Supporting Actress for Wunmi Mosaku and Original Score for Ludwig Göransson.

Original Screenplay is for a script not based on previously published material, unlike Adapted Screenplay. That distinction explains why Sinners competed here while One Battle After Another won Adapted Screenplay. A common mix-up is crediting the film’s music success to the writing award, but those were separate BAFTA categories with different winners.