^{Credit: Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Feature Animation)} 

The original Zootopia (or Zootropolis, as the Brits call it) won almost every televised precursor award on its way to winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar. The only major award it lost was the British Academy Film Award, which went to Kubo and the Two Strings. Almost a decade later, Zootopia/Zootropolis 2 has avenged its predecessor at the 79th BAFTAs, winning Best Animated Film. This marks the second BAFTA win for directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard, as well as producer Yvett Merino, who previously won for Encanto. Zootopia 2 beat Pixar's Elio and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, which GKIDS distributed in the States. 

Paddington Bear presents the BAFTA for Children & Family's Film✨ #EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/Cnes35v6xm

— BAFTA (@BAFTA) February 22, 2026

Zootopia 2 was also nominated for Best Children's & Family Film, where it went up against fellow animated feature Arco and two live-action films, Lilo & Stitch and Boong. After Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl won both of these awards last year, some predicted that Zootopia 2 may pull off a double victory. Presenter Paddington Bear ultimately announced Boong as the winner, however. The fact that Zootopia 2 was unable to win both may bode well for KPop Demon Hunters, which wasn't eligible for BAFTA consideration. It still feels like KPop Demon Hunters won an award, as Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami performed "Golden" on the BAFTA telecast. 

KPop Demon Hunters has won almost every predecessor award, including a complete sweep at last night's Annie Awards. Its ineligibility at BAFTA prevents it from a full season sweep, however. Every Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature has been nominated for the BAFTA since the latter introduced its own category in 2006. KPop Demon Hunters seems like the exception to this rule, especially if it wins at PGA later this week. With its BAFTA win, Zootopia 2 is at least in second place for the Oscar, although this probably won't be enough to push it over the edge. It's funny to think Zootopia won nearly everything other than the BAFTA. Now, Zootopia 2 may lose everything except the BAFTA. 

#KPopDemonHunters’ EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami perform #Golden at the #BAFTAFilmAwards.https://t.co/JBjwPhIBAS pic.twitter.com/DpXOW3GBf9

— Variety (@Variety) February 22, 2026

Even if KPop Demon Hunters had been eligible, BAFTA doesn't have a Best Original Song category. So, "I Lied to You" from Sinners didn't get much help here. While Best Original Song is still a race between "Golden" and "I Lied to You," Sinners got a boost in a few other categories following BAFTA. Sinners won Best Score (Ludwig Göransson), Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), and Best Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku). One Battle After Another maintained its Oscar frontrunner status, though, with wins for Best Film, Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn), Best Adapted Screenplay (PTA), Best Cinematography (Michael Bauman), and Best Editing (Andy Jurgensen). 

Meanwhile, Best British Short Animation went to Two Black Boys in Paradise (Baz Sells, Dean Atta, Ben Jackson), beating Cardboard (J.P. Vine and Michaela Manas Malina) and Solstice (Luce Angus). Best Special Visual Effects went to Avatar: Fire and Ash (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, and Eric Saindon), continuing its dominance. The acting races threw several curveballs, with Mosaku winning Best Supporting Actress, Penn winning Best Supporting Actor, and Robert Aramayo (who isn't up for the Oscar) winning Best Actor for I Swear. Even with all of these surprises, Jessie Buckley predictably won Best Actress for Hamnet.

At this point, it seems there are at least three inevitabilities at the Oscars: Buckley wins Best Actress, Avatar: Fire and Ash wins Best Visual Effects, and, of course, KPop Demon Hunters wins Best Animated Feature. If that does happen, BAFTA would be pretty much the only award that KPop Demon Hunters didn't win. Now that Netflix knows what they have, they'll likely ensure that the KPop Demon Hunters sequel is eligible at BAFTA when that time comes. KPop Demon Hunters 2 could thus pull a Zootopia 2, avenging its predecessor at BAFTA several years from now. 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!