Oddsmakers suggest Shakespearean family tragedy Hamnet could beat them to best picture if British film industry voters respond to the emotionally rich story, earthy English setting and intense performances that feature in Chloe Zhao's adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's historical novel.
One Battle has 14 nominations at Sunday's awards ceremony, including best picture and acting nods for five of its cast.
Sinners is just behind with 13, while Hamnet and the ping-pong odyssey Marty Supreme each have 11 nominations.
Guillermo del Toro's reimagining of Frankenstein and Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value each received eight nominations.
The British prizes, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, often provide hints about who will win at Hollywood's Academy Awards, to be held on March 15.
In the Oscar nominations, Sinners leads the race with a record 16 nominations, followed by One Battle After Another with 13.
Stars including Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Glenn Close and Ethan Hawke are expected on the red carpet outside London's Royal Festival Hall before a black-tie ceremony hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
Cumming, who hosts the US version of reality show The Traitors, pledged to strike a "balance between celebration and mischief".
The BAFTA best film nominees are One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sinners and Sentimental Value.
The BAFTAs also have a distinctly British accent, with a separate category for best British film.
Its 10 nominees include The Ballad of Wallis Island, Pillion, I Swear and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.
Directing contenders are Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Yorgos Lanthimos for dystopian tragicomedy Bugonia, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value and Zhao for Hamnet.
Zhao will be the first female director to win two BAFTAs if she takes the prize. She won the directing award in 2021 for Nomadland.
Best leading actor nominees are bookies' favourite Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke for Broadway biopic Blue Moon, Michael B Jordan for Sinners, Jesse Plemons for Bugonia and Robert Aramayo for playing a man with Tourette's syndrome in biographical drama I Swear.
The leading actress category includes the strongly favoured Jessie Buckley for her performance as Agnes Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, in Hamnet.
She's up against Australian actor Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, Chase Infiniti for One Battle After Another, Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value and Emma Stone for Bugonia.
One Battle actors Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are all nominated for supporting performances.
Mstyslav Chernov's harrowing Ukraine war portrait 2000 Meters to Andriivka, co-produced by the AP and Frontline PBS, is nominated for best documentary.
Most BAFTA winners are chosen by 8500 members of the UK academy of industry professionals.
Contenders for the Rising Star award - the only prize decided by public vote and a reliable picker of future A-listers - are Infiniti, Aramayo, Sinners star Miles Caton and British actors Archie Madekwe and Posy Sterling.
Donna Langley, the UK-born chairwoman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, will be awarded the British Academy's highest honour, the BAFTA fellowship.
