By Variety | Created at 2024-11-22 15:48:32 | Updated at 2024-11-22 22:44:39
7 hours ago
Such was the love for Hugh Grant’s devilishly splendid antagonist Phoenix Buchanan in “Paddington 2″ that the actor was rewarded with a BAFTA best supporting actor nomination. While practically everyone acknowledged it was richly deserved (not least for his unforgettable prison dance as the credits rolled), it was no small feat for a family comedy led by a CGI bear. The other nominees in that category that year were for the distinctly less PG “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “All the Money in the World” and “The Florida Project.”
“Paddington in Peru” — the long-awaited third film in StudioCanal’s hugely successful Paddington franchise — may not have generated quite the same level of critical acclaim as the second (widely regarding as a masterpiece and therefore difficult to top). But Olivia Colman has stepped into Grant’s tap-dancing shoes as the new casting addition (and a potential baddie) in style.
Giving what several have told Variety is “the most Olivia Colman performance” of her career so far, Colman plays the Reverend Mother, a mysterious nun who runs the home for retired bears in the Peruvian jungle (where Paddington’s Aunt Lucy resides). Sporting a maniacally toothy grin that perhaps betrays her true, un-Paddingtonian, motives, she steals practically every scene she’s in from under the noses — and snouts — of her co-stars, not least for a Monty Python-esque and “The Sound of Music”-inspired song-and-dance number in which she cheerily flings a guitar around.
Despite the seven-year wait between films two and three, “Paddington in Peru” earlier this month landed the biggest British opening weekend box office in the franchise’s history and the biggest opening weekend in the U.K. for a British film since “No Time to Die.” Now into its second week on home soil, it’s been bested only by the might of Ridley Scott, Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington and their all-conquering “Gladiator 2,” with a hugely impressive $23.8 million cume so far.
The success of the third “Paddington” film plus the ongoing adoration for all things Paddington Bear in the U.K. should see it chime with BAFTA voters in the same way as the second (which was also nominated for best British film and adapted screenplay). For Colman, who is one of Britain’s so-called National Treasures like Paddington himself, the broad love for her across the board and her charming performance give the actress a solid chance of landing a supporting nomination like Grant.
While Da’Vine Joy Randolph won both the BAFTA and Oscar for that category earlier this year, BAFTA’s nominations (which have six spaces rather than five) were much more Brit-skewed, with slots for Emily Blunt (for “Oppenheimer,” which also earned her an Oscar nom), but also Claire Foy (“All of Us Strangers”) and Rosamund Pike (“Saltburn”), a factor which definitely works in Colman’s favor. It’s also perhaps time that the British Academy showed Colman a little more love on the movie side — her solitary recognition so far being her win for “The Favourite” in 2018. By contrast, the Oscars, alongside awarding her best actress for Yorgos Lanthimos’ period romp, also nominated her for both “The Father” and “The Lost Daughter.”
There’s also a very strong case for “Paddington in Peru” to get some recognition in the visual effects category. Having an extremely personable, expressive and — most impressively — furry lead character constructed entirely in post-production has been a monumental effort for Framestore since the very first film — and one that the franchise’s success almost entirely rests on. In “Paddington in Peru,” given the addition of a retired bears home and an entire jungle of animals, the creature count has soared exponentially. In all, more than 88.8 million hours — 10,146 years — of rendering had been done on the film by a team of 668 people spread across Framestore’s studios in London, Montreal, Mumbai and Vancouver, with Paddington rebuilt from scratch in 4K.
But even if Colman’s very Colman-esque antics and Paddington’s intricately animated follicles don’t make the cut for the final nominations list, “Paddington in Peru” should almost certainly still have a presence at the BAFTAs come Feb. 16.
The film would seem almost a dead cert for one of the 10 nominee slots for outstanding British film. This time around, there’s also a brand new category — the children’s and family film award (the first new award BAFTA has added in five years). Should the movie incredibly not be among the nominees (BAFTA says there’ll be space for between three and five), expect hard stares all round.
But despite a BAFTA nomination many would bet their last marmalade sandwich on, Paddington’s ongoing absence from the Oscars is set to continue. With Columbia Pictures not launching “Paddington in Peru” in the U.S. until Jan. 17, it falls short of AMPAS’ rules, which state that films must be released before the end of 2024.
While Paddington may have shown he has the legs to survive — and thrive — at the box office after a seven-year absence from the big screen, keeping the momentum going into 2026 awards season is something perhaps beyond even the world’s favorite bear.
