Epic survival tale “The Revenant” took top honours including the best film on Sunday at Britain’s Bafta film awards, boosting its status as a favourite for Oscar success later this month.

Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu scooped the best director for the picture, and Leonardo DiCaprio won the best actor for his leading role as grizzled trapper Hugh Glass.

“I am overwhelmed,” said Inarritu as he accepted the award at a star-studded ceremony in London.

“I’m shocked and amazed, honoured. To tell you the truth none of this was expected,” said DiCaprio, who used his speech to wish his mother a happy birthday and thank her for driving him to auditions as a child.

“We’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished,” DiCaprio added.

After already nabbing the same three awards at last month’s Golden Globes, the film is now seen as a leading contender for Oscar glory in Los Angeles on February 28.

At the Baftas on Sunday, “The Revenant” won out for the best film over Todd Haynes’ 1950s all-female romance “Carol”, Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies”, Tom McCarthy’s newsroom drama “Spotlight” and Adam McKay’s financial caper “The Big Short”.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar Nominated ‘The Revenant’ Releasing All Across Pakistan

The film also took the awards for cinematography and for sound, giving it a total of five British Academy of Film and Television Arts gongs.

It was closely followed by “Mad Max: Fury Road”, George Miller’s visually stunning post-apocalyptic action film which picked up four technical wins including for the scrappy punk costumes of its warring tribes.

The night’s other big winners included Brie Larson, who scooped the best actress for her role in the harrowing kidnapping tale “Room”.

Kate Winslet, who won best supporting actress for her turn as a loyal assistant in the biopic “Steve Jobs”, said it had been an “extraordinary year for women”.

She dedicated her prize “to all those young women that doubt themselves”.

“When I was only 14, I was told by a drama teacher that I might be okay as long as I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts. Look at me now,” she said after accepting the award.

– ‘Male, stale and pale?’ –

The theme of diversity — or lack of it — hung over the ceremony following a controversy over the lack of people of non-white ethnicities among the Oscar nominations.

A small group calling for a quota system in nominations protested the event, handing out leaflets on the red carpet that called the television industry “male, pale and stale”.

The chair of Bafta Anne Morrison acknowledged the issue in her opening speech to the ceremony, which said those in the industry “have to admit” there was a problem.

“Diversity is high on the agenda right now. At Bafta we welcome that debate,” Morrison said.

“The pressure won’t die down until there is real change on and off screen.”

British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen made a reference to the debate as he stood on stage introducing the best actress prize.

“The nominations for best… WHITE actress are,” Baron Cohen said, before host Stephen Fry interrupted him.

Hotly-tipped “Brooklyn”, a love story about a young Irish woman who emigrates to New York, won outstanding British film but lead actress Saoirse Ronan missed out on an award — but is still in the running for best actress at the upcoming Oscars.

Mark Rylance won the supporting actor award for “Bridge of Spies”, beating Idris Elba who had been nominated for Netflix civil war story “Beasts of No Nation”.

Italy’s composing legend Ennio Morricone picked up an award for original music for his work on Quentin Tarantino’s bloody mystery tale “The Hateful Eight”, making it Morricone’s sixth Bafta in the category.

In the documentary category, home-grown British film “Amy” won out over international competition for its in-depth portrayal of singer Amy Winehouse before she was famous and began to struggle with addiction.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” won an award for special visual effects, while “Inside Out” won in the animated film category.

Here are the winners in the main categories:

• Best film: “The Revenant”
• Outstanding British film: “Brooklyn”
• Best director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
• Leading actor: Leonardo DiCaprio for “The Revenant”
• Leading actress: Brie Larson for “Room”
• Supporting actor: Mark Rylance for “Bridge of Spies”
• Supporting actress: Kate Winslet for “Steve Jobs”

‘The Revenant’ Movie Ranks No.1 On Worldwide Box Office

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Superhero movie “Deadpool” dominated the North American box office on its debut weekend, taking in a record-breaking $135 million and leaving its competitors in the dust, industry estimates showed Sunday.

Starring Ryan Reynolds as a Marvel Comics character, the film’s blowout reception in theaters propelled it to the biggest-ever February and R-rated debut, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.

With Monday being a public holiday in the United States, Dergarabedian predicted the Fox production’s initial haul could climb to a “mind-boggling $150 million.”

Far behind in second place was “Kung Fu Panda 3” — Dreamworks’ computer-animated comedy that follows the adventures of Po as he evolves from martial arts student to teacher — which took in $19.7 million, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Featuring the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie, it has garnered $93 million since its release.

Also making its debut — in third place — was “How to be single,” a comedy about solo life set in New York City starring Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann.

It saw $18.8 million in ticket sales over Valentine’s Day weekend.

Fourth place went to fellow new release “Zoolander 2,” which snagged $15.7 million.

Starring, directed and co-written by Ben Stiller, the comedy that dips into the fashion world also features Penelope Cruz and Owen Wilson.

Coming in fifth was “The Revenant,” a grisly survival and revenge thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The critically acclaimed film, which has been showered with Oscar nominations, took in $6.9 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

— “Hail, Caesar!,” $6.6 million

— “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” $6.2 million

— “The Choice,” $5.3 million

— “Ride Along 2,” $4.1 million

— “The Boy,” $2.9 million

Marvel Superhero ‘Deadpool’ is Breaking International Records

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