Low-budget Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker won the British BAFTA award for best film on Sunday, the sixth prize the film picked up on the night.
Kathryn Bigelow won the award for best director for the movie about bomb disposal experts in Iraq, which also won best original screenplay.
The movie eclipsed 3-D blockbuster Avatar, directed by Bigelow's former husband James Cameron.
Both films had been nominated for eight awards each, and both lead the field for the Oscars awards ceremony on 7 March.
Colin Firth picked up best actor for A Single Man and best actress was Carey Mulligan for An Education.
Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor for Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Newcomer Mo'Nique won best supporting actress for playing an abusive mother in gritty tale Precious.
And Fish Tank - the story of a girl from Essex who finds her life turned inside out when her mother brings home a new boyfriend - won best British film.
