Paul Thomas Anderson wins DGA Award for ‘One Battle After Another’, strengthening his Oscar front-runner status

Leonardo DiCaprio presents Paul Thomas Anderson with the top honor at the Directors Guild of America Awards, winning Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for ‘One Battle After Another’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Paul Thomas Anderson claimed the top honor at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday night, winning Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for One Battle After Another. The ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and marked Anderson’s first DGA victory after multiple previous nominations.

The win is a significant milestone in Anderson’s career, coming after earlier DGA nods for There Will Be Blood and Licorice Pizza. Long regarded as one of contemporary cinema’s most influential filmmakers, Anderson has now secured the industry’s most reliable predictor of the Academy Award for Best Director. Twenty of the last 23 DGA winners have gone on to win the Oscar in the same category.

Accepting the award, Anderson delivered an emotional speech that reflected on collaboration, community, and loss. He paid tribute to his longtime first assistant director Adam Somner, who passed away in late 2024, calling their working relationship one of the most meaningful of his life. Anderson also acknowledged the Directors Guild as a creative home that sustains filmmakers through both success and uncertainty.

The evening underscored the DGA’s emphasis on solidarity within the industry, with Guild president Christopher Nolan addressing concerns about employment declines while reaffirming the importance of directors as innovators and storytellers. Several high-profile filmmakers nominated alongside Anderson also took the stage.

With One Battle After Another now firmly positioned as a major awards contender, Anderson’s DGA win places him at the forefront of the awards season conversation, setting up what could be his first Academy Award for directing after years of critical acclaim.

Here is a full list of major winners from the Director’s Guild of America Awards 2026:

Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

Critics Choice Awards 2026: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’ wins top honours

Winner: Mstyslav Chernov – 2000 Meters to Andriivka

Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni – Cutting Through Rocks

Winner: Ben Stiller – Severance (“Cold Harbor”)

Liza Johnson – The Diplomat (“Amagansett”)

Winner: Christopher Storer – The Bear (“Bears”)

Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg – The Studio (“The Oner”)

Lucia Aniello – Hacks (“A Slippery Slope”)

Winner: Lesli Linka Glatter – Zero Day (“Episode 6”)

Shannon Murphy – Dying for Sex (“It’s Not That Serious”)

Jason Bateman – Black Rabbit (“The Black Rabbits”)

Antonio Campos – The Beast in Me (“Sick Puppy”)

Ally Pankiw – Black Mirror (“Common People”)

Michael Morris – Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Published - February 09, 2026 12:54 pm IST

English cinema / cinema / entertainment award / production & direction (cinema)