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Paul Thomas Anderson wins at 78th
Directors Guild Awards for 'One Battle After Another'
[February 09, 2026]
By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK
(AP) — Paul Thomas Anderson won the top prize at the 78th Directors
Guild Awards, putting the “One Battle After Another” filmmaker on course
to potentially win his first Oscar.
The DGA
Awards, held Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills,
California, is among the most reliable Academy Awards precursors. In the
last 10 years, nine DGA winners have gone on to win best director at the
Oscars. In the guild’s nearly eight-decade history, only eight times has
the guild not predicted the Oscar winner. |
Emma Thomas, left, and Christopher Nolan arrive at the DGA Awards on
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) |
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The
award adds to a virtual awards-season sweep for “One Battle
After Another,” which has won with critics groups, the Gotham
Awards and the Golden Globes. It’s considered the favorite for
best picture at the March 15 Oscars. Academy voting begins Feb.
26.
The other nominees were Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”), Guillermo Del
Toro (“Frankenstein”), Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”) and Chloé
Zhao (“Hamnet”).
As he’s often done through awards season, Anderson in his brief
speech paid tribute to late assistant director Adam Somner, who
died in 2024. “Obviously,” he said, “we are up here minus one.”
The awards, hosted by Kumail Nanjiani, were the first presided
over by n ew Directors Guild of America president Christopher
Nolan. He began the ceremony acknowledging “very hard times” for
filmmakers.
“In 2024, our employment in our guild was down about 40%, and
that was followed by another decline in ’25,” said Nolan. “The
amount of money that people spend on our work, on entertainment,
is very, very stable. Audiences are invested in us, we have to
be sure that we’re able to repay that investment.”
Other winners Saturday included “The Plague” filmmaker Charlie
Polinger for first-time director; “2000 Meters to Andriivka”
director Mstyslav Chernov for best documentary filmmaking; and
“The Studio” directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg for comedy
series.
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