One Battle After Another has won the best picture Oscar at the 2026 Academy Awards, marking the first such victory for director Paul Thomas Anderson. The film overcame late momentum from rival Sinners and secured multiple other awards. Producers and Anderson expressed gratitude to the cast and fellow nominees in acceptance speeches.
One Battle After Another defeated nominees including Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Train Dreams, and Sinners to claim best picture. The award was accepted by Paul Thomas Anderson, Sara Murphy, and Adam Somner, the cinematographer who died in 2024. This is the first best picture win for one of Anderson's films, following nominations for There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread in prior years. The film also won best directing for Anderson (his second), best adapted screenplay for Anderson (his first Oscar), best supporting actor for Sean Penn, best film editing for Andy Jurgensen, and best casting for Cassandra Kulukundis. It received 13 nominations overall, with Chase Infiniti losing the lead actress category to Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue. Loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, the story centers on Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary living off-grid with his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti), facing his nemesis (Sean Penn) after 16 years; Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, and Teyana Taylor co-star. Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi gave it around an 80% chance pre-ceremony. One Battle After Another dominated precursors, winning best picture at Critics Choice, best motion picture – musical or comedy at Golden Globes, best film at BAFTAs, and honors at PGAs and DGAs. It nearly swept Gotham Awards but lost outstanding cast to Sinners at the Actors Awards. The film premiered in September and grossed over $200M globally. Sara Murphy said, “Getting to make this film with this cast and crew has already been the greatest filmmaking experience.” Anderson reflected, “In 1975, the Oscar nominees for Best Picture were Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Jaws, Nashville and Barry Lyndon. There is no best among them. There is just what that mood might be that day. But we’re happy to be part of this a wonderful, wonderful journey with our fellow nominees...” He thanked Infiniti as the “heart of this movie.”
