Director Paul Thomas Anderson finally secured his first Academy Award, winning Best Director for his political drama One Battle After Another after years of near-misses at the Oscars.
Anderson triumphed over a competitive field that included Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value, and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme.
The win marks a long-awaited milestone for Anderson, who had previously been nominated 14 times for Academy Awards across several categories, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, but had never taken home an Oscar.
In the months leading up to the ceremony, Anderson had emerged as the frontrunner during awards season. In February, he won the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, the BAFTA for Best Director, and the Golden Globe for Best Director, all for One Battle After Another.
Widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished filmmakers, Anderson built his reputation with a string of critically acclaimed films including Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Licorice Pizza and Phantom Thread — all of which earned Oscar nominations and cemented his standing among contemporary auteurs.
Despite the acclaim, Anderson had repeatedly come up short at the Academy Awards. In 2007, he lost the Best Director prize to Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men, which also won Best Picture. More than a decade later, he was nominated again for Phantom Thread in 2018 but lost to Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water, another film that went on to win Best Picture.
One Battle After Another stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob, a former revolutionary living off the grid with his daughter while grappling with paranoia and the lingering ghosts of his radical past. When an old nemesis — played by Sean Penn — resurfaces, Bob is drawn into a relentless chase that forces him to confront past mistakes in a bid to protect his child.
The ensemble cast also features Regina Hall, Benicio del Toro, Chase Infinity and Teyana Taylor.
The film also bagged three more Oscars on Monday, with Anderson winning one for best screenplay.