The 2026 Oscars named the best director among a group of highly regarded nominees.
Paul Thomas Anderson ultimately won the Best Directing category for One Battle After Another during the Sunday, March 15, awards show at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
“You make a guy work hard for one of these,” Anderson, 55, quipped at the beginning of his speech. “I really appreciate it.”
Anderson, who had previously been nominated for three best director Oscars but never won, went on to acknowledge his fellow nominees before joking that he was still happy to finally earn the honor.
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“I couldn’t ask for a better class. It’s an honor to be counted amongst you guys,” he said. “There will always be some doubt in your heart that you deserve it, but there is no question at the pleasure of having it for myself.”
The trophy marked Anderson’s second big win of the evening following his victory in the Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) category.
The other nominees in the Best Directing category were Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value and Ryan Coogler for Sinners.
Among the contenders, Safdie, 41, procured the most 2026 Oscar nominations across categories, with a total of four nods including Best Picture, Best Writing (Original Screenplay) and Best Film Editing.
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Anderson and Coogler, 39, trailed closely behind with three each. Both were nominated for Best Picture, while Anderson was up for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), and Coogler was in the running for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
As for Zhao, 43, and Trier, 52, they each received two total nods. Her additional nomination was for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), while his was for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
Of the Best Director nominees, Zhao was the only Oscar winner prior to the 2026 awards show. She previously won two Academy Awards for Nomadland in 2021: Best Picture and Best Director. Throughout her career, she has received a total of six Oscar nods.
Over the years, Anderson has amassed 14 Academy Award nominations, Coogler has racked up five and Trier has earned three.
Safdie, for his part, is a first-time Oscar nominee this year.
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During the 2026 awards season, Anderson won the directing categories at several major events. At the Golden Globes in January, he defeated Zhao, Trier, Coogler, Frankenstein’s Guillermo del Toro and It Was Just an Accident’s Jafar Panahi for Best Director – Motion Picture.
“You guys are being so generous with this affection for me and this film, and I’ll take it with the love that it’s given and the appreciation,” Anderson said in his acceptance speech at the time. “I love doing what I do, so this is just fun.”
Anderson went on to thank his late collaborator Adam Somner, who died from cancer in November 2024 at age 57. He lamented Somner’s “unfortunate title” as assistant director on One Battle After Another, explaining that he had “the best one” in the business who contributed much more to their film than his designation suggested.
“It’s underselling it what he did for me and for us and for this film,” he continued. “He’s why I’m standing here. He’s what made making this so much fun. I think it helped make you all seem to enjoy it the way that you have.”
Elsewhere during awards season, Anderson earned Best Director at the Critics Choice Awards over Coogler, del Toro, Safdie, Trier and Zhao and secured Best Director at the BAFTA Awards against Zhao, Safdie, Trier, Coogler and Bugonia’s Yorgos Lanthimos.
