One Battle After Another wins Best Picture at the Oscars 2026

Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" has taken home the gold for Best Picture at the 98th Academy Awards.

The film beat out Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams.

The win wasn't much of a surprise – by the time Best Picture was announced, the film had already collected five Oscars. Anderson picked up Best Directing, his first win after 14 career nominations. The film also won Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting, Best Film Editing, and Best Supporting Actor, bringing its total to six – the most of any film this year.

Based on Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob, an ex-revolutionary dragged back into the fight when he and his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) are hunted down by a corrupt military officer, Col. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). The cast also includes Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, and Alana Haim, with a standout turn from relative newcomer Infiniti – though the Academy declined to nominate her for Best Supporting Actress. Since "One Battle After Another" took Best Picture, maybe that's forgivable.

Accepting the Best Directing award, Anderson told the crowd he made the film as an apology to his children. He had previously told the LA Times: "If you're a dad and you're making a movie about a dad who's desperately trying to find and protect his daughter, you are going to feel that deeply."