Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling, ambitious film dominated the night walking away with six awards in total including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best supporting actor, best film editing and best casting. A night nobody on that team will forget in a hurry.

The Film That Won It All

One Battle After Another is a loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a former revolutionary with a teenage daughter played by Chase Infiniti. The cast also includes Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall and Sean Penn, who won best supporting actor on the night. It came into the ceremony with 13 nominations and left with six wins, a dominant performance by any measure.

The film was up against serious competition. F1, Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners and Train Dreams were all in the best picture race. Sinners came in with a record breaking 16 nominations making it the most nominated film in Oscars history. But when it came to the final prize of the night One Battle After Another took it.

What Anderson Said on Stage

When Anderson accepted the best picture award he started by putting the whole thing in perspective. He referenced the 1975 best picture nominees, Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jaws, Nashville and Barry Lyndon - pointing out that there is no real best among great films, just what mood you are in on a given day. He said the whole team was happy to be part of the journey alongside their fellow nominees.

He thanked his cast one by one, DiCaprio, del Toro, Taylor, Hall and singled out Chase Infiniti with a special mention. "My American girl, Chase. You are the heart of this movie." Before walking off stage with his cast he wrapped it all up with, "What a night, you guys. Let's have a martini."

Paul Thomas Anderson Wins Best Director Too

Anderson did not just win best picture on Sunday night. He had already walked up to collect best adapted screenplay earlier in the evening and then came back up for best director making it a remarkable personal haul of three Oscars in one night for the same film.

This is his second career Oscar overall, having won best adapted screenplay earlier in the evening. He has been nominated three times previously for best director, for There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread and Licorice Pizza - without winning. Sunday night he finally got there and the room gave him a big response when his name was called.

What He Said About Winning Director

Anderson's speech for best director was quieter and more personal than his best picture moment. He was honest about the feeling of winning. "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." He then talked about what filmmaking actually means to him. "I'm here because of people's faith in me, that give me their faith and their time, and that's the best part about being on a film crew, is being with people. We need each other. This is a wonderful gift and I'm so happy to call the movies home."

He beat Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme and Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value to take the award.

Anderson Has Been Sweeping All Season

Sunday night was not a surprise exactly. Anderson had been on a roll all awards season. He had already picked up best director at the Baftas, the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America awards before the Oscars. By the time Hollywood's biggest night came around he was the clear frontrunner and he delivered.

The Career Behind the Win

Anderson at 55 has been making films for nearly three decades and every single one of them has left a mark. Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread, Licorice Pizza - it is one of the most consistent filmographies in modern cinema. One Battle After Another is his second Pynchon adaptation after Inherent Vice and by most accounts his most ambitious film yet. A Rolling Stone review called it a stone cold masterpiece and predicted it would be remembered as the greatest film of 2025.

Six Awards, One Film, One Director

At the end of the night the scorecard read clearly. One Battle After Another, best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best supporting actor, best film editing, best casting. Six awards from 13 nominations. Paul Thomas Anderson came into Hollywood's biggest night as the frontrunner and left as the undisputed winner. Not a bad Sunday evening all things considered.

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