After revealing their television and documentary nominees yesterday, the Directors Guild of America rolled out the film honorees for the 2026 DGA Awards, and there were a few surprises. The Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film nominees included Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”), Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”), Guillermo Del Toro (“Frankenstein”), Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”), and Chloe Zhao (“Hamnet”). Both Zhao and Del Toro are previous winners in this category.
The nominees for First-Time Theatrical Film are perhaps more exciting. They include Hasan Hadi (“The President’s Cake”), Harry Ligton (“Pillion”), Charlie Polinger (“The Plague”), Alex Russell (“Lurker”), and Eva Victor (“Sorry, Baby”). Both “Lurker” and “Sorry, Baby” debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The other three nominees premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The helmers overlooked for the top prize are many, however. Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value”), Jafar Panahi (“It Was Just An Accident”), and Kleber Mendonça Filho (“The Secret Agent”) were all contenders in this category. That being said, the last time the broader DGA Awards voting members and the more international leaning Director’s Branch of The Academy lined up was in 2010. There has always been at least one change from DGA to Oscar nominations since.
In a statement, DGA president Christopher Nolan remarked, “We could not be prouder to recognize the incredible work of this year’s nominees for their dedication to the art of filmmaking. On behalf of the entire Guild community, I extend my congratulations to these directors on this achievement, and we look forward to celebrating your work at the DGA Awards.”
The winners will be announced at the 78th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 7, 2026.
This year’s complete nominees are as follows:
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
Paul Thomas Anderson
One Battle After Another
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Will Weiske
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Trevor Tavares, Ian Stone
Second Second Assistant Director: Dominic Pacitti, Rafael Sanz-Jimenez
Additional Second Assistant Director: Nuekellar Hardy, Chunning Chang, Kit Conners, Kasia Trojak, Tyler Young
Ryan Coogler
Sinners
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Will Greenfield, Kenneth Yu
First Assistant Director: Marvin Williams
Second Assistant Director: Amir R. Khan
Additional Second Assistant Director: Gregg Carr, Desiree Stevenson
Guillermo Del Toro
Frankenstein
(Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: J. Miles Dale
First Assistant Director: Walter Gasparovic
Second Assistant Director: Chad Belair
Josh Safdie
Marty Supreme
(A24)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Anthony Katagas, Joe Guest
First Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
Second Assistant Director: Zach Citarella
Second Second Assistant Director: Kailyn Dabkowski
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Max Samu, Suk Yi Mar, Samson Jacobson
Location Manager: Matthew Kania, Ross Brodar
Chloé Zhao
Hamnet
(Focus Features)
Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film
Hasan Hadi
The President’s Cake
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Harry Lighton
Pillion
(A24)
Charlie Polinger
The Plague
(Independent Film Company)
Alex Russell
Lurker
(MUBI)
Eva Victor
Sorry, Baby
(A24)
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Bluesky
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Threads
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Instagram
Sign Up For The Breakdown Newsletter
Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
