After 14 nominations, Paul Thomas Anderson is finally an Academy Award winner. The acclaimed Los Angeles auteur and Haim fan won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2026 Oscars for “One Battle After Another.” He beat out acclaimed scripts from Will Tracy (“Bugonia”), Guillermo del Toro (“Frankenstein”), Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell (“Hamnet”), as well as Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar (“Train Dreams”).
READ MORE: 2026 Oscars Winners and Nominees [Complete List]
This was Anderson’s sixth screenwriting nomination. He’d previously been recognized in the Original Screenplay category for “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” and “Licorice Pizza.” In this category, he earned nominations for “There Will Be Blood” and “Inherent Vice.” He was also nominated this year for Best Director and, as a producer, for Best Picture.
Anderson won numerous Best Adapted Screenplay honors for “One Battle,” including the WGA Award, the BAFTA Award, the Critics’ Choice Award, and Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes.
‘One Battle’ dominated the 2025-2026 awards season, claiming Best Film or Best Picture from the National Society of Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the National Board of Review. It won Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes, Best Picture at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and, despite a reported budget somewhere between $125-175 million, Best Feature at the indie-themed Gotham Awards.
The film earned 13 nominations overall, second only to “Sinners” record-breaking total of 16.
Anderson’s other credits include “Phantom Thread,” “The Master,” “Punch-Drunk Love,” and “Hard Eight.” He also directed the 2015 documentary “Junun” as well as numerous short films and music videos for acts such as Fiona Apple, Radiohead, The Smile, and the aforementioned Haim.
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