Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson took home the top honor at the 2026 Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards for his critically acclaimed film One Battle After Another. The ceremony, hosted by Kumail Nanjiani at the Beverly Hilton, recognised the best directors in film, television, and commercials over the past year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Anderson, competing against Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Guillermo Del Toro (Frankenstein), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), and Chloe Zhao (Hamnet), emotionally called his directing team on stage and paid tribute to first director Adam Somner, who passed away in November 2024. "This is an incredible, incredible honor. We're going to take it with the love that it's given and the appreciation of all our comrades in this room," the filmmaker said, but noting "obviously we are up here minus one."