One Battle After Another wins Producers Guild Award, boosting Oscars chances
One war after another It was chosen as the best film by the Producers Guild of America. This announcement, a relatively modest one in a media economy dominated by larger events, has a crucial footnote: It positions the film as the likely best picture winner at the Oscars later this month.
While securing the win – the full name of the award is the Darryl F. Zanuck Award, given to the outstanding motion picture producer – One war after another It beat out nine other films: bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, hamnet, Marty Supreme, Emotional Value, sinners, Train Dreams And Weaponry.
Many of these films, especially Guillermo del Toro’s, have garnered media coverage in the past year. FrankensteinSports comedy starring Australian actor Jacob Elordi and Josh Safdie Marty SupremeStarring Timothée Chalamet.
But ultimately, the Oscars look set to be a showdown between Paul Thomas Anderson’s black comedy. One war after another and the only movie with the thrilling potential to knock that out is Ryan Coogler’s horror movie sinners.
Between 2006 and 2025, the PGA Zanuck award winner was paired with the Oscar best picture winner 15 times, 20 times. They have only disagreed five times: in 2006 (PGA: Brokeback MountainOscar: Accident), 2007 (PGA: Little Miss SunshineOscar: those who left), 2016 (PGA: Big ShortOscar: Agenda), 2017 (PGA: La La LandOscar: moonlight) and 2020 (PGA: 1917Oscar: Interference). Is the chance of the match 75 percent? Everyone accepts these possibilities.
In a way, this year’s Oscar race is almost a no-brainer. At every step One war after another It’s dominated awards season since it kicked off with the Gotham Awards in New York in December. Since then, he’s appeared at every opportunity – at the New York and LA Film Critics, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and more. One war after another A winner emerged.
There are a number of other factors driving the data; Not the least of which is that there is significant overlap between the PGA’s awards voting bloc and members of the production branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which votes on the Oscars.
The overlap between organizations like AMPAS and industry guilds, including the PGA, Directors Guild of America (DGA), Writers Guild of America (WGA), and Screen Actors Guild (SAG), is why the second half of awards season, which highlights guild-voted awards, is generally considered a more accurate set of Oscar predictions.
The first half of awards season consists of awards presented by film critics, journalists, and other industry professionals, primarily the Gotham awards, the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics awards, the National Board of Review awards, and the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe awards. They mostly get it right, but their thoughts can also be shaped by emotions and personal tastes.
For example, Australian Rose Byrne came to the top of the best actress category with her magnificent performance. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. That is, until last week the BAFTAs confirmed Jessie Buckley (hamnet) was a legitimate threat to his run. A win by Byrne or Buckley at the SAG awards this weekend (Monday Australian time) would be a significant step forward in the Oscar campaign.
Similarly, Paul Thomas Anderson has dominated the director category so far in awards season, winning six awards, including the Critics’ Choice, Golden Globe, and BAFTA. But the sixth of those wins from the Directors Guild effectively positions Anderson as the presumptive winner of the Oscars best director statue.
In her opening speech before the awards ceremony, PGA CEO Susan Sprung acknowledged the escalating war in the Middle East, saying: “The events of the past 24 hours worry us all. Even as we go about our lives, even as we celebrate, we pray for peace forever.”
The full list of this year’s PGA winners includes: Sesame Street (children’s program), The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (live entertainment, variety, skit or talk show), Studio (episodes, comedy), Pitt (episodes, drama), Puberty (limited series), KPop Demon Hunters (animated feature film) and Mariska Hargitay and Trish Adlesic’s documentary about Hargitay’s mother, movie legend Jayne Mansfield, My mother Jayne (documentary movie).
The 98th annual Academy Awards will air on Monday, March 16, on the Seven Network (AEST).
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Michael Idato is general culture editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
