Best Movie of 2026: One Battle After Another Takes Top Honors at Critics Choice Awards

Leonardo Di Caprio in “One Battle After Another”.
Credit:

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Key Highlights

• One Battle After Another won the top film prize at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.
• Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the award at the ceremony’s conclusion.
• Other nominees included Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams, and Wicked: For Good.

One Battle After Another has been recognized as the year’s best film at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.

During the ceremony on Sunday, January 4, the film triumphed over other nominated films including Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams, and Wicked: For Good.

Paul Thomas Anderson, who also secured awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay during the event, accepted the film’s top honor.

“This is really fantastic news. We’ll take it,” said Anderson in his acceptance speech. “A lot of great films. It’s wonderful to be in this room with such talent.”

He added, “I’d say this is the best time I’ve ever had making a movie, and I feel like it shows. This experience is a testament to being surrounded by people you love. Ultimately, it’s about the people you collaborate with.”

One Battle After Another, currently available for streaming on HBO Max, marks Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest project and Anderson’s first film since 2021’s Licorice Pizza. The film explores themes of political revolution and father-daughter relationships, featuring DiCaprio alongside Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, and Chase Infiniti.

DiCaprio was nominated for Best Actor, while his co-star Infiniti received a nod for Best Actress. Additionally, Benicio del Toro and Penn were nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and Taylor was recognized for Best Supporting Actress.

Paul Thomas Anderson on January 4, 2026.

JC Olivera/Variety via Getty

Also nominated, Bugonia features Emma Stone in collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos. In the film, Stone portrays a pharmaceutical CEO who is kidnapped by a man named Teddy, played by Jesse Plemons, and his cousin Don, played by Aidan Delbis.

Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, is his adaptation of Mary Shelley’s renowned 1818 novel. Jacob Elordi stars as the Creature, with Oscar Isaac as Dr. Frankenstein. The cast includes Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz.

Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao, is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel. It stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife Agnes, telling the fictional story surrounding the family’s life and the death of their son Hamnet, an event that inspires the iconic play Hamlet.

Jay Kelly features a star-studded cast including George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup. The film follows Clooney as he reflects on his life and career while traveling across Europe.

Marty Supreme stars Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, a table tennis player with aspirations of winning the world championship in 1952, navigating financial challenges to compete in Japan.

Sentimental Value features Stellan Skarsgård as an aging director trying to reconnect with his estranged daughters, alongside Elle Fanning as an American actress drawn into the family’s dynamics.

Sinners leads the Critics Choice nominations with 17 total nods. Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twins in 1932 Mississippi who endeavor to open a nightclub for Black patrons amid an unforeseen invasion by a vampire.

Jordan, along with co-stars Wunmi Mosaku and Miles Caton, received nominations for their performances. The ensemble cast of Sinners, including Hailee Steinfeld and Delroy Lindo, won the award for Best Casting and Ensemble.

Train Dreams, an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella, stars Joel Edgerton in a tale set in the early 20th century, revolving around a railroad worker’s career and romance.

Wicked: For Good, directed by Jon M. Chu, is the latter part of his adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, it follows the evolving friendship between Elphaba and Glinda amid a tumultuous narrative.