Beverly Hills, CA – Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” secured the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures at the 37th Producers Guild Awards on Saturday evening, further solidifying its position as the leading contender for Best Picture at the Academy Awards on March 15.
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) honor, presented at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, marks a significant milestone in the film’s awards season trajectory. Since 2009, the PGA winner has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Picture in all but three instances, a pattern closely watched by industry observers. The last divergence occurred in 2020 when “1917,” the PGA winner, lost to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” a film that gained considerable momentum in the final weeks before the Oscars.
Although “One Battle After Another” has emerged as the frontrunner, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” remains a formidable competitor. “Sinners” garnered a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations in January, demonstrating its broad appeal among Academy voters. However, Anderson’s film has consistently prevailed at recent major ceremonies, including winning Best Picture at the British Academy Film Awards and earning Anderson the Directors Guild Award earlier this month.
The competition between the two films is set to continue at the Actor Awards on Sunday, where they will vie for the cast award, the most prestigious prize presented by SAG-AFTRA. Although the cast award is not considered as strong a predictor of Oscar success as the PGA award, “Parasite” did win the SAG ensemble prize just before its Best Picture victory in 2020.
During the ceremony, Anderson used his acceptance speech to pay tribute to Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairmen Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, acknowledging the challenges they have faced amid the ongoing changes within Warner Bros. Discovery. He praised their commitment to supporting original material and unconventional filmmakers, specifically mentioning Coogler and Zach Cregger, whose films “Sinners” and “Weapons” were also nominated for the top PGA honor. Anderson stated, as reported by Variety, that De Luca and Abdy “deserve to receive an award for enduring a lot…on the road to get these films made.”
Other winners at the Producers Guild Awards included “KPop Demon Hunters” for outstanding animated theatrical motion picture, “The Pitt” for outstanding episodic television – drama, and “Adolescence” for outstanding limited or anthology series. The award for outstanding documentary film went to “My Mom Jayne.”
Oscar voting concludes on Thursday, leaving little time for either film to significantly alter the current momentum. The Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 15.
