Leonardo DiCaprio is usually part of Oscars discussions, and I’m confident he’ll get another nomination next year after seeing the trailer for One Battle After Another. The one-time Best Actor Oscar winner returns with a new movie in September 2025 as he’ll star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s biggest film ever. Much has been made about One Battle After Another‘s budget, reportedly over $130 million, and how big of a financial risk that is for Warner Bros.While DiCaprio has a strong box office track record, I’ve always viewed his and PTA’s new movie as a better Oscar contender.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio have great histories individually with the Academy Awards, so I put One Battle After Another in a way-too-early 2026 Oscars Best Picture prediction piece. Still, there was a chance that voters would not connect with the film if it were more commercially appealing than his previous efforts. With raised expectations for any new PTA or DiCaprio movie, there was inherently some additional pressure on One Battle After Another to wow audiences. Now that One Battle After Another‘s trailer is out, the film looks like a mᴀssive Oscars contender – including for DiCaprio’s performance.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Performance In One Battle After Another Already Looks Like One Of His Best
There’s Depth Behind All The Chaos
The One Battle After Another trailer focuses primarily on DiCaprio playing a resistance member who is searching to find his daughter. The footage is largely chaotic and comedic, which may make it seem like an anti-awards contender at first. Much of DiCaprio’s performance that is shown has elements of comedy as he’s befuddled by a code of pᴀsswords over the telephone and celebrates the help of his mentor, played by Benicio Del Toro. The more comedic performance brings to mind recent DiCaprio roles in Don’t Look Up and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Truthfully, we haven’t seen much from DiCaprio’s performance. But it’s the smaller moments in the trailer and DiCaprio’s general style that allow us to see moments of greatness. His character is clearly someone who repeatedly encounters trouble and is kicked by life while he’s already down. He’s ultimately a dad who wants to save his daughter, which is easily relatable for any parent. That story in the hands of Paul Thomas Anderson gives me plenty of faith that DiCaprio’s character has a lot more depth than we’ve seen.
As a result, One Battle After Another could join Don’t Look Up, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, or The Wolf of Wall Street as great DiCaprio performances that mix comedy and drama. That’s good for him and his Oscars chances considering he was nominated for two of those films. DiCaprio is one of the best dramatic and emotional actors working, and the Oscars waited for a grueling effort in The Revenant to give him a win. Still, some of his lighter works are more willingly recognized by the Academy.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Movies Have A Great Track Record With Acting Oscar Nominations
He’s Directed Several Actors To Oscar Nominations
Leonardo DiCaprio is a veteran of Hollywood and no stranger to the Oscars, with six nominations and one win already, but Paul Thomas Anderson’s movies have an even better track record. The acclaimed director has helped nine different performances get Oscar nominations over the years.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s earliest Oscars success came with Boogie Nights. Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore were nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. Tom Cruise was then nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Magnolia three years later. Daniel Day-Lewis became the first person in a PTA movie to be nominated for Best Actor thanks to his performance in There Will be Blood, and he won the Oscar too. The Master then got Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams nominated in Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Phantom Thread was the last Paul Thomas Anderson movie to get actors Oscar nominations. Daniel Day-Lewis was nominated for Best Actor, while Lesley Manville was nominated for Best Supporting Actor; they both lost. Overall, PTA’s movies are responsible for nine acting Oscar nominations and one win. As far as DiCaprio’s Oscar chances for One Battle After Another is concerned, three out of nine PTA movie male leads got Best Actor Oscar nominations. I’m fairly confident DiCaprio will become the fourth.
Leonardo DiCaprio Is Due For Another Oscar Nomination
He’s Been In A Minor Drought
It also helps Leonardo DiCaprio that it’s actually been a few years now since he’s been part of the awards season circuit as an Oscar nominee himself. His last nomination came for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He was not recognized for his performances in Don’t Look Up or Killers of the Flower Moon, even though both movies received multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. With five years pᴀssing since he was last an Oscar nominee, One Battle After Another‘s release has become a chance for Hollywood to recognize one of the greatest actors of his generation.
I can’t believe it’s been almost a decade since he won Best Actor
DiCaprio’s Oscars drought can be extended if we only factor in his wins. I can’t believe it’s been almost a decade since he won Best Actor for The Revenant. One Battle After Another is the fourth movie he’s made since then, but he only has one nomination and, more notably, zero wins to show for it. While DiCaprio is not necessarily slowing down (he’s starring in Damien Chazelle’s Evel Knievel movie and Martin Scorsese’s new Hawaiian gangster movie with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt next), it would be a shame if he continues to be overlooked for awards-worthy performances.
Just because DiCaprio already has six Oscar nominations, that doesn’t mean he’s not worthy of more. It will be a mistake if Academy members ignore his work in One Battle After Another if it is as exceptional as expected. That’s why I don’t believe it will happen this time. He’s putting in the work and helped get an auteur like Paul Thomas Anderson the biggest budget of his career. Voters should respect that on top of his great work on screen.
Will Leonardo DiCaprio Win His Second Oscar For One Battle After Another?
Winning An Oscar Is An Entirely Different Story
I have confidence that Leonardo DiCaprio will get his seventh acting Oscar nomination for One Battle After Another, but I’m not nearly as ᴀssured that he’ll win Best Actor. I could see it happening, but it is too early to firmly predict that. There are so many other things that could happen between now and next March that could change the Best Actor race and who is best positioned to win.
As of right now, its unclear exactly who DiCaprio will have to beat if he does want to win the Oscar. Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) and Daniel Day-Lewis (Anemone) are two other early favorites to get nominations. But there’s also a field of additional contenders that includes Matthew McConaughey, Dwayne Johnson, Jeremy Allen White, Paul Mescal, Tom Hiddleston, Joel Edgerton, George Clooney, Benedict Cumberbatch, and more.
If the movie and his performance are half as good as they appear to be, then there’s a great chance of it happening
Without having a firmer grasp on the Best Actor landscape, it’s too early for a definitive prediction about Leonardo DiCaprio winning another Oscar for One Battle After Another. All I will say for now is that if the movie and his performance are half as good as they appear to be, then there’s a great chance of it happening.
