One Battle After Another‘s Rotten Tomatoes score is here, and the Leonardo DiCaprio film just cemented itself as an Oscars contender. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film follows a group of ex-revolutionaries as they reunite to face off against an old enemy who resurfaces after 16 years.

Marking DiCaprio’s follow-up to Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and Anderson’s follow-up to Licorice Pizza (2021), the film has been H๏τly anticipated. One Battle After Another features an impressive cast that includes Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, and Regina Hall, among others.

As the film’s wide theatrical release approaches, Rotten Tomatoes now reveals that One Battle After Another has debuted with a 98% score from 46 reviews. Though this score could fluctuate as more reviews are added, it is firmly in the “fresh” zone. No Popcornmeter score is here yet, but one should take shape next week after the movie hits theaters.

What This Means For One Battle After Another

Anderson is widely regarded as one of the best and brightest writer/ directors in Hollywood, with films like Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), There Will Be Blood (2007), and The Master (2012), among others, cementing his talent as a filmmaker. Similarly, DiCaprio has a reputation for working with only the best filmmakers, and each new project is a major event.

This combination of actor and star made One Battle After Another a highly anticipated тιтle, and the Rotten Tomatoes score suggests it has been worth the wait. The film has been widely praised for its exploration of fiery political ideas, its balance of action and drama, its stellar performances, and its use of VistaVision.

In their One Battle After Another review for ScreenRant, Gregory Nussen awards the film a score of nine out of 10. They commend the film’s political ruminations and the ways in which this thoughtful storytelling intersects with a particular brand of comedy. Check out an excerpt below:

Anderson has retained much of Pynchon’s postmodern, plucky, weed-hazed humor. For all the film’s trenchant politics, One Battle After Another is equally a satirical rumination on the way that progressivism too often wheels back around to kneecap itself in the name of equity, all while the right creates protocol to manufacture consent for ethnic “purification,” as one member of the Christmas Adventurers calls it.

The positive response sets One Battle After Another up for success at the Oscars next year, where PTA seems destined to be nominated for writing and directing and DiCaprio for lead actor. The film itself is also likely to score a Best Picture nomination. Whether such a complex film finds success at the box office and with general moviegoers, however, remains a major question mark.

Our Take On One Battle After Another’s Rotten Tomatoes Score

Unlike the laid-back and heartwarming Licorice Pizza story, One Battle After Another could prove particularly divisive with general audiences due to its political themes. Even though the film seems to handle these ideas intelligently without being preachy or condescending, the political landscape of today is so divided and entrenched that some level of controversy seems inevitable.

As a movie-going experience, though, One Battle After Another is shaping up to be a great time at the theater, and the Rotten Tomatoes score supports this. The VistaVision presentation makes this one that benefits from large-screen viewing, and PTA’s unique voice as a filmmaker seems to be on full display here in all the best ways.