Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Guillermo del Toro, Chloé Zhao and Josh Safdie have been nominated for the Directors Guild’s prime prize. The group introduced characteristic movie and first-time director nominees Thursday for the 78th annual Directors Guild Awards.
The 5 movies singled out for the highest prize, “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet” and “Marty Supreme,” precisely mirrored Wednesday’s ensemble Actor Award nominees, additional narrowing the sphere of this season’s prime contenders days earlier than the Golden Globe Awards.
Directors Guild nominees usually carefully align with these of the Academy Awards. Over the previous twenty years, the winner of the DGA award has nearly at all times additionally triumphed on the Oscars, together with final yr when Sean Baker received for “Anora.” Oscar nominations are nonetheless just a few weeks away, nevertheless, set for Jan. 22.
Both Zhao and del Toro have received the award earlier than, for “Nomadland” and “The Shape of Water.” It’s the primary time Safdie and Coogler have been nominated for the prize. Although Anderson, beforehand nominated for “There Will Be Blood” and “Licorice Pizza,” is seemingly the front-runner, if Coogler wins it might be a primary for a Black filmmaker.
Directors nominated for first options embrace Eva Victor for “Sorry, Baby,”Alex Russell for “Lurker,” Charlie Pollinger for “The Plague,” Harry Lighton for “Pillion” and Hasan Hadi for “The President’s Cake.”
On Wednesday, the guild additionally introduced documentary filmmaker nominations, together with Mstyslav Chernov for “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a co-production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, Geeta Gandbhir for “The Perfect Neighbor,” Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni for “Cutting Through the Rocks,” Elizabeth Lo for “Mistress Dispeller” and Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus for “Cover-Up.”
DGA President Christopher Nolan congratulated the nominees on behalf of the guild group and, in an announcement, mentioned, “We could not be prouder to recognize the incredible work of this year’s nominees for their dedication to the art of filmmaking.”
The winners can be introduced at an untelevised ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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