The 78th annual DGA Awards are underway in Los Angeles, honoring the year’s most outstanding directorial achievements in film and television. The ceremony is hosted by Oscar and Emmy-nominated comedian Kumail Nanjiani.
Throughout the night, the five DGA nominees in the top theatrical race — Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”), Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”), Guillermo del Toro (“Frankenstein”), Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”) and Chloe Zhao (“Hamnet”) — will receive their DGA medallions, typically presented by someone involved in the film’s production.
The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film has long been one of the most reliable predictors of the Academy Award for best director, which makes the ceremony one of the season’s most closely watched bellwethers for the Oscars race.
This year’s film nominees also mark a historic milestone for representation. It is only the second time in DGA history that a majority of nominees in the organization’s top category hail from underrepresented communities. The first occurred in 2017, when Guillermo del Toro won for “The Shape of Water,” alongside fellow nominees Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), Jordan Peele (“Get Out”), Christopher Nolan (“Dunkirk”) and Martin McDonagh (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”).
Since its inception, the DGA has correctly predicted the Academy Award winner for best director in all but eight instances. The most recent divergence came in 2019, when Sam Mendes won the DGA Award for the war epic “1917” but lost the Oscar to Bong Joon Ho for the South Korean drama “Parasite,” which also captured best picture. Last year, Sean Baker won the DGA’s top honor for “Anora,” which went on to secure four Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, best original screenplay and best film editing.
When it comes to the broader best picture race, DGA history points to the vital importance of a nomination. Only two films — “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989) and “CODA” (2022) — have won the Academy Award for best picture without receiving a DGA nomination. Meanwhile, six films have claimed the top Oscar prize without earning an Academy Award nomination for directing: “Wings” (1927), “Grand Hotel” (1932), “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Argo” (2012), “Green Book” (2018) and “CODA.”
“Frankenstein” helmer Guillermo Del Toro is the only DGA nominee this year who failed to garner an Oscar nomination, with “Sentimental Value” director Joachim Trier earning the Academy slot instead.
Going into the night, Anderson’s action epic has amassed 35 critics and guild prizes for best picture, including a rare sweep of all four major critics prizes — National Board of Review, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. Only four films in history have achieved that feat: “Schindler’s List” (1993), “L.A. Confidential” (1997), “The Social Network” (2010) and now, Anderson’s latest. Of those titles, only “Schindler’s List” went on to win the Oscar for best picture. However, in the directing race, Anderson has been equally dominant, with 32 wins to date, while Coogler trails with 19.
Television will also be recognized across multiple genres, including drama, comedy, limited and anthology series, nonfiction, sports, reality and commercials.
In addition to competitive awards, the DGA will present two special service honors recognizing exemplary contributions to the guild and the industry. Associate director and stage manager David Charles will receive the Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award, honoring extraordinary service to both the profession and the DGA. Commercials first assistant director Gregory G. McCollum will receive the Frank Capra Achievement Award, given in recognition of notable career achievement and outstanding service to the guild.
Winners will be updated throughout the night. The full list of nominees and winners appears below.
Paul Thomas Anderson – Ryan Coogler – Chloe Zhao
Variety
Film Categories
Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
- Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
- Ryan Coogler, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
- Guillermo Del Toro, “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
- Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme” (A24)
- Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
First-Time Theatrical Feature Film
- Hasan Hadi, “The President’s Cake” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Harry Lighton, “Pillion” (A24)
- Alex Russell, “Lurker” (Mubi)
- Charlie Polinger, “The Plague” (IFC)
- Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby” (A24)
Documentary Feature Film
- Mstyslav Chernov, “2000 Meters to Andriivka” (PBS)
- Geeta Gandbhir, “The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix)
- Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, “Cutting Through Rocks” (Self-Distributed)
- Elizabeth Lo, “Mistress Dispeller” (Oscilloscope)
- Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, “Cover-Up” (Netflix)
TV Categories
Drama Series
- Liza Johnson, “Amagansett” — “The Diplomat” (Netflix)
- Amanda Marsalis, “6:00 P.M.” — “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
- Janus Metz Pedersen, “Who Are You?” — “Andor” (Disney+)
- Ben Stiller, “Cold Harbor” — “Severance” (Apple TV)
- John Wells, “7:00 A.M.” — “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Comedy Series
- Lucia Aniello, “A Slippery Slope” — “Hacks” (HBO Max)
- Janicza Bravo, “Worms” — “The Bear” (FX)
- Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, “The Oner” — “The Studio” (Apple TV)
- Christopher Storer, “Bears” — “The Bear” (FX)
- Mike White, “Denials” — “The White Lotus” (HBO Max)
Limited and Anthology Series
- Jason Bateman, “The Black Rabbits” — “Black Rabbit” (Netflix)
- Antonio Campos, “Sick Puppy” — “The Beast in Me” (Netflix)
- Lesli Linka Glatter, “Episode 6” — “Zero Day” (Netflix)
- Shannon Murphy, “It’s Not That Serious” — “Dying for Sex” (FX)
- Ally Pankiw, “Common People” — “Black Mirror” (Netflix)
Movies for Television
- Jesse Armstrong, “Mountainhead” (HBO)
- Stephen Chbosky, “Nonnas” (Netflix)
- Scott Derrickson, “The Gorge” (Apple TV)
- Michael Morris, “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” (Peacock)
- Kyle Newacheck, “Happy Gilmore 2” (Netflix)
Variety
- Yvonne De Mare, “Julia Roberts; Sam Smith” — “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
- Andy Fisher, “Stephen Colbert; Kumail Nanjiani; Reneé Rapp” — “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
- Beth McCarthy-Miller, “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” (Peacock)
- Liz Patrick, “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” (NBC)
- Paul Pennolino, “Public Media” — “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO Max)
Sports
- Matthew Gangl, “2025 World Series — Game 7” (Fox)
- Steve Milton, “2025 Masters Tournament” (CBS)
- Rich Russo, “Super Bowl LIX” (Fox)
Reality / Quiz & Game
- Lucinda M. Margolis, “Ep. 9341” — “Jeopardy!” (Syndicated)
- Adam Sandler, “10,000th Episode” — “The Price Is Right” (CBS)
- Mike Sweeney, “Austria” — “Conan O’Brien Must Go” (HBO Max)
Documentary Series / News
- Marshall Curry, “Written By: A Week Inside the SNL Writers Room” — “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night” (Peacock)
- Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, “Part Two” — “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” (HBO Max)
- Rebecca Miller, “All This Filming Isn’t Healthy” — “Mr. Scorsese” (Apple TV)
- Alex Stapleton, “Official Girl” — “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” (Netflix)
- Matt Wolf, “Part 1” — “Pee-wee as Himself” (HBO Max)
Commercials
- Kim Gehrig, “You Can’t Win. So Win.” — “Nike”; “I’m Not Remarkable” — “Apple”
- Miles Jay, “Dish,” “Pull Up,” “Trip” — “ChatGPT”; “Home for the Holidays,” “Secret Santa” — “Meta”
- Spike Jonze, “Someday” — “Apple”
- Andreas Nilsson, “Conquer the First School Poo” — “Andrex”; “Garrett,” “Big Flex” — “Apple”; “Trunk Trucker” — “Virgin Media”
- Steve Rogers, “Bring a Book to Life” — “Amazon”; “A Tale as Old as Websites” — “Squarespace”; “Everything Is Fine” — “Coinbase”
