ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025): New Paul Thomas Anderson Film Earns the Director His Best CinemaScore Grade to Date

One Battle After Another Resonates with Audiences

Leonardo DiCaprio‘s latest film, One Battle After Another, has earned its director, Paul Thomas Anderson, his best CinemaScore grade to date.

Ever since Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson has been a director whose films have consistently been met with great critical acclaim. Up until now, warm audience responses were unheard of, though, for the acclaimed filmmaker. Now, his new picture with Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another, has earned a solid “A” CinemaScore grade which puts the director on the map as not only a renowned critically successful filmmaker, but an audience favorite as well.

When Paul Thomas Anderson’s first big Oscar-bait movie, Boogie Nights, opened, it was met with terrific reviews from critics, but it yielded a disappointing “C” CinemaScore grade. It was chalked up at the time to the movie’s controversial pornography theme and an ending in which the lead character (played by Mark Wahlberg) unveiled his penis on-screen. Then, Magnolia opened in 1999 and, with Tom Cruise on board, that film was expected to do well with audiences. It played like gangbusters with critics until that pesky CinemaScore grade was revealed to be a mediocre “C-.” Then, the message became clear that the director’s movies weren’t going to be mainstream crowd-pleasers. At least for the time being.

There were rumors that Anderson’s fine film with Joaquin Phoenix and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master, was earning CinemaScore buzz in the “D” to “F” range, but we never proved that the film was that poorly received with an official revelation of the film’s mark. On top of that, one of Anderson’s best movies before that one, There Will Be Blood, didn’t even reveal a definitive CinemaScore grade. Movies like Inherent Vice and Licorice Pizza from Anderson didn’t poll viewers since they opened in platform release strategies. CinemaScore typically polls movies which open in 1500 theaters or more.

With One Battle After Another, Anderson has won his own personal battle with CinemaScore audiences thanks to the film’s solid “A” grade. Audiences have been kind to Anderson’s vision of a man (played by DiCaprio) looking for his daughter who disappears when an old fomer rival comes into the picture again. This film also features an all-star cast that includes the terrific Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro.

So, the critics have been loving One Battle After Another and now with the audience buzz building, it seems like the film could be a front-runner for the next Oscars ceremony. Of course, there’s the possibility that Anderson’s biggest fans are the ones giving the front-loaded “A” grades, but CinemaScore is usually a highly reliable source to uncover a movie’s overall mainstream appeal. Anderson may have won his battle versus CinemaScore, but, now, he has to win his battle to win a Best Director Oscar which is something he’s never done before.

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