Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio are carving out a path headed straight for the Oscars with the filmmaker’s 10th milestone movie, One Battle After Another. The upcoming black comedy action is a labor of love on both Anderson and DiCaprio’s part and is set to be the director’s costliest movie yet, with a budget of $130–175 million (Variety).
In a recent interview with the publication, the actor claimed:
There’s just an inundation of content and so much production going on now — which is a good thing, obviously. But I think box office is important because it means people are in the seats going to theater, going to have that communal experience…
Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a career-best performance in One Battle After Another, with critics writing glowing reviews about the Oscar-winner and his uncanny comedic timing. It is only warranted that the actor would go overboard in promoting the movie in the hopes of a healthy box office return, enough to make it a commercial hit.
In that vein, the actor has been plowing through red carpets, attending a fan event in Mexico, appearing on the Kelce brothers’ podcast, and sitting down with Jimmy Fallon at The Tonight Show
P.T. Anderson Must Break His Box Office Curse To Get One Battle After Another Into the Oscars Race
Although DiCaprio’s performance should be enough to draw crowds into the theaters, P.T. Anderson’s box office track record has not been that great throughout his whole career. That makes DiCaprio’s concern for One Battle After Another not only valid but entirely necessary.
Anderson’s films have always dwindled in the $20-$50 million range. The highest any of his films has ever earned was $76.4 million for There Will Be Blood. That makes a solid case against the commercial profitability of auteur films, and yet, Anderson remains an unmatched tour de force when it comes to storytelling.
Unfortunately, for the Academy voters to take note, his film has to perform well above his current scope of box office return; otherwise, even DiCaprio’s star power will fall short of impressing them to hand over the golden statue.
Box Office Predictions for Leonardo DiCaprio’s One Battle After Another
In a recent report published by Deadline, the tally of stats and figures all point toward a career record for Paul Thomas Anderson for his latest epic. According to early predictions, Deadline asserted:
It is expected to reach a $20 million-$25 million domestic take and another $25M abroad for a $50M worldwide debut on the high end.
This means a record high for the director compared to all his previous 9 films, including the most commercially successful movie of his career: There Will Be Blood. If One Battle After Another opens to $20 million, it will be the director’s biggest ever opening at the box office, including even on a global scale.
Which among the above ranks as your favorite P.T. Anderson film of all time? Let us know in the comments below.
One Battle After Another premieres in theaters on 26 September 2025.
