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Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson

Director, writer, producer, actor and cinematographer · Born June 26, 1970 (56) · Studio City, California, USA

3 Oscars · 2 Golden Globes · 4 BAFTA Awards · 9 other major award bodies

Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation, he is the recipient of three Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTAs, three Critics Choice Awards, and nominations for a Grammy. He is the only person to have won the Academy Award for Best Director, as well as the Best Director Awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival. In addition to those accolades, he won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Many of Anderson's films are psychological dramas characterized by depictions of desperate characters and explorations of dysfunctional families, alienation, loneliness, and redemption, alongside a bold visual style that uses constantly moving cameras and long takes. After his directorial debut, Hard Eight (1996), Anderson had critical and commercial success with Boogie Nights (1997), and received further accolades with Magnolia (1999) and Punch-Drunk Love (2002). There Will Be Blood (2007), Anderson's fifth film, is regarded as one of the greatest films of the 21st century. It was followed by The Master (2012) and Inherent Vice (2014), an adaptation of the 2009 novel by Thomas Pynchon. Anderson's next three films, Phantom Thread (2017), Licorice Pizza (2021) and One Battle After Another (2025) were all nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, while the last earned him wins for both and Best Adapted Screenplay and became his highest-grossing film. Anderson is noted for his collaborations with the cinematographer Robert Elswit, the costume designer Mark Bridges, the composers Jon Brion and Jonny Greenwood, and actors including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Day-Lewis, John C. Reilly, and Joaquin Phoenix. He has directed music videos for artists including Fiona Apple, Haim, Aimee Mann, Joanna Newsom, Michael Penn, Radiohead, and the Smile. He also directed a 2015 documentary about Greenwood's album Junun, and the short music film Anima (2019) for the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke. Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Thomas Anderson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 26, 1970 (56)
From
Studio City, California, USA
Works as
Director, writer, producer, actor and cinematographer
Titles
23 on MovieCove · 37 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 9% in 30 days

What are Paul Thomas Anderson's films like?

Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Drama6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 95th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 90th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 90th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
29%
Bonds
18%
Society
13%
Morality
12%
Power
11%
Ideas
11%
Survival
6%
Art3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeTradition vs change2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 6

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 6 · Intense 6

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 4

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 3

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 3 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 6

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 6

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 7

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
10
Melancholic
6
Contemplative
7
Joyful
5
Absurd
2
Other
12

How their films linger

Bittersweet8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 5 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Paul Thomas Anderson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 17 of their 23 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Paul Thomas Anderson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

37 credits, 23 with a MovieCove page; 11 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director · Camera Operator

  • Digger(2026)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Additional Photography · as Self

  • One Battle After Another(2025)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Escape Room (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Napoleon(2023)

    Script Consultant

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Beau Is Afraid(2023)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Licorice Pizza(2021)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Anima(2019)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • The Dead Don't Die(2019)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • The Movies(2019)

    Show as Director, There Will Be Blood

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows

  • Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh(2018)

    Additional Second Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Waterlily Jaguar(2018)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Phantom Thread(2017)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • HAIM / Valentine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • Daydreaming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Junun(2015)

    Director · Camera Operator · as Self (voice) (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Inherent Vice(2014)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • The Master: Unguided Message (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Actor

  • The Master(2012)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • There Will Be Blood(2007)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Mattress Man Commercial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • 12 Scopitones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Writer

  • Couch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Writer

  • Ballchewer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • The Truth About Charlie(2002)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Punch-Drunk Love(2002)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Minority Report(2002)

    as Bus Passenger (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Corky Romano(2001)

    Script Editor

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Magnolia(1999)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Man Confiscating Sign (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Flagpole Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director · Writer

  • Boogie Nights(1997)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Hard Eight(1996)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Cigarettes & Coffee (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director · Writer

  • Production Assistant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director · as self

  • The Dirk Diggler Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Director · Cinematographer · Writer

  • Saturday Night Live(1975)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles, 35 of them dated from 1975 to 2026.

Biggest box office

One Battle After Another (2025)

$213M worldwide

Highest rated

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

One Battle After Another (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting3 of 36: 2 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting24 of 36: 5 only directing, 19 with another role · typical Midcredits score90thWriting18 of 36: 2 only writing, 16 with another role · typical Midcredits score87thProducing12 of 36: 2 only producing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score93rdCinematography3 of 36: 0 only cinematography, 3 with another roleOther crew8 of 36: 6 only other crew, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score78th

36 titles, 19 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 16 of them.

By decade

1970s1 · crew1980s1 · crew1990s6 · 1 acting · 6 crew2000s9 · 1 acting · 8 crew2010s11 · 1 acting · 10 crew2020s7 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

3 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, 4 BAFTA Awards and 12 other major awards from 61 major nominations, 1996–2026.

WinNomination
  1. 2026
    • Oscar, won · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, won · Best Adapted Screenplay
    • Oscar, won · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Director - Motion Picture
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Director
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Film
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Screenplay (Adapted)
    • +4 other major bodies · 5 wins
      • Directors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
      • Writers Guild Award, won · Adapted Screenplay
      • Producers Guild Award, won · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Adapted Screenplay
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Director
  2. 2022
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Screenplay (Original)
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Director
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
    • +4 other major bodies · 5 nominations
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Original Screenplay
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Director
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
  3. 2020
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Music Film
  4. 2018
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Motion Picture of the Year
  5. 2015
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
    • +2 other major bodies · 1 win and 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
      • Independent Spirit Award, won
  6. 2013
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 nominations
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
  7. 2012
    • Venice award, won · Best Director
    • Venice award, won · Competition
    • Venice award, nominated
  8. 2008
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Director
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay - Adapted
    • +4 other major bodies · 1 win and 4 nominations
      • Berlinale award, won · Best Director
      • Berlinale award, nominated
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
Show 4 earlier years
  1. 2002
    • Cannes award, won
    • Cannes award, nominated
  2. 2000
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 wins and 1 nomination
      • Berlinale award, won ×2
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
  3. 1998
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay - Original
    • +2 other major bodies · 3 nominations
      • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Screenplay
  4. 1996
    • Cannes award, nominated ×2

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Paul Thomas Anderson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 88th percentile, the median of all 21; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 92nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

87thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

98thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 23 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up14
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

11 of their 23 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Crowd Pleaser11
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · producer

Waterlily Jaguar (2018)

82nd percentile spread · 49% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer, producer

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Midcredits 99th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 82/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Paul Thomas Anderson's work okay for kids?

Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore10 titles12–68 · median 52 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity10 titles23–82 · median 49 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity10 titles51–94 · median 82 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs10 titles31–90 · median 55 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense10 titles27–75 · median 53 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Paul Thomas Anderson work with?

People who share at least 2 of Paul Thomas Anderson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jonny Greenwood shares the most, 7.

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles