Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao, Josh Safdie Make History, Foreign Directors Shut Out

Paul Thomas Anderson - Ryan Coogler - Chloe Zhao — Variety

The Directors Guild of America unveiled its nominees for its Awards, with a slate that reflects the season’s dominant contenders, and some conspicuous omissions rippling through the Oscar race.

The five filmmakers competing for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film are the following:

Directorial Achievement in Theatrical 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)

The lineup solidifies what has increasingly felt like a two-studio race at the top, with Warner Bros. landing two of the five directing slots, while Netflix, A24 and Focus Features each secure one apiece.

Coogler’s nomination bears historic weight, as he is only the fifth Black director ever recognized by the DGA, and the first since Spike Lee for “BlacKkKlansman” (2018).

Previous Black nominees include Jordan Peele (“Get Out”), Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) and Lee Daniels (“Precious”). Notably, no Black filmmaker has ever won the DGA’s top directing prize.

Zhao continues to make history of her own. The Oscar winner for “Nomadland” (2020) became the third woman — and the first Asian woman — to win the DGA Award and now joins Jane Campion, Kathryn Bigelow and Greta Gerwig as the only women to earn multiple DGA nominations.

In total, only 12 women have ever been nominated in the category.

Zhao is also the first female POC to be nominated a second time.

This marks only the second time in DGA history that majority of the top category’s nominees come from filmmakers representing underrepresented communities.

The first occurred in 2017, when Guillermo Del Toro (“The Shape of Water”), Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), Jordan Peele (“Get Out”) and Martin McDonagh (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) made up the majority of the lineup. Del Toro earned his second career DGA nomination for his gothic adaptation of “Frankenstein.”

Josh Safdie’s comedy “Marty Supreme” also scored: The nomination marks his first career DGA nod and his second solo directorial effort — a significant boost in highly competitive best director race.

Despite what many have called banner year for international and non-English-language cinema, all the auteurs were left outside the DGA circle, just like SAG rejection.

Among the most striking snubs: Joachim Trier for the Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value,” Park Chan-wook for the South Korean black comedy “No Other Choice,” Oliver Laxe for the Spanish rave thriller “Sirât,” Kleber Mendonça Filho for the Brazilian political drama “The Secret Agent.”

Also missing were Clint Bentley’s elegiac period piece “Train Dreams” and both of Richard Linklater’s 2025 efforts, “Blue Moon” and “Nouvelle Vague.”

The DGA also announced nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film, highlighting a strong and eclectic class of emerging filmmakers:

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)

Instituted in 2015 — beginning with Alex Garland for “Ex Machina” — the category has increasingly signaled emerging Oscar traction.

Last year’s winner, RaMell Ross for “Nickel Boys,” went on to earn a best picture nomination, underscoring the award’s growing significance.

In a statement, DGA President Chris Nolan praised the nominees’ artistry and commitment to the craft. “We could not be prouder to recognize the incredible work of this year’s nominees for their dedication to the art of filmmaking,” Nolan said, adding that the guild looks forward to celebrating the honorees at the ceremony.

The DGA remains one of the Oscars most reliable bellwethers.

Since the award’s inception, only 8 DGA winners have failed to convert their victory into an Oscar win for best director: Anthony Harvey (“The Lion in Winter”), Coppola (“The Godfather”), Spielberg (“The Color Purple”), Ron Howard (“Apollo 13”), Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Rob Marshall (“Chicago”), Ben Affleck (“Argo”) and Sam Mendes (“1917”).

The correlation is stronger when it comes to best picture.

Only 2 films — “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989) and “CODA” (2022) — have won the the best picture Oscar without receiving a DGA nomination for directing.

By contrast, six films have won best picture Oscar without even nomination for directing: “Wings,” “Grand Hotel,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Argo,” “Green Book” and “CODA.”

The winners will be announced at the 78th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 7, 2026.