For those of us who were already cinephiles when Paul Thomas Anderson burst onto the scene with his dynamic breakthrough Boogie Nights, it’s hard to believe the former directing wunderkind (he was only 27 years old when Boogie Nights was released) has now been making films for 30 years.
His latest production, 2025’s One Battle After Another, makes a fitting backdrop for a look at Anderson’s career. It tells the story of a former revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) turned paranoid pothead single dad who is forced to fight for his daughter after she’s targeted by a high-ranking member of the U.S. military. From literal bomb thrower to bewildered, bumbling father … from boy genius to middle-aged statesman of cinema. Time has a way of changing things, huh?
Putting together a list ranking Paul Thomas Anderson’s entire filmography made me realize: As much as I love Anderson and his movies, I might underrate him as a director. When people ask for my favorite working filmmakers, I don’t tend to cite him, maybe because he’s a patient artist and he goes years between projects. If he hasn’t released a movie recently, he sometimes slips my mind.
But looking at the ten movies he’s made to date, it’s clear he’s in that conversation. He hasn‘t made a bad feature. In fact, the worst movie on this list would be the best movie on a lot of directors’ filmographies. So while these movies are ranked from “worst” to “best” based on my personal preference, ranking these ten titles was a bit like ranking ten similarly sized bars of gold. They all shine pretty brightly.
Every Paul Thomas Anderson Film, Ranked From Worst to Best
Paul Thomas Anderson has made 10 films to date. We ranked them all.
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