How Will Warner Campaign Both Sinners and One Battle After Another for Oscars?

"After breaking box-office records with a string of $40 million openings, the studio released Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, which just bolstered its status as the season's most formidable Oscar contender by sweeping the first week of precursor awards. And if, for some reason, One Battle stumbles before the finish line, the title that's best positioned to likely win in its stead is another Warner Bros. movie: Ryan Coogler's Sinners, which, like OBAA, has shown up everywhere it's needed to this season."

"Despite their many similarities, the films took very different paths to the Best Picture field. One Battle's front-runner status came from the top down, its greatness anointed by critics and tastemakers before the general audience could see it. Meanwhile, Sinners 's awards bona fides were established from the bottom up, thanks to the passion of regular viewers. The same firm of Oscar strategists handles all of Warner's films, which means the campaigns are essentially competing against themselves."

Warner Bros. has two leading Best Picture contenders for 2025: One Battle After Another and Sinners. One Battle built frontrunner status through early critical acclaim and precursor-award momentum. Sinners combined critical praise with enthusiastic audience support and earned a place among the year's highest-grossing non-IP films. Both movies reflect the turbulent cultural moment of 2025 and delivered strong box-office results. The same Oscar strategy firm manages both campaigns, producing internal competition for attention and resources. The studio faces decisions about allocating time, money, and focus while both films pursue nominations and potential wins.

Read at Vulture