Every Paul Thomas Anderson Movie Ranked From Hard Eight to One Battle After Another: You Won’t Believe What’s Number One

Paul Thomas Anderson does not miss. Some films hit harder than others, sure, but I don’t think he has a true dud in the pile. Which, of course, makes ranking them a blood sport. Here’s how I stack PTA’s movies from worst to best — with the understanding that even the ones near the bottom are still very worth your time.

1. Phantom Thread
   I can hear the how-dare-you already. Look, 1950s haute couture just isn’t my personal playground, and that’s the only reason this lands last. The crazy part: Anderson still makes the world of fastidious dressmaking oddly gripping. Daniel Day-Lewis — in what was pitched as his retirement role — is laser precise, and he’s matched by Lesley Manville and Vicky Krieps, who is a stealth MVP. I find the movie a little chilly overall, but the ending? Unforgettable.

2. Inherent Vice
   Anderson goes full Pynchon here, and the vibe is a shaggy, sun-baked trip through 1970 Los Angeles. It tanked at the box office and divided critics, but it has a culty, stoner-noir charm: Joaquin Phoenix is baked brilliance, Josh Brolin orders pancakes in Japanese like it’s a religious ritual, and Martin Short pops in as a coked-up dentist. It’s baggy and chaotic — and that’s part of the fun.

3. Hard Eight
   The quiet debut that announced the guy could flat-out direct. Under two hours and very much a product of that mid-90s, post-Tarantino Sundance moment, it’s a tight card-shark drama lifted by Philip Baker Hall and John C. Reilly, who are both phenomenal. It doesn’t feel like anything else in Anderson’s filmography, and I have a soft spot for its modesty and precision.

4. The Master
   A thinly veiled riff on Scientology that plays like a duel between two planets: Joaquin Phoenix’s feral, broken drifter and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s seductive guru, Lancaster Dodd (Anderson’s nod to L. Ron Hubbard). It helped reboot Phoenix’s career after the I’m Still Here detour and gave Hoffman one of his towering late-career showcases. Striking, disquieting, and acted within an inch of its life — no wonder we’re still arguing about it.

5. Licorice Pizza
   PTA returns to the loose, high-energy groove of his early stuff with a San Fernando Valley coming-of-age hangout. Cooper Hoffman (yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son) and Alana Haim spark a wonderfully oddball will-they-won’t-they, and the movie just floats on their wavelength. Anderson sprinkles in his usual Valley ephemera, capped by Bradley Cooper rampaging through as producer Jon Peters — hilarious, unhinged, perfect.

6. Punch-Drunk Love
   A stealth love letter to Adam Sandler’s screen persona that gives the man-child depths you don’t see coming. Sandler plays a meek bathroom supply salesman with volcanic anger flashes, who falls for Emily Watson — and Anderson shapes it into a jittery, swoony romance. Jon Brion’s score wraps around the film, with the recurring use of Shelley Duvall and Harry Nilsson’s "He Needs Me" as a lilting heartbeat. Bonus: Philip Seymour Hoffman as a bullying phone-sex kingpin, setting up a final confrontation with Sandler that is pure Anderson electricity.

7. There Will Be Blood
   For many people, this is The One. I get it. Daniel Day-Lewis gives maybe his peak performance, the images are carved out of granite, and Jonny Greenwood’s score is an instant classic. Personally, I lean a bit more toward Anderson’s more kinetic, Altman-ish side (think Boogie Nights and Magnolia). But denying this as a defining film of the 21st century would be ridiculous.

8. One Battle After Another
   Too soon to crown it the champ, but the ceiling here is sky-high. The story centers on a father-daughter bond with Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and newcomer Chase Infiniti anchoring a sweeping, muscular drama. The craft is staggering, the emotions feel lived-in, and it clearly belongs in the top tier — I just want to let it breathe a bit before engraving a plaque. I reviewed it separately if you want the deeper dive.

9. Magnolia
   When it landed in 1999, the reaction was split — a certain frog shower will do that. For me, it’s almost Anderson’s best: a sprawling, emotionally raw mosaic of LA souls trying to outpace their sins. The ensemble is obscene in the best way: Tom Cruise (one of his finest turns), Jason Robards, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, Philip Baker Hall, and William H. Macy, all hitting career highs. Aimee Mann’s songs stitch the whole operatic thing together.

10. Boogie Nights
    My favorite, period. It’s affectionate without being naive, and it nails the buzz and bruise of the 1970s porn scene. Every revisit coughs up new details and jokes. Mark Wahlberg is exactly right as Dirk Diggler, John C. Reilly is a comedic treasure as Reed, and Burt Reynolds is a force-of-nature patriarch as Jack Horner — even if he famously wasn’t a fan of the finished film. It’s bold, funny, tragic, and very alive. Peak PTA.

Alright, your turn: which PTA movie sits at the top for you? Drop it in the comments — and yes, you’re allowed to say Phantom Thread.