13 Nominations. PGA. DGA. The Precursor Sweep That Historically Predicts Best Picture.

One Battle After Another is nominated for Best Picture. It leads all films with 13 nominations. It won PGA. It won DGA. The last five films to sweep both took home the top prize on Oscar night.

Paul Thomas Anderson directed. Leonardo DiCaprio stars. Chase Infiniti — a first-time actor discovered in a K-pop dance group — co-leads. The film was cast by Cassandra Kulukundis, who has worked with Anderson since Hard Eight in 1996. She spent six years finding Infiniti. Anderson spent three years building the film around her once she was found.

The screenplay is Anderson's alone. No co-writer. No adaptation. An original story that the PGA, DGA, and now the Academy have all called the best of the year. Anderson has been nominated for Best Director four times. He has never won. He has been nominated for Best Picture five times. He has never won that either.

Thirteen nominations say the work is undeniable. The precursors say it is inevitable. The only question left is whether the Academy agrees — or finds a reason not to.