One Battle After Another was one of the best movies of 2025, garnering Oscar buzz in many categories—from Best Picture to Best Director to every acting nod on the list. So it makes sense that the film also delivered some solid memes. In this media landscape, can we say that a movie even existed if we didn’t get some good memes along the way?
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another was atypical in many ways for a PTA movie. It was the largest budget Anderson has ever worked with (reportedly $130-175 million), and some have called it the director’s first action film. The film has grossed about $202 million worldwide, and if you missed it in theaters, a handful of cities are getting a re-release in IMAX 70mm very soon.
Anderson’s other movies—masterpieces like The Master (2012), Phantom Thread (2017), and There Will Be Blood (2007)—have often been serious dramas with rare moments of levity. But One Battle After Another mixed action, drama, and, yes, comedy, in heavy doses to create something very special. And that sense of humor came out in ways both expected and unexpected when the internet got hold of those ideas.
Sometimes the memes have focused on Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, a stoner and former revolutionary who has plenty of opinions about the way the world should look. Other times, Jonny Greenwood’s score became the focus of memes, frequently in a way that only makes sense if you’ve seen the movie. (And if you’ve ever ridden Disneyland’s Cars ride.)
Sean Penn and the secretive Christmas Adventurer’s Club also provided plenty of opportunities for meme-ry. But Benicio del Toro’s line, “a few small beers,” may have been the most meme-able of the bunch. That line wasn’t even in some of the test screenings, according to the editor, Andy Jurgensen.
Below, we’ve got some of the best memes we’ve seen from various corners of the internet. And there are sure to be more in 2026, as movie nerds will likely debate which film deserves more Oscars: One Battle After Another or the upcoming Josh Safdie film Marty Supreme.
https://t.co/s2nSh4lQAZ pic.twitter.com/qi71ddoYY1
— reilly (@GoodPostReilly) September 29, 2025
ken burns introducing any new historical figure in the american revolution doc pic.twitter.com/eCm2vcfDJl
— Jack (@theesaulbadman) November 20, 2025
I Photoshop Paddington into a movie, TV show, or pop culture until I forget: Day 1716 pic.twitter.com/g1hxiZPHMg
— Jaythechou (@jaythechou) November 25, 2025
Nolan: check out this nuclear explosion in 70MM IMAX
PTA: pic.twitter.com/nYEyUaWZq4
— patrick. (@imPatrickT) September 28, 2025
— Jackson Shilobrit (@jackshilobrit) November 14, 2025
“one battle after another” dir. paul thomas anderson (2025) pic.twitter.com/Drxc8QukCn
— clem (@miaclemeverett) October 4, 2025
Obaa ghetto pat bob vaping https://t.co/bVDnYWT9np pic.twitter.com/CIVobXY94E
— respectful huff (@alexqarbuckle) November 14, 2025
The face you make when you get your own Christmas Adventurer corner office https://t.co/7mvPNYoYso
— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) October 6, 2025
Me when I have to log into Google from a laptop I've used 1000 times pic.twitter.com/A9unJ29KmV
— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) September 27, 2025
Mona Simpson was on some One Battle After Another shit https://t.co/Cxgz4FKG30
— Batman or halo (@youwouldntpost) November 19, 2025
Just got out of a One Battle After Another screening and 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/P2KnNJjOqW
— Chris Supreme (@AlsikkanTV) September 7, 2025
After the screening we were secretly ushered into another room where Paul Thomas Anderson announced his and WB’s plan for the Pynchon Cinematic Universe!!!??? https://t.co/0oVgHYQhrR pic.twitter.com/Fc07MK6rNs
— Chris Supreme (@AlsikkanTV) September 7, 2025
What did we miss? Were there other One Battle After Another memes that flew under the radar?
English (US) ·