Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film

The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards presented by the Directors Guild of America. With 3 wins out of 13 nominations, Steven Spielberg is both the most awarded and most nominated director of this category in the history of DGA, and the first director to receive DGA nominations in six consecutive decades.^[1] Additionally, Alejandro G. Iñárritu is the only director to win twice successively; he was awarded in 2015 and 2016 for his directorial achievements for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Revenant, respectively.^[2] Three directing teams have shared the award: Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story (1961), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007), and Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures

1968 – (The Lion in Winter); lost to Carol Reed (Oliver!)^[3]

1972 – (The Godfather); lost to Bob Fosse (Cabaret)^[4]

1985 – (The Color Purple); despite the film's 11 total Oscar nominations, Spielberg was not nominated for Best Director.^[5]

1995 – (Apollo 13); Howard was not nominated for the Oscar.^[6]

2000 – (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon); lost to Steven Soderbergh (Traffic)^[7]

2002 – (Chicago); lost to Roman Polanski (The Pianist)^[8]

2012 – (Argo); Affleck was not nominated for the Oscar, although the film won Best Picture.^[9]

2019 – (1917); lost to Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)^[10]

Since its inception the award has predicted the winner of the Academy Award for Best Director on all but eight occasions: