- Academy Award for Best Picture
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"Best Picture" redirects here. For other uses, see Best Picture (disambiguation).
Academy Award for Best Picture Awarded for Best Picture of the Year Presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Country United States First awarded 1929 (for films released in 1927 and 1928) Currently held by The King's Speech (2010) Official website oscars.org The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only to vote on the final ballot, but also to nominate. During the annual Academy Awards ceremony, Best Picture is reserved as the final award presented and, since 1951, is collected at the podium by the film's producers. The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is considered the most important of the Academy Awards, as it is the final award presented, and represents all the directing, acting, and writing efforts put forth for a film. The Grand Staircase columns at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, where the Academy Awards ceremonies have been held since 2002, showcase every film that has won the Best Picture title since the award's inception 83 years ago. On June 14, 2011, AMPAS announced that the number of nominees would vary between five and ten films starting with the 2012 ceremony, provided that the film earned 5% of first-place votes during the nomination process.[1]
History
At the 1st Academy Awards ceremony (for 1927 and 1928), there was no Best Picture award. Instead, there were two separate awards, one called Most Outstanding Production, won by the epic Wings, and one called Most Artistic Quality of Production, won by the art film Sunrise. The awards were intended to honor different and equally important aspects of superior filmmaking, and in fact the judges and the studio bosses who sought to influence their decisions paid more attention to the latter - MGM head Louis B. Mayer, who had disliked the realism of King Vidor's The Crowd, another of the nominees (the third was Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's Chang) pressured the judges not to honor his own studio's film, and to select Sunrise instead. The next year, the Academy instituted a single award called Best Production, and decided retroactively that the award won by Wings had been the equivalent of that award, with the result that Wings is often listed as the winner of a sole Best Picture award for the first year. The title of the award was eventually changed to Best Picture for the 1931 awards.
From 1944 to 2008, the Academy restricted nominations to five Best Picture nominees per year. As of the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony (for 2010), there have been 485 films nominated for the Best Picture award. Invariably, the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director have been very closely linked throughout their history. Of the 83 films that have been awarded Best Picture, 61 have also been awarded Best Director.[1] Only three films have won Best Picture without their directors being nominated (though only one since the early 1930s): Wings (1927/28), Grand Hotel (1931/32), and Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The only two Best Director winners to win for films which did not receive a Best Picture nomination are likewise in the early years: Lewis Milestone (1927/28) and Frank Lloyd (1928/29).
On June 24, 2009, AMPAS announced that the number of films nominated in the Best Picture award category would increase from five to ten, starting with the 82nd Academy Awards (2009).[2] The expansion was a throwback to the Academy's early years in the 1930s and '40s, when anywhere between eight and 12 films were shortlisted (or longlisted). "Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize," AMPAS President Sid Ganis said in a press conference. "I can't wait to see what that list of 10 looks like when the nominees are announced in February."[2] At the same time, the voting system was switched from first-past-the-post to Alternative Vote (also known as Instant Run-off Vote).[3]
One point of contention is the lack of consideration of non-English language films for categories other than Best Foreign Language Film. Very few foreign language films have been nominated for any other categories, regardless of artistic merit. To date, only eight foreign language films (and three partly foreign language films) have been nominated for Best Picture: Grand Illusion (French, 1938); Z (French, 1969); The Emigrants (Swedish, 1972); Cries and Whispers (Swedish, 1973); Il Postino (Italian/Spanish, 1995); Life Is Beautiful (Italian, 1998); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Mandarin Chinese, 2000); and Letters from Iwo Jima (Japanese, 2006), which was ineligible for the Best Foreign Language Oscar because it was an American production. The only partly foreign language films to win Best Picture are The Godfather Part II (English/Sicilian, 1974), The Last Emperor (English/Mandarin, 1987) and Slumdog Millionaire (English/Hindi, 2008).
Another point of contention is the recent extreme bias toward 2-plus hour films: Crash (2005, 112m) is the shortest film to win Best Picture in the past 20 years. It has been criticized for ignoring films that were huge commercial and critical successes. Furthermore, no animated film has won the award (Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Disney-Pixar's Up and Toy Story 3 were nominated); no science fiction film has won despite a number of successful nominees; and only one comedy (Shakespeare in Love, 1998) has won in the last 30 years.
To date, eleven films exclusively financed outside the United States have won Best Picture; all eleven were financed, in part or in whole, by the United Kingdom. Those films were, in chronological order: Hamlet, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Tom Jones, A Man for All Seasons, Oliver!, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, The Last Emperor, Slumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech
No Best Picture winner has been lost, though a few such as All Quiet on the Western Front and Lawrence of Arabia exist only in a form altered from their original, award-winning release form, usually due to editing for reissue (and subsequently partly restored by archivists). Other winners and nominees such as Tom Jones and Star Wars are widely available only in subsequently altered versions. The 1928 film The Patriot is the only Best Picture nominee that is lost; The Racket was believed lost for many years but a print existed in producer Howard Hughes' archives and it has since been shown on Turner Classic Movies. Wings and Sunrise were the only silent winners of a Best Picture-equivalent award, although a part-silent version of All Quiet on the Western Front was created for foreign-language release and survives.
Winners and nominees
In the list below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees. Except for the early years (when the Academy used a non-calendar year), the year shown is the one in which the film first premiered in Los Angeles County, California; normally this is also the year of first release, but it may be the year after first release (as with Casablanca and, if the film-festival premiere is considered, Crash). This is the year before the ceremony at which the award is given; for example, a film exhibited theatrically during 2005 was eligible for consideration for the 2005 Best Picture Oscar, awarded in 2006. The number of the ceremony (1st, 2nd, etc.) appears in parentheses after the awards year, linked to the article (if any) on that ceremony. Each individual entry shows the title followed by the production company, and the producer. For foreign language films, the original title is also shown. Until 1950, the Best Picture award was given to the production company; from 1951 on, it has gone to the producer. The official name of the award has changed several times over the years:
- 1927/28 → 1928/29: Outstanding Picture
- 1929/30 → 1940: Outstanding Production
- 1941 → 1943: Outstanding Motion Picture
- 1944 → 1961: Best Motion Picture
- 1962 → Present: Best Picture
For the first ceremony, three films were nominated for the award. For the following three years, five films were nominated for the award. This was expanded to eight in 1933, to ten in 1934, and to twelve in 1935, before being dropped back to ten in 1937. In 1945 it was reduced back to five. This number remained until 2010, when it was once again raised to ten.
For the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. For example, the 2nd Academy Awards presented on April 3, 1930, recognized films that were released between August 1, 1928 and July 31, 1929. Starting with the 7th Academy Awards, held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.
1920s
1927/28[A] (1st) Film Production Company(ies) Producer(s) Wings Paramount, Famous Players-Lasky Lucien Hubbard The Racket Caddo, Paramount Howard Hughes Seventh Heaven Fox William Fox 1928/29 (2nd) Film Production Company(ies) Producer(s) The Broadway Melody Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer[L] Irving Thalberg & Lawrence Weingarten Alibi Feature Productions, United Artists Roland West The Hollywood Revue of 1929 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Harry Rapf In Old Arizona Fox Winfield Sheehan[G] The Patriot Paramount Ernst Lubitsch 1930s
1929/30[B] (3rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) All Quiet on the Western Front Universal Carl Laemmle, Jr. The Big House Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Thalberg Disraeli Warner Bros. Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck The Divorcee Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Robert Z. Leonard The Love Parade Paramount Ernst Lubitsch 1930/31 (4th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Cimarron RKO Radio William LeBaron East Lynne Fox Winfield Sheehan[G] The Front Page Caddo, United Artists Howard Hughes Skippy Paramount Adolph Zukor Trader Horn Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving G. Thalberg 1931/32 (5th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Grand Hotel Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Thalberg Arrowsmith Goldwyn, United Artists Samuel Goldwyn Bad Girl Fox Winfield Sheehan[G] The Champ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer King Vidor Five Star Final First National Hal B. Wallis One Hour with You Paramount Ernst Lubitsch Shanghai Express Paramount Adolph Zukor The Smiling Lieutenant Paramount Ernst Lubitsch 1932/33 (6th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Cavalcade[H] Fox Winfield Sheehan[G] A Farewell to Arms[H] Paramount Adolph Zukor 42nd Street Warner Bros. Darryl F. Zanuck I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis Lady for a Day Columbia Frank Capra Little Women[H] RKO Radio Merian C. Cooper, Kenneth MacGowan The Private Life of Henry VIII London Films, United Artists Alexander Korda She Done Him Wrong Paramount William LeBaron Smilin' Through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Thalberg State Fair Fox Winfield Sheehan[G] 1934 (7th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) It Happened One Night[I] Columbia Harry Cohn The Barretts of Wimpole Street[I] Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Thalberg Cleopatra Paramount Cecil B. DeMille Flirtation Walk First National Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, Robert Lord The Gay Divorcee RKO Radio Pandro S. Berman Here Comes the Navy Warner Bros. Lou Edelman The House of Rothschild[I] 20th Century, United Artists Darryl F. Zanuck, William Goetz, Raymond Griffith Imitation of Life Universal John M. Stahl One Night of Love Columbia Harry Cohn, Everett Riskin The Thin Man Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Hunt Stromberg Viva Villa! Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer David O. Selznick The White Parade Fox Jesse L. Lasky 1935 (8th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Mutiny on the Bounty[J] Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Thalberg, Albert Lewin Alice Adams RKO Radio Pandro S. Berman Broadway Melody of 1936 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer John W. Considine, Jr. Captain Blood[J] Warner Bros., Cosmopolitan Hal B. Wallis, Harry Joe Brown, Gordon Hollingshead David Copperfield Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer David O. Selznick The Informer[J] RKO Radio Cliff Reid The Lives of a Bengal Lancer Paramount Louis D. Lighton A Midsummer Night's Dream Warner Bros. Henry Blanke Les Misérables 20th Century, United Artists Darryl F. Zanuck Naughty Marietta Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Hunt Stromberg Ruggles of Red Gap Paramount Arthur Hornblow, Jr. Top Hat RKO Radio Pandro S. Berman 1936 (9th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Great Ziegfeld Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Hunt Stromberg Anthony Adverse Warner Bros. Henry Blanke Dodsworth Goldwyn, United Artists Samuel Goldwyn, Merritt Hulbert Libeled Lady Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Lawrence Weingarten Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Columbia Frank Capra Romeo and Juliet Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Thalberg San Francisco Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer John Emerson, Bernard H. Hyman The Story of Louis Pasteur Warner Bros. Henry Blanke A Tale of Two Cities Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer David O. Selznick Three Smart Girls Universal Joe Pasternak, Charles R. Rogers 1937 (10th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Life of Emile Zola Warner Bros. Henry Blanke The Awful Truth Columbia Leo McCarey, Everett Riskin Captains Courageous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Louis Lighton Dead End Goldwyn, United Artists Samuel Goldwyn, Merritt Hulbert The Good Earth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Thalberg, Albert Lewin In Old Chicago 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck, Kenneth MacGowan Lost Horizon Columbia Frank Capra One Hundred Men and a Girl Universal Charles R. Rogers, Joe Pasternak Stage Door RKO Radio Pandro S. Berman A Star Is Born Selznick International, United Artists David O. Selznick 1938 (11th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) You Can't Take It With You Columbia Frank Capra The Adventures of Robin Hood Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis, Henry Blanke Alexander's Ragtime Band 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Joe Brown Boys Town Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer John W. Considine, Jr. The Citadel Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Victor Saville Four Daughters Warner Bros., First National Hal B. Wallis, Henry Blanke Grand Illusion R. A. O., World Pictures Frank Rollmer, Albert Pinkovitch Jezebel Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis, Henry Blanke Pygmalion Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Gabriel Pascal Test Pilot Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Louis Lighton 1939 (12th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Gone with the Wind Selznick, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer David O. Selznick Dark Victory Warner Bros. David Lewis Goodbye, Mr. Chips Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Victor Saville Love Affair RKO Radio Leo McCarey Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Columbia Frank Capra Ninotchka Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sidney Franklin Of Mice and Men Roach, United Artists Lewis Milestone Stagecoach United Artists Walter Wanger The Wizard of Oz Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Mervyn LeRoy Wuthering Heights Goldwyn, United Artists Samuel Goldwyn 1940s
1940 (13th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Rebecca Selznick, United Artists David O. Selznick All This, and Heaven Too Warner Bros. Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, David Lewis Foreign Correspondent Wanger, United Artists Walter Wanger The Grapes of Wrath 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck, Nunnally Johnson The Great Dictator Chaplin, United Artists Charlie Chaplin Kitty Foyle RKO Radio David Hempstead The Letter Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis The Long Voyage Home Argosy, Wanger, United Artists John Ford Our Town Lesser, United Artists Sol Lesser The Philadelphia Story Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1941[C] (14th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) How Green Was My Valley 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck Blossoms in the Dust Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Irving Asher Citizen Kane RKO Radio Orson Welles Here Comes Mr. Jordan Columbia Everett Riskin Hold Back the Dawn Paramount Arthur Hornblow, Jr. The Little Foxes RKO Radio Samuel Goldwyn The Maltese Falcon Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis One Foot in Heaven Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis Sergeant York Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis, Jesse L. Lasky Suspicion RKO Radio Alfred Hitchcock 1942 (15th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Mrs. Miniver Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sidney Franklin 49th Parallel GFD, Columbia Michael Powell Kings Row Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis The Magnificent Ambersons Mercury, RKO Radio Orson Welles The Pied Piper 20th Century Fox Nunnally Johnson The Pride of the Yankees Goldwyn, RKO Radio Samuel Goldwyn Random Harvest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sidney Franklin The Talk of the Town Columbia George Stevens Wake Island Paramount Joseph Sistrom Yankee Doodle Dandy Warner Bros. Jack Warner, Hal B. Wallis, William Cagney 1943 (16th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Casablanca Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis For Whom the Bell Tolls Paramount Sam Wood Heaven Can Wait 20th Century Fox Ernst Lubitsch The Human Comedy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Clarence Brown In Which We Serve United Artists Noël Coward Madame Curie Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sidney Franklin The More the Merrier Columbia George Stevens The Ox-Bow Incident 20th Century Fox Lamar Trotti The Song of Bernadette 20th Century Fox William Perlberg Watch on the Rhine Warner Bros. Hal B. Wallis 1944[D] (17th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Going My Way Paramount Leo McCarey Double Indemnity Paramount Joseph Sistrom Gaslight Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Arthur Hornblow, Jr. Since You Went Away Selznick, United Artists David O. Selznick Wilson 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck 1945 (18th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Lost Weekend Paramount Charles Brackett Anchors Aweigh Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Joe Pasternak The Bells of St. Mary's RKO Radio Leo McCarey Mildred Pierce Warner Bros. Jerry Wald Spellbound United Artists David O. Selznick 1946 (19th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Best Years of Our Lives RKO Radio Samuel Goldwyn Henry V United Artists Laurence Olivier It's a Wonderful Life RKO Radio Frank Capra The Razor's Edge 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck The Yearling Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sidney Franklin 1947 (20th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Gentleman's Agreement 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck The Bishop's Wife RKO Radio Samuel Goldwyn Crossfire RKO Radio Adrian Scott Great Expectations Rank-Cineguild, U-I Ronald Neame Miracle on 34th Street 20th Century Fox William Perlberg 1948 (21st) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Hamlet J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films, Universal International Laurence Olivier Johnny Belinda Warner Bros. Jerry Wald The Red Shoes Rank Organisation, Powell and Pressburger, Eagle-Lion Films Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger The Snake Pit 20th Century Fox Anatole Litvak, Robert Bassler The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Warner Bros. Henry Blanke 1949 (22nd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) All the King's Men Rossen, Columbia Robert Rossen Battleground Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Dore Schary The Heiress Paramount William Wyler A Letter to Three Wives 20th Century Fox Sol C. Siegel Twelve O'Clock High 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck 1950s
1950 (23rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) All About Eve 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck Born Yesterday Columbia S. Sylvan Simon Father of the Bride Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sam Zimbalist King Solomon's Mines Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sam Zimbalist Sunset Boulevard Paramount Charles Brackett 1951 (24th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) An American in Paris Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Arthur Freed Decision Before Dawn 20th Century Fox Anatole Litvak, Frank McCarthy A Place in the Sun Paramount George Stevens Quo Vadis Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sam Zimbalist A Streetcar Named Desire Warner Bros. Charles K. Feldman 1952 (25th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Greatest Show on Earth Paramount Cecil B. DeMille High Noon United Artists Stanley Kramer Ivanhoe Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pandro S. Berman Moulin Rouge United Artists John Huston The Quiet Man Republic John Ford, Merian C. Cooper 1953 (26th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) From Here to Eternity Columbia Buddy Adler Julius Caesar Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer John Houseman The Robe 20th Century Fox Frank Ross Roman Holiday Paramount William Wyler Shane Paramount George Stevens 1954 (27th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) On the Waterfront Columbia Sam Spiegel[N] The Caine Mutiny Columbia Stanley Kramer The Country Girl Paramount William Perlberg Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Jack Cummings Three Coins in the Fountain 20th Century Fox Sol C. Siegel 1955 (28th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Marty United Artists Harold Hecht Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing 20th Century Fox Buddy Adler Mister Roberts Warner Bros. Leland Hayward Picnic Columbia Fred Kohlmar The Rose Tattoo Paramount Hal B. Wallis 1956 (29th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Around the World in 80 Days United Artists Michael Todd Friendly Persuasion Allied Artists William Wyler Giant Warner Bros. George Stevens, Henry Ginsberg The King and I 20th Century Fox Charles Brackett The Ten Commandments Paramount Cecil B. DeMille 1957 (30th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Bridge on the River Kwai Columbia Sam Spiegel Peyton Place 20th Century Fox Jerry Wald Sayonara Warner Bros. William Goetz 12 Angry Men United Artists Henry Fonda, Reginald Rose Witness for the Prosecution United Artists Arthur Hornblow, Jr. 1958 (31st) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Gigi Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Arthur Freed Auntie Mame Warner Bros. Jack L. Warner Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Lawrence Weingarten The Defiant Ones Kramer, United Artists Stanley Kramer Separate Tables United Artists Harold Hecht 1959 (32nd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Ben-Hur Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Sam Zimbalist Anatomy of a Murder Columbia Otto Preminger The Diary of Anne Frank 20th Century Fox George Stevens The Nun's Story Warner Bros. Henry Blanke Room at the Top Continental, British Lion Films John Woolf, James Woolf 1960s
1960 (33rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Apartment United Artists Billy Wilder The Alamo United Artists John Wayne Elmer Gantry United Artists Bernard Smith Sons and Lovers 20th Century Fox Jerry Wald The Sundowners Warner Bros. Fred Zinnemann 1961 (34th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) West Side Story United Artists Robert Wise Fanny Warner Bros. Joshua Logan The Guns of Navarone Columbia Carl Foreman The Hustler 20th Century Fox Robert Rossen Judgment at Nuremberg United Artists Stanley Kramer 1962[E] (35th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Lawrence of Arabia Columbia Sam Spiegel The Longest Day 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck The Music Man Warner Bros. Morton DaCosta Mutiny on the Bounty Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Aaron Rosenberg To Kill a Mockingbird U-I Alan J. Pakula 1963 (36th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Tom Jones United Artists Tony Richardson America, America Warner Bros. Elia Kazan Cleopatra 20th Century Fox Walter Wanger How the West Was Won Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Cinerama Bernard Smith Lilies of the Field United Artists Ralph Nelson 1964 (37th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) My Fair Lady Warner Bros. Jack L. Warner Becket Paramount Hal B. Wallis Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Columbia Stanley Kubrick Mary Poppins Walt Disney Productions Walt Disney, Bill Walsh Zorba the Greek 20th Century Fox Michael Cacoyannis 1965 (38th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Sound of Music 20th Century Fox Robert Wise Darling Embassy Joseph Janni Doctor Zhivago Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Carlo Ponti Ship of Fools Columbia Stanley Kramer A Thousand Clowns United Artists Fred Coe 1966 (39th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) A Man for All Seasons Columbia Fred Zinnemann Alfie Paramount Lewis Gilbert The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming United Artists Norman Jewison The Sand Pebbles 20th Century Fox Robert Wise Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Warner Bros. Ernest Lehman 1967 (40th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) In the Heat of the Night United Artists Walter Mirisch Bonnie and Clyde Warner Bros., Seven Arts Warren Beatty Doctor Dolittle 20th Century Fox Arthur P. Jacobs The Graduate Embassy Lawrence Turman Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Columbia Stanley Kramer 1968 (41st) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Oliver! Columbia John Woolf Funny Girl Columbia Ray Stark The Lion in Winter Avco Embassy Martin Poll Rachel, Rachel Warner Bros. Paul Newman Romeo and Juliet Paramount Anthony Havelock-Allan, John Brabourne 1969 (42nd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Midnight Cowboy United Artists Jerome Hellman Anne of the Thousand Days Universal Hal B. Wallis Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 20th Century Fox John Foreman Hello, Dolly! 20th Century Fox Ernest Lehman Z[K] Cinema V Jacques Perrin, Ahmed Rachedi 1970s
1970 (43rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Patton 20th Century Fox Frank McCarthy Airport Universal Ross Hunter Five Easy Pieces Columbia Bob Rafelson, Richard Wechsler Love Story Paramount Howard G. Minsky MASH 20th Century Fox Ingo Preminger 1971 (44th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The French Connection 20th Century Fox Philip D'Antoni A Clockwork Orange Warner Bros. Stanley Kubrick Fiddler on the Roof United Artists Norman Jewison The Last Picture Show Columbia Stephen J. Friedman Nicholas and Alexandra Columbia Sam Spiegel 1972 (45th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Godfather Paramount Albert S. Ruddy Cabaret Allied Artists Cy Feuer Deliverance Warner Bros. John Boorman The Emigrants[K] Warner Bros. Bengt Forslund Sounder 20th Century Fox Robert B. Radnitz 1973 (46th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Sting Universal Tony Bill, Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips American Graffiti Lucasfilm, Universal Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Kurtz Cries and Whispers[K] New World Pictures Ingmar Bergman The Exorcist Warner Bros. William Peter Blatty A Touch of Class Avco Embassy Melvin Frank 1974 (47th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Godfather Part II[O] Paramount Francis Ford Coppola, Gray Frederickson, Fred Roos Chinatown Paramount Robert Evans The Conversation Paramount Francis Ford Coppola Lenny United Artists Marvin Worth The Towering Inferno 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. Irwin Allen 1975 (48th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest United Artists Saul Zaentz[N], Michael Douglas Barry Lyndon Warner Bros. Stanley Kubrick Dog Day Afternoon Warner Bros. Martin Bregman, Martin Elfand Jaws Universal Richard D. Zanuck Nashville Paramount Robert Altman 1976 (49th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Rocky United Artists Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff All the President's Men Warner Bros. Walter Coblenz Bound for Glory United Artists Robert F. Blumofe, Harold Leventhal Network Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists Howard Gottfried Taxi Driver Columbia Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips 1977 (50th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Annie Hall United Artists Charles H. Joffe The Goodbye Girl Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros. Ray Stark Julia 20th Century Fox Richard Roth Star Wars Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox Gary Kurtz The Turning Point 20th Century Fox Herbert Ross, Arthur Laurents 1978 (51st) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Deer Hunter Universal Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino, John Peverall Coming Home United Artists Jerome Hellman Heaven Can Wait Paramount Warren Beatty Midnight Express Columbia Alan Marshall, David Puttnam An Unmarried Woman 20th Century Fox Paul Mazursky, Tony Ray 1979 (52nd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Kramer vs. Kramer Columbia Stanley R. Jaffe All That Jazz 20th Century Fox Robert Alan Aurthur Apocalypse Now United Artists Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Roos, Gray Frederickson, Tom Sternberg Breaking Away 20th Century Fox Peter Yates Norma Rae 20th Century Fox Tamara Asseyev, Alex Rose 1980s
1980 (53rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Ordinary People Paramount Ronald L. Schwary Coal Miner's Daughter Universal Bernard Schwartz The Elephant Man Paramount Jonathan Sanger Raging Bull United Artists Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff Tess Columbia Claude Berri, Timothy Burrill 1981 (54th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Chariots of Fire The Ladd Company, Warner Bros. David Puttnam Atlantic City Paramount Denis Héroux On Golden Pond ITC, Universal Bruce Gilbert Raiders of the Lost Ark Lucasfilm, Paramount Frank Marshall Reds Paramount Warren Beatty 1982 (55th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Gandhi Columbia Richard Attenborough E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Universal Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy[M] Missing Universal Edward Lewis, Mildred Lewis Tootsie Columbia Sydney Pollack, Dick Richards The Verdict 20th Century Fox Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown 1983 (56th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Terms of Endearment Paramount James L. Brooks The Big Chill Columbia Michael Shamberg The Dresser Columbia Peter Yates The Right Stuff Warner Bros., The Ladd Company Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff Tender Mercies EMI Films, Universal Philip S. Hobel 1984 (57th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Amadeus Orion Saul Zaentz The Killing Fields Warner Bros. David Puttnam A Passage to India Columbia John Brabourne, Richard Goodwin Places in the Heart Tri-Star Arlene Donovan A Soldier's Story Columbia Norman Jewison, Ronald L. Schwary, Patrick Palmer 1985 (58th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Out of Africa Universal Sydney Pollack The Color Purple Warner Bros. Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Quincy Jones Kiss of the Spider Woman Island Alive David Weisman Prizzi's Honor 20th Century Fox, ABC Motion Pictures John Foreman Witness Paramount Edward S. Feldman 1986 (59th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Platoon Orion Arnold Kopelson Children of a Lesser God Paramount Burt Sugarman, Patrick J. Palmer Hannah and Her Sisters Orion Robert Greenhut The Mission Warner Bros. Fernando Ghia, David Puttnam A Room with a View Cinecom Ismail Merchant 1987 (60th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Last Emperor[O] Columbia Jeremy Thomas Broadcast News 20th Century Fox James L. Brooks Fatal Attraction Paramount Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing Hope and Glory Columbia John Boorman Moonstruck Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Patrick J. Palmer, Norman Jewison 1988 (61st) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Rain Man United Artists Mark Johnson The Accidental Tourist Warner Bros. Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Okun, Michael Grillo Dangerous Liaisons Warner Bros. Norma Heyman, Hank Moonjean Mississippi Burning Orion Frederick Zollo, Robert F. Colesberry Working Girl 20th Century Fox Douglas Wick 1989 (62nd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Driving Miss Daisy Warner Bros. Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck Born on the Fourth of July Universal A. Kitman Ho, Oliver Stone Dead Poets Society Touchstone Pictures Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas Field of Dreams Universal Lawrence Gordon, Charles Gordon My Left Foot Miramax Noel Pearson 1990s
1990 (63rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Dances with Wolves Orion Jim Wilson, Kevin Costner Awakenings Columbia Walter F. Parkes, Lawrence Lasker Ghost Paramount Lisa Weinstein The Godfather Part III Paramount Francis Ford Coppola Goodfellas Warner Bros. Irwin Winkler 1991 (64th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Silence of the Lambs Orion Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ron Bozman Beauty and the Beast Disney Don Hahn Bugsy TriStar Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson, Warren Beatty JFK Warner Bros. A. Kitman Ho, Oliver Stone The Prince of Tides Columbia Barbra Streisand, Andrew S. Karsch 1992 (65th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Unforgiven Warner Bros. Clint Eastwood The Crying Game Miramax Stephen Woolley A Few Good Men Columbia, Castle Rock Entertainment Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman Howards End Sony Pictures Classics Ismail Merchant Scent of a Woman Universal Martin Brest 1993 (66th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Schindler's List Universal Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, Branko Lustig The Fugitive Warner Bros. Arnold Kopelson In the Name of the Father Universal Jim Sheridan The Piano Miramax Jane Campion The Remains of the Day Columbia Mike Nichols, John Calley, Ismail Merchant 1994 (67th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Forrest Gump Paramount Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey Four Weddings and a Funeral PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Gramercy Duncan Kenworthy Pulp Fiction Miramax Lawrence Bender Quiz Show Hollywood Pictures Michael Jacobs, Julian Krainin, Michael Nozick, Robert Redford The Shawshank Redemption Columbia, Castle Rock Entertainment Niki Marvin 1995 (68th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Braveheart Paramount, Icon, 20th Century Fox Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd, Jr., Bruce Davey Apollo 13 Universal, Imagine Entertainment Brian Grazer Babe Universal Bill Miller, George Miller, Doug Mitchell The Postman (Il Postino)[K] Miramax Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Gaetano Daniele Sense and Sensibility Columbia Lindsay Doran 1996 (69th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The English Patient Miramax Saul Zaentz Fargo PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Gramercy Ethan Coen Jerry Maguire Gracie Films, TriStar James L. Brooks, Laurence Mark, Richard Sakai, Cameron Crowe Secrets & Lies October Films Simon Channing-Williams Shine Fine Line Features Jane Scott 1997 (70th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Titanic Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Paramount James Cameron, Jon Landau As Good as It Gets TriStar James L. Brooks, Bridget Johnson, Kristi Zea The Full Monty Fox Searchlight Umberto Pasolini Good Will Hunting Miramax Lawrence Bender L.A. Confidential Warner Bros. Curtis Hanson, Arnon Milchan, Michael G. Nathanson 1998 (71st) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Shakespeare in Love Miramax/Universal David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marc Norman Elizabeth PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Gramercy Shekhar Kapur, Alison Owen, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan Life Is Beautiful[K] Miramax Elda Ferri, Gianluigi Braschi Saving Private Ryan DreamWorks, Paramount Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn The Thin Red Line 20th Century Fox Robert Michael Geisler, John Roberdeau, Grant Hill 1999 (72nd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) American Beauty DreamWorks Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks The Cider House Rules Miramax Richard N. Gladstein The Green Mile Castle Rock Entertainment, Warner Bros. Frank Darabont, David Valdes The Insider Touchstone Pictures Pieter Jan Brugge, Michael Mann The Sixth Sense Hollywood Pictures Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel, M. Night Shyamalan 2000s
2000 (73rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Gladiator DreamWorks, Universal Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, Branko Lustig Chocolat Miramax David Brown, Kit Golden, Leslie Holleran Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon[K] Sony Pictures Classics William Kong, Hsu Li Kong, Ang Lee Erin Brockovich Universal, Columbia Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher Traffic USA Films Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Laura Bickford 2001 (74th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) A Beautiful Mind Universal, DreamWorks Brian Grazer, Ron Howard Gosford Park USA Films Robert Altman, Bob Balaban, David Levy In the Bedroom Miramax Graham Leader, Ross Katz, Todd Field The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring New Line Cinema Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Barrie M. Osborne Moulin Rouge! 20th Century Fox Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann, Fred Baron 2002 (75th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Chicago Miramax Martin Richards Gangs of New York Miramax Alberto Grimaldi, Harvey Weinstein The Hours Paramount, Miramax Scott Rudin, Robert Fox The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers New Line Cinema Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson The Pianist Focus Features Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde 2003 (76th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line Cinema Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh Lost in Translation Focus Features Ross Katz, Sofia Coppola Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 20th Century Fox, Miramax, Universal Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., Peter Weir, Duncan Henderson Mystic River Warner Bros. Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt, Clint Eastwood Seabiscuit Universal, DreamWorks Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Gary Ross 2004 (77th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Million Dollar Baby Warner Bros. Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, Tom Rosenberg The Aviator Warner Bros., Miramax Michael Mann, Graham King Finding Neverland Miramax Richard N. Gladstein, Nellie Bellflower Ray Universal Taylor Hackford, Stuart Benjamin, Howard Baldwin Sideways Fox Searchlight Michael London 2005 (78th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Crash Lions Gate Entertainment Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman Brokeback Mountain Focus Features Diana Ossana, James Schamus Capote United Artists Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven Good Night, and Good Luck Warner Bros. Grant Heslov Munich DreamWorks, Universal Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel 2006 (79th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Departed Warner Bros. Graham King Babel Paramount Vantage Alejandro González Iñárritu, Steve Golin, Jon Kilik Letters from Iwo Jima[K] Warner Bros. Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Robert Lorenz Little Miss Sunshine Fox Searchlight David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub The Queen Miramax Andy Harries, Christine Langan, Tracey Seaward 2007 (80th) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) No Country for Old Men Miramax, Paramount Vantage Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Atonement Focus Features Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster Juno Fox Searchlight Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, Russell Smith Michael Clayton Warner Bros. Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent, Sydney Pollack There Will Be Blood Paramount Vantage, Miramax Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar 2008 (81st) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) Slumdog Millionaire[O] Fox Searchlight, Warner Bros. Christian Colson The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Paramount, Warner Bros. Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Cean Chaffin Frost/Nixon Universal Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Eric Fellner Milk Focus Features Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks The Reader The Weinstein Co. Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris 2009 (82nd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The Hurt Locker Summit Entertainment Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro Avatar Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Fox James Cameron, Jon Landau The Blind Side Warner Bros. Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson District 9 TriStar Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham An Education Sony Pictures Classics Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey Inglourious Basterds The Weinstein Co., Universal Lawrence Bender Precious Lions Gate Entertainment Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness A Serious Man Focus Features Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Up Disney/Pixar Jonas Rivera Up in the Air Paramount Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman 2010s
2010 (83rd) Film Production company(s) Producer(s) The King's Speech The Weinstein Co. Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin Black Swan Fox Searchlight Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy and Brian Oliver The Fighter Paramount David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg Inception Warner Bros. Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas The Kids Are All Right Focus Features Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray 127 Hours Fox Searchlight Danny Boyle and Christian Colson The Social Network Columbia Dana Brunetti, Ceán Chaffin, Michael De Luca and Scott Rudin Toy Story 3 Disney/Pixar Darla K. Anderson True Grit Paramount Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin Winter's Bone Roadside Attractions Alix Madigan and Anne Rosellini Notes
- A : The official name of the award for 1928 and 1929 called Outstanding Picture
- B : The official name of the award from 1930 to 1940 called Outstanding Production
- C : The official name of the award from 1941 to 1943 called Outstanding Motion Picture
- D : The official name of the award from 1944 to 1961 called Best Motion Picture
- E : The official name of the award from 1962 called Best Picture
- F : There were two categories for "Outstanding Picture" with the other being Academy Award for Best Unique and Artistic Production where the winner was Sunrise (production company: Fox; producer: William Fox). This category was dropped immediately after the first year of the Academy Award.[4]
- G1 2 3 4 5 : Head of studio
- H1 2 3 : The Academy also announced that A Farewell to Arms came in second, and Little Women third.
- I1 2 3 : The Academy also announced that The Barretts of Wimpole Street came in second, and The House of Rothschild third.
- J1 2 3 : The Academy also announced that The Informer came in second, and Captain Blood third.
- K1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 : Nominated motion picture with non-English dialogue track (AMPAS: foreign language film).[5] Three of which, Z, Life is Beautiful and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[6]
- L : Production company with the most nominations (38) and the most awards (5). Applying only from 1928 to 1950.[7]
- M : Person with the most nominations (6 nominations, 0 awards). Applying only from 1951 to 2008.[7]
- N : Person with the most awards (3 awards, Spiegel 4 nominations, Zaentz 3 nominations). Applying only from 1951 to 2008.[7]
- O1 2 3 : Winner with partly non-English dialogue track (AMPAS: foreign language).[8]
Milestones
Listed below are various milestones for Best Picture that various films and individuals have achieved since the inception of the Academy Awards.
Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 2nd 1928/29 The Broadway Melody 1 3 First winner for Best Picture to receive an acting nomination 7th 1934 It Happened One Night 5 5 First Best Picture nominee to win both Best Actor and Best Actress 15th 1942 Mrs. Miniver 6 12 First Best Picture nominee to receive nominations in all of the four acting categories 26th 1953 From Here to Eternity 8 13 Last Best Picture winner to date to receive nominations in all of the four acting categories 35th 1962 Lawrence of Arabia 7 10 Only Best Picture winner to have credited roles for actors of only one gender 54th 1981 Reds 3 12 Last Best Picture nominee to date to receive nominations in all four of the acting categories 64th 1991 The Silence of the Lambs 5 7 Last Best Picture winner to date to win both Best Actor and Best Actress 70th 1997 As Good As It Gets 2 7 Last Best Picture nominee to date to win both Best Actor and Best Actress 76th 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 11 11 First (and only) film to win more than 10 awards (including Best Picture) and not receive an acting nomination 81st 2008 Slumdog Millionaire 8 10 Last film to date to win Best Picture without receiving any acting nominations Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 6th 1932/33 The Private Life of Henry VIII 1 2 First foreign film to be nominated for Best Picture and to win any Academy Award (British) 11th 1938 Grand Illusion 0 1 First foreign language film to be nominated for Best Picture (French) 21st 1948 Hamlet 4 7 First foreign film to win Best Picture (British) 73rd 2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 4 10 Foreign language film nominated for Best Picture to date with the most number of Academy Award nominations 79th 2006 Letters from Iwo Jima 1 4 Last foreign language film to date to be nominated for Best Picture (Japanese) 79th 2006 The Departed 4 5 First (and only) remake of a foreign film to win Best Picture 81st 2008 Slumdog Millionaire 8 10 Tied with Gandhi as Best Picture winner with second most Oscars for a British production (behind The English Patient and The Last Emperor both with nine each).[9] Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 34th 1961 West Side Story 10 11 First of only two Best Picture winners to have more than one credited director (Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise) 59th 1986 Children of a Lesser God 1 5 First film directed by a woman (Randa Haines) to be nominated for Best Picture 62nd 1989 Driving Miss Daisy 4 9 Last film to date to win Best Picture without being nominated for Best Director 70th 1997 Titanic 11 14 First Best Picture winner to be produced, directed, written, and edited by the same person (James Cameron) 71st 1998 Shakespeare in Love 7 13 Most Oscars without a Best Director win 80th 2007 No Country for Old Men 4 8 Last Best Picture winner to date to have more than one credited director (Joel and Ethan Coen) 82nd 2009 The Hurt Locker 6 9 First (and only) Best Picture winner directed by a woman (Kathryn Bigelow) 82nd 2009 Precious 2 6 First (and only) Best Picture nominee directed by an African-American (Lee Daniels) Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 1st 1927/28 Wings 2 2 First war film to be nominated and win Best Picture 1st 1927/28 Wings 2 2 First (and only) silent film to win Best Picture 2nd 1928/29 The Broadway Melody 1 3 First musical to win Best Picture 4th 1930/31 Cimarron 3 7 First Western to win Best Picture 7th 1934 It Happened One Night 5 5 First comedy to win Best Picture 10th 1937 The Life of Emile Zola 3 10 First biographical picture (biopic) to win Best Picture 12th 1939 The Wizard of Oz 2 6 First children's film to be nominated for Best Picture 13th 1940 Rebecca 2 11 First (and only) thriller to win Best Picture 40th 1967 In the Heat of the Night 5 7 First (and only) mystery to win Best Picture 44th 1971 A Clockwork Orange 0 4 First science fiction film to be nominated for Best Picture 46th 1973 The Exorcist 2 10 First horror film to be nominated for Best Picture 49th 1976 Rocky 3 10 First sports film to win Best Picture 58th 1985 Kiss of the Spider Woman 1 4 First Independent film to be nominated for Best Picture 64th 1991 Beauty and the Beast 2 6 First animated film to be nominated for Best Picture 64th 1991 The Silence of the Lambs 5 7 First (and only) horror film to win Best Picture 71st 1998 Shakespeare in Love 7 13 Last comedy to date to win Best Picture 73rd 2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 4 10 First (and only) martial arts film to date to be nominated for Best Picture 75th 2002 Chicago 6 13 Last musical to date to win (or be nominated for) Best Picture 76th 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 11 11 First (and only) fantasy film to date to win Best Picture 83rd 2010 The King's Speech 4 12 Last biopic to date to win Best Picture Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 1st 1927/28 Wings 2 2 Winner of the first Academy award for Best Picture 2nd 1928/29 The Broadway Melody 1 3 First film to win Best Picture without winning any other Academy Awards 4th 1930/31 Cimarron 3 7 First film to be nominated for every major Academy Award, including Best Picture 5th 1931/32 Grand Hotel 1 1 First (and only) film to win Best Picture without receiving any other nominations 7th 1934 It Happened One Night 5 5 First of only three films to win every major Academy Award, including Best Picture 8th 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty 1 8 Last film to date to win Best Picture without winning any other Academy Awards 16th 1943 The Ox-Bow Incident 0 1 Last film to date to be nominated for Best Picture and no other award 24th 1951 Decision Before Dawn 0 2 First film to be nominated for Best Picture and only one other award after the switch to five nominees in 1944 39th 1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 5 13 First (and only) Best Picture nominee to be nominated for every award category in which it was eligible 53rd 1980 Ordinary People 4 6 Last film to date to win Best Picture without a Best Film Editing nomination. 48th 1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 5 9 Second of only three films to win every major Academy Award, including Best Picture 64th 1991 The Silence of the Lambs 5 7 Third of only three films to win every major Academy Award, including Best Picture 70th 1997 Titanic 11 14 Last film to date to win Best Picture without a screenplay nomination (Adapted or Original) 76th 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 11 11 Last film to date to win Best Picture and all of its other nominated categories Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 11th 1938 You Can't Take It With You 2 7 First of only two Best Picture winners to have been adapted for the screen from plays which won the Pulitzer Prize 18th 1945 The Lost Weekend 4 7 Only film to win both Best Picture and the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix du Festival International du Film 28th 1955 Marty 4 8 Only film to win both Best Picture and the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or 46th 1973 The Sting 7 10 First of only two films to win Best Picture without being nominated for either of the three Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture (drama, comedy/musical or foreign film). 61st 1988 Rain Man 4 8 First (and only) film to win Berlin Golden Bear and Best Picture 62nd 1989 Driving Miss Daisy 4 9 Second of only two Best Picture winners to have been adapted for the screen from plays having won the Pulitzer Prize 78th 2005 Crash 3 6 One of only two film festival acquisitions to win Best Picture 78th 2005 Crash 3 6 Second of only two films to win Best Picture without being nominated for either of the three Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture (drama, comedy/musical or foreign film). 82nd 2009 The Hurt Locker 6 9 Second of only two film festival acquisitions to win Best Picture Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 41st 1968 Oliver! 6 11 First film with an MPAA rating to win Best Picture 41st 1968 Oliver! 6 11 First (and only) G-rated film to date to win Best Picture 42nd 1969 Midnight Cowboy 3 7 First (and only) X-rated film to win Best Picture 42nd 1969 Anne of the Thousand Days 1 10 First M-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture 42nd 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 4 7 Last M-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture 43rd 1970 Patton 7 10 First (and only) GP-rated film to win Best Picture 44th 1971 A Clockwork Orange 0 4 Last X-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture 44th 1971 Nicholas and Alexandra 2 7 Last GP-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture 44th 1971 The French Connection 5 8 First R-rated film to win Best Picture 46th 1973 The Sting 7 10 First PG-rated film to win Best Picture 58th 1985 The Color Purple 0 11 First PG-13-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture 60th 1987 The Last Emperor 9 9 First PG-13-rated film to win Best Picture 62nd 1989 Driving Miss Daisy 4 9 Last Best Picture winner to date with a PG rating (or lower) Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 4th 1930/31 Skippy 1 4 First (and only) film based on a comic book, comic strip, or graphic novel to be nominated for Best Picture 8th 1935 A Midsummer Night's Dream 2* 3 First Shakespeare adaptation to be nominated for Best Picture (* one of its two Oscars was a write-in winner) 18th 1945 The Bells of St. Mary's 1 8 First sequel to be nominated for Best Picture 28th 1955 Marty 4 8 First (and only) film based on a television film or mini-series to win Best Picture 47th 1974 The Godfather Part II 6 11 First sequel to win Best Picture. 63rd 1990 The Godfather Part III 0 7 First of only two trilogies to have all three films nominated for Best Picture 66th 1993 The Fugitive 1 7 First film based on a television series to be nominated for Best Picture 73rd 2000 Traffic 4 5 Last Best Picture nominee to date to have been based on a television film or mini-series 76th 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 11 11 Second of only two trilogies to have all three films nominated for Best Picture, and only one to have the third installment win. 83rd 2010 Toy Story 3 2 5 Only sequel to be nominated for Best Picture without any of its predecessors being nominated Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 6th 1932/33 She Done Him Wrong 0 1 Shortest film to be nominated for Best Picture (1 hour 6 minutes) 12th 1939 Gone with the Wind 8 13 Longest film to win Best Picture (3 hours 54 minutes) 23rd 1950 All About Eve 6 14 First of only two films to receive 14 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture 28th 1955 Marty 4 8 Shortest film to win Best Picture (1 hour 31 minutes) 32nd 1959 Ben-Hur 11 12 First of only three films to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture 45th 1972 Cabaret 8 10 Best Picture nominee to win the most Academy Awards (8) without winning Best Picture 50th 1977 The Turning Point 0 11 First of two Best Picture nominees to receive 11 nominations without winning any Academy Awards 58th 1985 The Color Purple 0 11 Second of two Best Picture nominees to receive 11 nominations without winning any Academy Awards 70th 1997 Titanic 11 14 Second of only two films to receive 14 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture 70th 1997 Titanic 11 14 First Best Picture winner to gross more than a billion US dollars worldwide.[10] 70th 1997 Titanic 11 14 Second of only three films to date to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture 76th 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 11 11 First and only film to date with ten or more nominations (11) to win in every nomination it received including Best Picture 77th 2004 Million Dollar Baby 4 7 Last film to date to be nominated for every major Academy Award, including Best Picture 77th 2004 The Aviator 5 11 Last film to date to win the most Academy Awards (5) in its year without winning Best Picture 82nd 2009 The Hurt Locker 6 9 Lowest-grossing film after 1955 to win Best Picture Annual Year Film Awards Noms Milestone 2nd 1928/29 The Broadway Melody 1 3 First sound film to win Best Picture 10th 1937 A Star Is Born 1 7 First all-color film nominated for Best Picture 12th 1939 Gone with the Wind 8 13 First all-color film to win Best Picture 18th 1945 Anchors Aweigh 1 5 First live action/traditional animation hybrid film to be nominated for Best Picture 26th 1953 The Robe 2 5 First motion picture (and Best Picture nominee) in CinemaScope 33rd 1960 The Apartment 5 10 Last black-and-white film before 1993 (and last entirely in B&W) to win Best Picture 64th 1991 Beauty and the Beast 2 6 First (and only) hand drawn animated film to be nominated for Best Picture 66th 1993 Schindler's List 7 12 First (and only) black-and-white film after 1960 to win Best Picture (though with some color sequences) 78th 2005 Good Night, and Good Luck 0 6 Last black-and-white film to date to be nominated for Best Picture 82nd 2009 Avatar 3 9 First nominee to be entirely filmed using 3D film technology 82nd 2009 Up 2 5 First computer animated film to be nominated for Best Picture Superlatives
Category Record Holder Record Notes Most Best Picture Awards by a Studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 5 awards Note 1 Most Best Picture Nominations by a Studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 40 nominations Most Best Picture Awards by a Producer Sam Spiegel and Saul Zaentz 3 awards Note 1 Most Best Picture Nominations by a Producer Stanley Kramer, Steven Spielberg,
and Kathleen Kennedy6 nominations Note 2 Most Best Picture Awards by a Director William Wyler 3 awards Most Best Picture Nominations by a Director William Wyler 13 nominations Best Picture with the Most Awards Ben-Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 11 awards Best Picture with the Most Nominations All About Eve and Titanic 14 nominations Longest Best Picture Winner Gone with the Wind 3 hours and 54 minutes Note 3 Longest Best Picture Nominee Cleopatra 4 hours and 3 minutes Note 4 Shortest Best Picture Winner Marty 1 hour and 31 minutes Note 5 Shortest Best Picture Nominee She Done Him Wrong 1 hour and 6 minutes Note 1: Until the 23rd Academy Awards (1950), Best Picture was awarded to the studio that produced the film. Beginning with the 24th Academy Awards (1951), however, it has been awarded to the individual producers credited on the film. Note also that until 1943, there were ten (rather than five) nominated films per year. As of 2009, there are once again ten nominated films. The first year in which multiple individuals jointly won was 1973, with three winners for The Sting. The greatest number of joint winners was five, for Shakespeare in Love in 1998. After this, the Academy imposed a limit of three nominated producers per film; however, this limit may be exceeded in a "rare and extraordinary circumstance", such as in 2008 when both Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were posthumously included among four nominees for The Reader.[11]
Note 2: Stanley Kramer, Steven Spielberg, and Kathleen Kennedy are the producers who have received the most Best Picture nominations, with six apiece. Neither Kramer nor Kennedy has ever won the Best Picture award; Spielberg won for Schindler's List in 1993.
Note 3: It remains a very close call — a tie, virtually — between the top two "longest" Best Pictures. The total film time (without music) of Gone with the Wind (1939) is almost 221 minutes (3 hours and 41 minutes); with the Overture, Intermission, Entr'acte, and Walkout Music, it reaches 234 minutes (3 hours and 54 minutes). The total film time (without music) of the original Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is just over 222 minutes (3 hours and 42 minutes), slightly longer than Gone with the Wind. Lawrence of Arabia's additional elements extend the film to about 232 minutes (3 hours and 52 minutes). If just counting the film itself, Lawrence of Arabia is the longest of the two contenders. The other longest Best Picture winners are, in order: Ben-Hur (1959) at 212 minutes (3 hours and 32 minutes) and The Lord of Rings: Return of the King (2003) at 201 minutes (3 hours and 21 minutes).
Note 4: The longest film to ever win any Academy Award was Russia's War and Peace (1965) at 414 minutes (6 hours and 54 minutes), winner of Best Foreign Language Film.
Note 5: After Marty, the second shortest Best Picture winner is Annie Hall (1977) at 93 minutes (1 hour and 33 minutes).
See also
- List of Big Five Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of Academy Award-winning films
- List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees
- Academy Award for Best Unique and Artistic Production
- BAFTA Award for Best Film
- Films considered the greatest ever
- Lists of films
- List of film production companies
- List of presenters of Best Picture Academy Award
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture
References
- ^ Nikki Finke (2011-06-14). "OSCAR SHOCKER! Academy Builds Surprise & Secrecy Into Best Picture Race: Now There Can Be Anywhere From 5 To 10 Nominees". Deadline Hollywood. MMC. http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/oscar-academy-builds-surprise-into-best-picture-race/. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Joyce Eng (24 June 2009). "Oscar Expands Best Picture Race to 10 Nominees". TV Guide Online. http://www.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Oscar-Expands-Best-1007223.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ Poll: Vote on the Oscars Like an Academy Member, Rob Richie, Huffington Post, 16 February 2011
- ^ "Best Pictures - Facts & Trivia (part 1)". Filmsite.org. http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics.html. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ "Oscar Trivia". Oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/trivia.html. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ Variety Staff (2007-03-01). "Best Foreign Film". Variety. http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117856491.html?nav=history. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ a b c "Academy Awards Statistics". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/helpMain.jsp?helpContentURL=statistics/indexStats.html. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ "Best Pictures - Facts & Trivia (part 2)". Filmsite.org. http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics1.html. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ "FILMS WITH 10 OR MORE NOMINATIONS". Academy Award Database. http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/helpMain.jsp?helpContentURL=statistics/indexStats.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/oscar/
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana (27 January 2009). "Acad allows 'Reader' 4 producers; Minghella, Pollack to be named as nominees". Variety (Reed Business). http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117999153.html?nav=news&categoryid=1982&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
External links
- Oscars.org (official Academy site)
- Oscar.com (official ceremony promotional site)
- The Academy Awards Database (official site)
Academy Award for Best Picture 1928–1940 Wings (1928) · The Broadway Melody (1929) · All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) · Cimarron (1931) · Grand Hotel (1932) · Cavalcade (1933) · It Happened One Night (1934) · Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) · The Great Ziegfeld (1936) · The Life of Emile Zola (1937) · You Can't Take It With You (1938) · Gone with the Wind (1939) · Rebecca (1940)
1941–1960 How Green Was My Valley (1941) · Mrs. Miniver (1942) · Casablanca (1943) · Going My Way (1944) · The Lost Weekend (1945) · The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) · Gentleman's Agreement (1947) · Hamlet (1948) · All the King's Men (1949) · All About Eve (1950) · An American in Paris (1951) · The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) · From Here to Eternity (1953) · On the Waterfront (1954) · Marty (1955) · Around the World in 80 Days (1956) · The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) · Gigi (1958) · Ben-Hur (1959) · The Apartment (1960)
1961–1980 West Side Story (1961) · Lawrence of Arabia (1962) · Tom Jones (1963) · My Fair Lady (1964) · The Sound of Music (1965) · A Man for All Seasons (1966) · In the Heat of the Night (1967) · Oliver! (1968) · Midnight Cowboy (1969) · Patton (1970) · The French Connection (1971) · The Godfather (1972) · The Sting (1973) · The Godfather Part II (1974) · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) · Rocky (1976) · Annie Hall (1977) · The Deer Hunter (1978) · Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) · Ordinary People (1980)
1981–2000 Chariots of Fire (1981) · Gandhi (1982) · Terms of Endearment (1983) · Amadeus (1984) · Out of Africa (1985) · Platoon (1986) · The Last Emperor (1987) · Rain Man (1988) · Driving Miss Daisy (1989) · Dances with Wolves (1990) · The Silence of the Lambs (1991) · Unforgiven (1992) · Schindler's List (1993) · Forrest Gump (1994) · Braveheart (1995) · The English Patient (1996) · Titanic (1997) · Shakespeare in Love (1998) · American Beauty (1999) · Gladiator (2000)
2001–2020 A Beautiful Mind (2001) · Chicago (2002) · The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) · Million Dollar Baby (2004) · Crash (2005) · The Departed (2006) · No Country for Old Men (2007) · Slumdog Millionaire (2008) · The Hurt Locker (2009) · The King's Speech (2010)
Complete list · (1927–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–2020) Categories:- Best Picture Academy Award winners
- Awards for best film
- Academy Awards
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