The term "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards refers to the most prestigious award category given to the producer(s) of the film that is considered the best overall of the year. Winning the Best Picture Oscar is considered one of the highest honors in the film industry.
The Best Picture category is part of the annual Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars. The award recognizes the entire production team, including the film's director, producers, writers, actors, and other key contributors. The winner receives the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The process for selecting the Best Picture winner involves several steps:
Nomination: A selection of films released in the eligible year are nominated by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The number of nominees can vary, but there can be up to ten films nominated in a given year.
Voting: All active members of the Academy, who belong to various branches representing different aspects of the film industry (e.g., actors, directors, writers), vote) to determine the winners in different categories, including Best Picture.
Final Voting: In the final round of voting, all members are eligible to vote for Best Picture, regardless of their branch) affiliation. This ensures that the award reflects a consensus across the entire Academy.
Winner Announcement: The winner of the Best Picture category is announced during the Oscar ceremony. The film's producers receive the Oscar statuette.
The Best Picture category considers various elements such as storytelling, direction, acting, cinematography, production design, editing, sound, and other artistic and technical aspects. Winning Best Picture is a significant achievement and often reflects a combination of critical acclaim, box office success, and artistic merit.
Over the years, winning Best Picture has become a prestigious accolade that can significantly impact a film's legacy and recognition in the industry. Some of the most celebrated and iconic films in cinema history have been honored with the Best Picture Oscar.
List of Winners (And Presenters)
| Ceremony | Film year | Date of ceremony | Presenter(s) | Best Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1928 | May 16, 1929 | Douglas Fairbanks | Wings |
| 2nd | 1929 | April 3, 1930 | William C. deMille | The Broadway Melody |
| 3rd | 1930 | November 5, 1930 | Louis B. Mayer | All Quiet on the Western Front |
| 4th | 1931 | November 10, 1931 | B. P. Schulberg | Cimarron |
| 5th | 1932 | November 18, 1932 | William LeBaron | Grand Hotel |
| 6th | 1933 | March 16, 1934 | Will Rogers | Cavalcade |
| 7th | 1934 | February 27, 1935 | Irvin S. Cobb | It Happened One Night |
| 8th | 1935 | March 5, 1936 | Frank Capra | Mutiny on the Bounty |
| 9th | 1936 | March 4, 1937 | George Jessel | The Great Ziegfeld |
| 10th | 1937 | March 10, 1938 | Frank Capra (2) | The Life of Emile Zola |
| 11th | 1938 | February 23, 1939 | James Roosevelt | You Can't Take It with You |
| 12th | 1939 | February 29, 1940 | Y. Frank Freeman | Gone with the Wind |
| 13th | 1940 | February 27, 1941 | Mervyn LeRoy | Rebecca |
| 14th | 1941 | February 26, 1942 | David O. Selznick | How Green Was My Valley |
| 15th | 1942 | March 4, 1943 | William Goetz | Mrs. Miniver |
| 16th | 1943 | March 2, 1944 | Sidney Franklin | Casablanca |
| 17th | 1944 | March 15, 1945 | Hal B. Wallis | Going My Way |
| 18th | 1945 | March 7, 1946 | Eric Johnston | The Lost Weekend |
| 19th | 1946 | March 13, 1947 | Eric Johnston (2) | The Best Years of Our Lives |
| 20th | 1947 | March 20, 1948 | Fredric March | Gentleman's Agreement |
| 21st | 1948 | March 24, 1949 | Ethel Barrymore | Hamlet |
| 22nd | 1949 | March 23, 1950 | James Cagney | All the King's Men |
| 23rd | 1950 | March 29, 1951 | Ralph Bunche | All About Eve |
| 24th | 1951 | March 20, 1952 | Danny Kaye | An American in Paris |
| 25th | 1952 | March 19, 1953 | Mary Pickford | The Greatest Show on Earth |
| 26th | 1953 | March 25, 1954 | Cecil B. DeMille | From Here to Eternity |
| 27th | 1954 | March 30, 1955 | Buddy Adler | On the Waterfront |
| 28th | 1955 | March 21, 1956 | Audrey Hepburn | Marty |
| 29th | 1956 | March 27, 1957 | Janet Gaynor | Around the World in 80 Days |
| 30th | 1957 | March 26, 1958 | Gary Cooper | The Bridge on the River Kwai |
| 31st | 1958 | April 6, 1959 | Ingrid Bergman | Gigi |
| 32nd | 1959 | April 4, 1960 | Gary Cooper | Ben-Hur |
| 33rd | 1960 | April 17, 1961 | Audrey Hepburn | The Apartment |
| 34th | 1961 | April 9, 1962 | Fred Astaire | West Side Story |
| 35th | 1962 | April 8, 1963 | Olivia de Havilland | Lawrence of Arabia |
| 36th | 1963 | April 13, 1964 | Frank Sinatra | Tom Jones |
| 37th | 1964 | April 5, 1965 | Gregory Peck | My Fair Lady |
| 38th | 1965 | April 18, 1966 | Jack Lemmon | The Sound of Music |
| 39th | 1966 | April 10, 1967 | Audrey Hepburn | A Man for All Seasons |
| 40th | 1967 | April 10, 1968 | Julie Andrews | In the Heat of the Night |
| 41st | 1968 | April 14, 1969 | Sidney Poitier | Oliver! |
| 42nd | 1969 | April 7, 1970 | Elizabeth Taylor | Midnight Cowboy |
| 43rd | 1970 | April 15, 1971 | Steve McQueen | Patton |
| 44th | 1971 | April 10, 1972 | Jack Nicholson | The French Connection |
| 45th | 1972 | March 27, 1973 | Clint Eastwood | The Godfather |
| 46th | 1973 | April 2, 1974 | Elizabeth Taylor | The Sting |
| 47th | 1974 | April 8, 1975 | Warren Beatty | The Godfather Part II |
| 48th | 1975 | March 29, 1976 | Audrey Hepburn | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
| 49th | 1976 | March 28, 1977 | Jack Nicholson | Rocky |
| 50th | 1977 | April 3, 1978 | Jack Nicholson | Annie Hall |
| 51st | 1978 | April 9, 1979 | John Wayne | The Deer Hunter |
| 52nd | 1979 | April 14, 1980 | Charlton Heston | Kramer vs. Kramer |
| 53rd | 1980 | March 31, 1981 | Lillian Gish | Ordinary People |
| 54th | 1981 | March 29, 1982 | Loretta Young | Chariots of Fire |
| 55th | 1982 | April 11, 1983 | Carol Burnett | Gandhi |
| 56th | 1983 | April 9, 1984 | Frank Capra | Terms of Endearment |
| 57th | 1984 | March 25, 1985 | Laurence Olivier | Amadeus |
| 58th | 1985 | March 24, 1986 | John Huston, Akira Kurosawa, and Billy Wilder | Out of Africa |
| 59th | 1986 | March 30, 1987 | Dustin Hoffman | Platoon |
| 60th | 1987 | April 11, 1988 | Eddie Murphy | The Last Emperor |
| 61st | 1988 | March 29, 1989 | Cher | Rain Man |
| 62nd | 1989 | March 26, 1990 | Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson | Driving Miss Daisy |
| 63rd | 1990 | March 25, 1991 | Barbra Streisand | Dances with Wolves |
| 64th | 1991 | March 30, 1992 | Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor | The Silence of the Lambs |
| 65th | 1992 | March 29, 1993 | Jack Nicholson | Unforgiven |
| 66th | 1993 | March 21, 1994 | Harrison Ford | Schindler's List |
| 67th | 1994 | March 27, 1995 | Robert De Niro and Al Pacino | Forrest Gump |
| 68th | 1995 | March 25, 1996 | Sidney Poitier | Braveheart |
| 69th | 1996 | March 24, 1997 | Al Pacino | The English Patient |
| 70th | 1997 | March 23, 1998 | Sean Connery | Titanic |
| 71st | 1998 | March 21, 1999 | Harrison Ford | Shakespeare in Love |
| 72nd | 1999 | March 26, 2000 | Clint Eastwood | American Beauty |
| 73rd | 2000 | March 25, 2001 | Michael Douglas | Gladiator |
| 74th | 2001 | March 24, 2002 | Tom Hanks | A Beautiful Mind |
| 75th | 2002 | March 23, 2003 | Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas | Chicago |
| 76th | 2003 | February 29, 2004 | Steven Spielberg | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| 77th | 2004 | February 27, 2005 | Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand | Million Dollar Baby |
| 78th | 2005 | March 5, 2006 | Jack Nicholson | Crash |
| 79th | 2006 | February 25, 2007 | Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson | The Departed |
| 80th | 2007 | February 24, 2008 | Denzel Washington | No Country for Old Men |
| 81st | 2008 | February 22, 2009 | Steven Spielberg | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 82nd | 2009 | March 7, 2010 | Tom Hanks | The Hurt Locker |
| 83rd | 2010 | February 27, 2011 | Steven Spielberg | The King's Speech |
| 84th | 2011 | February 26, 2012 | Tom Cruise | The Artist |
| 85th | 2012 | February 24, 2013 | Michelle Obama and Jack Nicholson | Argo |
| 86th | 2013 | March 2, 2014 | Will Smith | 12 Years a Slave |
| 87th | 2014 | February 22, 2015 | Sean Penn | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) |
| 88th | 2015 | February 28, 2016 | Morgan Freeman | Spotlight |
| 89th | 2016 | February 26, 2017 | Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway | Moonlight |
| 90th | 2017 | March 4, 2018 | Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway | The Shape of Water |
| 91st | 2018 | February 24, 2019 | Julia Robertson | Green Book |
| 92nd | 2019 | February 9, 2020 | Jane Fonda | Parasite |
| 93rd | 2020 | April 25, 2021 | Rita Moreno | Nomadland |
| 94th | 2021 | March 27, 2022 | Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli | CODA |
| 95th | 2022 | March 12, 2023 | Harrison Ford | Everything Everywhere All at Once |