# Big Four (American film guilds awards)

Starting in 1995, major awards collectively from the four most prestigious American film top industry guilds' associations, the so-called "Big Four":
* Writers Guild of America Awards (WGA) - (both Adapted and Original)
* Producers Guild of America Awards (PGA)
* Directors Guild of America Awards (DGA)
* Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) - (Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture only)
Similar to the film critics' awards, these four guilds' awards in a single (or more than once) film/s secure its wins significantly increase its chances to the eventual winner of the Academy Awards, often seen as a strong indicator of future award success.
As of 2025, American Beauty, No Country for Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, Argo and Everything Everywhere All at Once are the only five films to have won all four guilds' awards and ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture at their respective annual years.

## Winners

| Year | WGA | PGA | DGA | SAG | Best Picture winner | Total |
| 1995 | Sense and Sensibility (Adapted) Braveheart (Original) | Apollo 13 | Apollo 13 | Apollo 13 | Braveheart | Apollo 13 (3) |
| 1996 | Sling Blade (Adapted) Fargo (Original) | The English Patient | The English Patient | The Birdcage | The English Patient | The English Patient (2) |
| 1997 | L.A. Confidential (Adapted) As Good As It Gets (Original) | Titanic | Titanic | The Full Monty | Titanic | Titanic (2) |
| 1998 | Out of Sight (Adapted) Shakespeare in Love (Original) | Saving Private Ryan | Saving Private Ryan | Shakespeare in Love | Shakespeare in Love | Saving Private Ryan / Shakespeare in Love (2) |
| 1999 | Election (Adapted) American Beauty (Original) | American Beauty | American Beauty | American Beauty | American Beauty | American Beauty (4) |
| 2000 | Traffic (Adapted) You Can Count on Me (Original) | Gladiator | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Traffic | Gladiator | Traffic (2) |
| 2001 | A Beautiful Mind (Adapted) Gosford Park (Original) | Moulin Rouge! | A Beautiful Mind | Gosford Park | A Beautiful Mind | A Beautiful Mind (3) |
| 2002 | The Hours (Adapted) Bowling for Columbine (Original) | Chicago | Chicago | Chicago | Chicago | Chicago (3) |
| 2003 | American Splendor (Adapted) Lost in Translation (Original) | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (3) |
| 2004 | Sideways (Adapted) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Original) | The Aviator | Million Dollar Baby | Sideways | Million Dollar Baby | Million Dollar Baby / Sideways (2) |
| 2005 | Brokeback Mountain (Adapted) Crash (Original) | Brokeback Mountain | Brokeback Mountain | Crash | Crash | Brokeback Mountain (3) |
| 2006 | The Departed (Adapted) Little Miss Sunshine (Original) | Little Miss Sunshine | The Departed | Little Miss Sunshine | The Departed | Little Miss Sunshine (3) |
| 2007 | No Country for Old Men (Adapted) Juno (Original) | No Country for Old Men | No Country for Old Men | No Country for Old Men | No Country for Old Men | No Country for Old Men (4) |
| 2008 | Slumdog Millionaire (Adapted) Milk (Original) | Slumdog Millionaire | Slumdog Millionaire | Slumdog Millionaire | Slumdog Millionaire | Slumdog Millionaire (4) |
| 2009 | Up in the Air (Adapted) The Hurt Locker (Original) | The Hurt Locker | The Hurt Locker | Inglourious Basterds | The Hurt Locker | The Hurt Locker (3) |
| 2010 | The Social Network (Adapted) Inception (Original) | The King's Speech | The King's Speech | The King's Speech | The King's Speech | The King's Speech (3) |
| 2011 | The Descendants (Adapted) Midnight in Paris (Original) | The Artist | The Artist | The Help | The Artist | The Artist (2) |
| 2012 | Argo (Adapted) Zero Dark Thirty (Original) | Argo | Argo | Argo | Argo | Argo (4) |
| 2013 | Captain Philips (Adapted) Her (Original) | 12 Years a Slave Gravity | Gravity | American Hustle | 12 Years a Slave | Gravity (2) |
| 2014 | The Imitation Game (Adapted) The Grand Budapest Hotel (Original) | Birdman | Birdman | Birdman | Birdman | Birdman (3) |
| 2015 | The Big Short (Adapted) Spotlight (Original) | The Big Short | The Revenant | Spotlight | Spotlight | The Big Short / Spotlight (2) |
| 2016 | Arrival (Adapted) Moonlight (Original) | La La Land | La La Land | Hidden Figures | Moonlight | La La Land (2) |
| 2017 | Call Me by Your Name (Adapted) Get Out (Original) | The Shape of Water | The Shape of Water | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | The Shape of Water | The Shape of Water (2) |
| 2018 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Adapted) Eighth Grade (Original) | Green Book | Roma | Black Panther | Green Book | Five films each received one award |
| 2019 | Jojo Rabbit (Adapted) Parasite (Original) | 1917 | 1917 | Parasite | Parasite | 1917 / Parasite (2) |
| 2020 | Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Adapted) Promising Young Woman (Original) | Nomadland | Nomadland | The Trial of the Chicago 7 | Nomadland | Nomadland (2) |
| 2021 | CODA (Adapted) Don't Look Up (Original) | CODA | The Power of the Dog | CODA | CODA | CODA (3) |
| 2022 | Women Talking (Adapted) Everything Everywhere All at Once (Original) | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Everything Everywhere All at Once (4) |
| 2023 | American Fiction (Adapted) The Holdovers (Original) | Oppenheimer | Oppenheimer | Oppenheimer | Oppenheimer | Oppenheimer (3) |
| 2024 | Nickel Boys (Adapted) Anora (Original) | Anora | Anora | Conclave | Anora | Anora (3) |

## Milestones
### Three awards

All five films have won three awards (PGA, DGA, SAG) and also Best Picture but failed to win the Writers Guild of America Awards for categories. These included Chicago, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The King's Speech, Birdman, and Oppenheimer; The Return of the King, The King's Speech and Birdman instead winning the Academy Award for writing categories. Apollo 13 is the only film to win all three but failed both to win Best Picture and WGA.

### PGA and DGA

Since 1990, both PGA and DGA are extremely attached each other can have a high possibility of chances to the eventual winner of Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Directing. With the exception of first four films (1990–1994), only twenty-three films have won two out of four guilds' awards with the remaining fifteen also win both Best Picture and Directing; each five films have won overall with the most consecutive years (2007–2011). The remaining eight films failed to win Best Picture or Directing: exceptional films did not win Best Picture including Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Brokeback Mountain, Gravity, La La Land and 1917; exceptional films did not win Best Directing including Apollo 13, Chicago, Argo, and 1917; only Apollo 13 and 1917 are the only films failed to win Academy Awards.