Academy Award for Best Picture

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The **Academy Award for Best Picture** is one of the Academy Awards presented annually since the awards debuted in 1929, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to producers working in the film industry and is the only category in which every member is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. The actors or actresses in the film will not accept this award unless he or she produced the film.

Best Picture is considered the premier award of the Academy Awards, as it represents all the directing, acting, music composing, writing, editing, and other efforts put forth into a film production. Since 1973, it is the final award presented at the ceremony.

The Grand Staircase columns at the Dolby 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. As of 2017, there have been 537 films nominated for Best Picture.

## History

### Category name changes

At the 1st Academy Awards ceremony (for 1927 and 1928), there were two categories of awards that were each considered the top award of the night: *Outstanding Picture* and *Unique and Artistic Picture,* the previous being won by the war epic *Wings,* and the latter by the art film *Sunrise.* Each award was intended to honor different and equally important aspects of superior filmmaking.

The following year, the Academy dropped the *Unique and Artistic Picture* award, and decided retroactively that the award won by *Wings* was the highest honor that could be awarded. Though the award kept the title *Outstanding Picture* for the next ceremony, the name underwent several changes over the years as seen below. Since 1962 it has been called the *Best Picture* award.

* 1927/28–1928/29: **Academy Award for Outstanding Picture**
* 1929/30–1940: **Academy Award for Outstanding Production**
* 1941–1943: **Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture**
* 1944–1961: **Academy Award for Best Motion Picture**
* 1962–present: **Academy Award for Best Picture**

### Recipients

Until 1950, this award was presented to a representative of the production company. That year the protocol was changed so that the award was presented to all credited producers. This rule was modified in 1998 to apply a limit of three producers receiving the award, after the five producers of *Shakespeare in Love* had received the award.

As of 2014[update], the "Special Rules for the Best Picture of the Year Award" limit recipients to those who meet two main requirements:

* Those with screen credit of "producer" or "produced by"
* those three or fewer producers who have performed the major portion of the producing functions

The rules permit "*bona fide* team[s] of not more than two people to be considered to be a single 'producer' if the two individuals have had an established producing partnership for at least the previous five years and as a producing team have produced a minimum of five theatrically released feature motion pictures during that time.

The Academy can make exceptions to the limit, as when the late Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were posthumously included among the four producers nominated for *The Reader.* As of 2014 the Producers Branch Executive Committee determines such exceptions, noting they take place only in "rare and extraordinary circumstance[s]."

### Best Picture and Best Director

The Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director have been closely linked throughout their history. Of the 88 films that have been awarded Best Picture, 62 have also been awarded Best Director. Only four films have won Best Picture without their directors being nominated: *Wings* (1927/28), *Grand Hotel* (1931/32), *Driving Miss Daisy* (1989), and *Argo* (2012). The only two Best Director winners to win for films that did not receive a Best Picture nomination were during the early years of the awards: Lewis Milestone for *Two Arabian Knights* (1927/28), and Frank Lloyd for *The Divine Lady* (1928/29).

### Nomination limit increased

On June 24, 2009, AMPAS announced that the number of films to be nominated in the Best Picture award category would increase from five to ten, starting with the 82nd Academy Awards (2009). The expansion was a throwback to the Academy's early years in the 1930s and 1940s, when eight to twelve films were nominated each year. "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."

At the same time, the voting system was switched from first-past-the-post to instant runoff voting (also known as preferential voting). Two years after this change, the Academy revised the rule again so that the number of films nominated was between 5 and 10; nominated films must earn either 5% of first-place rankings or 5% after an abbreviated variation of the single transferable vote nominating process. Bruce Davis, the Academy executive director at the time, said, "A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit. If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn't feel an obligation to round out the number."

### Controversies

The award is not without controversy. One point of contention is the lack of consideration of non-English language films for Best Picture. To date, only nine foreign language films have been nominated in the category: *Grand Illusion* (French, 1938); *Z* (French, 1969); *The Emigrants* (Swedish, 1972); *Cries and Whispers* (Swedish, 1973); *Il Postino: The Postman* (Italian/Spanish, 1995); *Life Is Beautiful* (Italian, 1998); *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* (Mandarin Chinese, 2000); *Letters from Iwo Jima* (Japanese, 2006, but ineligible for Best Foreign Language Film, as it was an American production); and *Amour* (French, 2012). Similarly, the award rarely goes to films produced by non-U.S. studios; only 14 films partly or wholly financed outside the United States have won Best Picture, 13 of which were financed, in part or in whole, by the United Kingdom. Those films were, in chronological order: *Hamlet* (1948), *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957), *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), *Tom Jones* (1963), *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), *Oliver!* (1968), *Chariots of Fire* (1981), *Gandhi* (1982) *The Last Emperor* (1987) *The English Patient* (1996), *Shakespeare in Love* (1998), *Slumdog Millionaire* (2008) and *The King's Speech* (2010). The fourteenth film, *The Artist*, (2011) was financed in France.

Other points of contention include genres of film that have received few or no nominations or awards. Only three animated films have been nominated (Disney's *Beauty and the Beast,* (1991) and Disney-Pixar's *Up* (2009) and *Toy Story 3* (2010) were nominated after the Academy expanded the number of nominees) and none have won. No science fiction film or superhero film has won (none of the latter has been nominated); only one fantasy film has won (*The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*, 2003). No light comedies have won since the 1970s. No documentary (eligible in a separate category) has been nominated for Best Picture. This excludes *Chang,* which was nominated in the 'Unique and Artistic Production' category in the 1927/28 awards.

Like the Academy Awards in general, the 'Best Picture' awardees have been criticized for disproportionately recognizing films about white men over those of women and/or people of color. Of the films that have won Best Picture, only *All About Eve*, 1950; *The Sound of Music*, 1965; *Terms of Endearment*, 1983; *Chicago*, 2002; and *Million Dollar Baby*, 2004 have featured women exclusively in leading roles.[*citation needed*] Only five: *In the Heat of the Night*, 1967; *Gandhi*, 1982; *The Last Emperor*, 1987; *Slumdog Millionaire*, 2008; and *12 Years a Slave*, 2013; have featured people of color exclusively in leading roles.[*citation needed*] No film featuring women of color exclusively in leading roles has won; only four: *The Color Purple*, 1985; *Precious*, 2009; *Beasts of the Southern Wild*, 2012; and *Hidden Figures*, 2016; have been nominated.

### Sequel nominations and winners

Few sequels have been nominated for Best Picture; two have won: *The Godfather Part II* and *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.* Other nominees include *The Bells of St. Mary's,* *The Godfather Part III,* *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,* *Toy Story 3,* and *Mad Max: Fury Road.*

Another nominee, *Broadway Melody of 1936,* was a follow-up of sorts to previous winner *The Broadway Melody.* But, beyond the title and some music, there is no story connection to the earlier film. *The Silence of the Lambs* was adapted from the sequel novel to *Red Dragon.* The latter had been adapted for film as *Manhunter* by a different studio. Best Picture nominee *The Lion in Winter* features Peter O'Toole as King Henry II, a role he had played previously in the film *Becket.* But *Winter* is not a sequel to *Becket*. Clint Eastwood's *Letters from Iwo Jima* was a companion piece to his film *Flags of Our Fathers,* released earlier the same year. These two films depict the same battle from the different viewpoints of Japanese and United States military forces; the two films were shot back-to-back.

Notably, the only remake to win this category is *The Departed.* *Mutiny on the Bounty* and *Ben-Hur* were inspired and influenced by previous films of the same name; but they were considered to be distinctly different adaptations of the original novels.
Best Picture winner *My Fair Lady* was a musical version of George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play *Pygmalion.* It had previously been adapted for film as *Pygmalion,* which was nominated for Best Picture in 1938.

### Silent film winners

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*The Artist* (with the exception of a single scene of dialogue, and dream sequence with sound effects) was the first silent film since *Wings* to win Best Picture. It was the first silent nominee since *The Patriot*. It was the first Best Picture winner to be shot entirely in black-and-white since 1960's *The Apartment.* (Note: *Schindler's List*, the 1993 winner, was predominantly black-and-white but it did contain some color sequences).

### Version availability

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. This has usually been 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 Broadway Melody* originally had some sequences photographed in two-color Technicolor. This footage survives only in black and white.

The 1928 film *The Patriot* is the only Best Picture nominee that is lost. *The Racket*, also from 1928, was believed lost for many years until a print was found in Howard Hughes' archives. It has since been restored and shown on Turner Classic Movies. The only surviving complete prints of 1931's *East Lynne* and 1934's *The White Parade* exist within the UCLA film archive.

## Winners and nominees

In the list below, winners are listed first in the colored row, 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, however, it may be the year after first release (as with *Casablanca* and, if the film-festival premiere is considered, *Crash*). This is also 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 on that ceremony. Each individual entry shows the title followed by the production company, and the producer.

Until 1950, the Best Picture award was given to the production company; from 1951 on, it has gone to the producer or producers. The Academy used the producer credits of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) until 1998, when all five producers of *Shakespeare in Love* made speeches after its win. A three-producer limit has been applied some years since. There was controversy over the exclusion of some PGA-credited producers of *Crash* and *Little Miss Sunshine*. The Academy can make exceptions to the limit, as when Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were posthumously among the four nominated for *The Reader*. However, now any producer on a film is nominated for Best Picture, so the limit of producer nominees is completely dropped.

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 further reduced to five. This number remained until 2009, when the limit was raised to ten and later adjusted in 2011, to vary between five and 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.

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  indicates the winner
### 1920s

1927/28  (1st)

 1928/29 (2nd)

### 1930s

1929/30  (3rd)

1930/31 (4th)

### 1940s

1944  (17th)
 *Gaslight* | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1945 (18th)

1946 (19th)

1947 (20th)

1948 (21st)

1949 (22nd)

### 1950s

1950 (23rd)

1951 (24th)

1952 (25th)

1953 (26th)

1954 (27th)

1955 (28th)

1956 (29th)
 *The King and I* | 20th Century Fox

1957 (30th)

1958 (31st)

1959 (32nd)

### 1960s

1960 (33rd)

1961 (34th)

1962  (35th)

1963 (36th)

1964 (37th)

1965 (38th)

1966 (39th)

1967 (40th)

1968 (41st)

1969 (42nd)

### 1970s

1970 (43rd)
 *Love Story* | Paramount

1971 (44th)

1972 (45th)

1973 (46th)

1974 (47th)

1975 (48th)
 *Jaws* | Universal

1976 (49th)
 *Bound for Glory* | United Artists
 *Taxi Driver* | Columbia

1977 (50th)
 *Star Wars* | Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox

1978 (51st)
 *Coming Home* | United Artists

1979 (52nd)
 *Breaking Away* | 20th Century Fox

### 1980s

1980 (53rd)
 *The Elephant Man* | Paramount, Brooksfilms

1981 (54th)

1982 (55th)
 *Tootsie* | Columbia

1983 (56th)

1984 (57th)
 *A Soldier's Story* | Columbia

1985 (58th)

1986 (59th)
 *Hannah and Her Sisters* | Orion

1987 (60th)

1988 (61st)
 *Dangerous Liaisons* | Warner Bros., Lorimar, N.F.H. Productions

1989 (62nd)
 *Born on the Fourth of July* | Universal

### 1990s

1990 (63rd)
 *The Godfather Part III* | Paramount, American Zoetrope

1991 (64th)

1992 (65th)

1993 (66th)

1994 (67th)

1995 (68th)

1996 (69th)

1997 (70th)
 *The Full Monty* | Fox Searchlight, Redwave Films
 *Good Will Hunting* | Miramax, A Band Apart

1998 (71st)

1999 (72nd)

### 2000s

2000 (73rd)
 *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*  | Sony Pictures Classics

2001 (74th)
 *In the Bedroom* | Miramax, Good Machine

2002 (75th)

2003 (76th)
 *Mystic River* | Warner Bros.,Village Roadshow Pictures, Malpaso

2004 (77th)

2005 (78th)

2006 (79th)
 *Letters from Iwo Jima*  | DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Malpaso, Amblin Entertainment
 *The Queen* | Miramax, Granada Productions

2007 (80th)
 *Michael Clayton* | Warner Bros., Castle Rock Entertainment, Section Eight Productions, Mirage Enterprises

2008 (81st)

### 2010s

Notes

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* A<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : The official name of the award from 1927/28 to 1928/29 was *Outstanding Picture*.
* B<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : The official name of the award from 1929/30 to 1940 was *Outstanding Production*.
* C<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : The official name of the award from 1941 to 1943 was *Outstanding Motion Picture*.
* D<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : The official name of the award from 1944 to 1961 was *Best Motion Picture*.
* E<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : The official name of the award since 1962 has been *Best Picture*.
* F<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : There were two categories that were seen as equally the top award at the time: "Outstanding Picture" and *Unique and Artistic Production* where the winner for the latter was *Sunrise* (production company: Fox; producer: William Fox). This category was dropped immediately after the first year of the Academy Award and the former category was retroactively seen as the top award.
* G<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**1** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**2** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**3** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**4** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**5** : Head of studio
* H<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**1** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**2** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**3** : The Academy also announced that *A Farewell to Arms* came in second, and *Little Women* third.
* I<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**1** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**2** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**3** : The Academy also announced that *The Barretts of Wimpole Street* came in second, and *The House of Rothschild* third.
* J<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**1** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**2** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**3** : The Academy also announced that *The Informer* came in second, and *Captain Blood* third.
* K<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**1** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**2** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**3** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**4** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**5** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**6** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**7** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**8** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**9** : Nominated motion picture with non-English dialogue track (AMPAS: *foreign language film*). Four of which – *Z*; *Life is Beautiful*; *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*; and *Amour* – won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
* L<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : Production company with the most nominations (38) and the most awards (5). Applying only from 1927/1928 to 1950.
* M<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : Person with the most nominations (8 nominations, 0 awards). Applying only from 1951 to 2012.
* N<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/> : Person with the most awards (3 awards, Spiegel 4 nominations, Zaentz 3 nominations). Applying only from 1951 to 2008.
* O<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**1** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**2** <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>**3** : Winner with partly non-English dialogue track (AMPAS: *foreign language*).

## See also

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Template:Wikipedia books

* BAFTA Award for Best Film
* Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
* Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Picture
* Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
* Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
* List of actors who have appeared in multiple Best Picture winners
* List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees
* List of presenters of the Academy Award for Best Picture
* List of Big Five Academy Award winners and nominees
* Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture
* List of Academy Award-winning films
* List of film production companies
* List of films considered the best
* List of Best Picture milestones
* Lists of films

## References

1. ↑ "The Oscars home is now the Dolby Theatre". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Academy Awards Database – Best Picture Winners and Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
3. ↑ "Why SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS is Essential". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Who gets the Oscar?". *Sydney Morning Herald*. Associated Press. February 4, 2005. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Academy restricts Oscar winners". BBC. June 26, 2001. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 McNary, Dave (January 21, 2008). "PGA avoids credit limit". *Variety*.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Rule Sixteen: Special Rules for the Best Picture of the Year Award". *Rules for the 86th Academy Awards*. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-09.[*dead link*]
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Yamato, Jen (January 27, 2009). "Academy Makes Exceptions for Pollack, Minghella Does this mean more Oscar sympathy for surprise nominee The Reader?". *Rotten Tomatoes*. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
9. ↑ "Best Director Facts - Trivia (Part 2)". Filmsite. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Joyce Eng (24 June 2009). "Oscar Expands Best Picture Race to 10 Nominees". *TV Guide Online*. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
11. ↑ Poll: Vote on the Oscars Like an Academy Member, Rob Richie, Huffington Post, 16 February 2011
12. ↑ Steve Pond (2011-06-22). "New Best Picture Rules Could Discard Large Number of Oscar Ballots (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
13. ↑ 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. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Best Pictures - Facts & Trivia (part 2)". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Best Pictures - Genre Biases". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
16. ↑ "The 2015 Oscar nominations in two words: 'Racist,' 'Sexist'".
17. ↑ "First Remake to win Best Picture". Guinness Book of World Records. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
18. ↑ "The Broadway Melody". *AFI Catalog of Feature Films*. American Film Institute. Retrieved July 7, 2014. The Technicolor footage for this sequence has since been lost, and only a black-and-white version is now available.
19. ↑ "Oscar's Most Wanted". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2012-05-24.[*dead link*]
20. ↑ "The Racket - Progressive Silent Film List". Silent Era. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
21. ↑ "East Lynne Trivia". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
22. ↑ "12 Years a Slave' Claims Best Picture Oscar". March 2, 2014.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "'Birdman' and 'Grand Budapest Hotel' Lead Oscar Picks". January 15, 2015.
24. ↑ "Best Pictures - Facts & Trivia (part 1)". Filmsite.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-31. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
25. ↑ "Oscar Trivia". Oscars.org. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
26. ↑ *Variety* Staff (2007-03-01). "Best Foreign Film". *Variety*. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 "Academy Awards Statistics". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2009-11-13.

## External links

* Oscars.org (official Academy site)
* Oscar.com (official ceremony site)
* The Academy Awards Database (official site)

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