Academy Award for Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the 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. This award is considered the most important of the Academy Awards, as it is the result of all the acting, writing, producing, and directing put forth for a film.

History
In the first year of the Academy Awards (1927-28, awarded in 1929), 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, 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 retrospectively that the award won by Wings had been the equivalent of that award, with the result that Wings is often erroneously 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. Since 1944, the Academy has restricted nominations to five Best Picture nominees per year. As of the 79th Academy Awards ceremony held in 2007 and honoring films of 2006, there have been 391 films nominated for the Best Picture award. No Best Picture winner is 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 having been edited 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's archives and it has since been shown on Turner Classic Movies. The Grand Staircase columns at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, where the Academy Awards ceremonies have been held since 2002, showcase every movie that has won the Best Picture title since the first Academy Awards in 1928.

The winners of the Best Picture awards are listed below in order. The winners are displayed in orange with the nominations from the same year listed directly below it.

1920's
1927-1928 (1st Best Production) Wings - Paramount
The Racket - United Artists
Seventh Heaven - Fox
1927-1928 (1st Best Artistic Picture) Sunrise - Fox
Chang - Paramount
The Crowd - MGM
1928-1929 (2nd) The Broadway Melody - MGM
Alibi - United Artists
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 - MGM
In Old Arizona - Fox
The Patriot - Paramount

1930's
1929-1930 (3rd) All Quiet on the Western Front - Universal
The Big House - MGM
Disraeli - Warner Bros.
The Divorcee - MGM
The Love Parade - Paramount
1930-1931 (4th) Cimarron - RKO Radio
East Lynne - Fox
The Front Page - United Artists
Skippy - Paramount
Trader Horn - MGM
1931-1932 (5th) Grand Hotel - MGM
Arrowsmith - United Artists
Bad Girl - Fox
The Champ - MGM
Five Star Final - First National
One Hour with You - Paramount
Shanghai Express - Paramount
The Smiling Lieutenant - Paramount
1932-1933 (6th) Cavalcade - Fox
42nd Street - Warner Bros.
A Farewell to Arms - Paramount
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang - Warner Bros.
Lady for a Day - Columbia
Little Women - RKO Radio
The Private Life of Henry VIII - London Films, United Artists
She Done Him Wrong - Paramount
Smilin' Through - MGM
State Fair - Fox
1934 (7th) It Happened One Night - Columbia
The Barretts of Wimpole Street - MGM
Cleopatra - Paramount
Flirtation Walk - First National
The Gay Divorcee - RKO Radio
Here Comes the Navy - Warner Bros.
The House of Rothschild - Twentieth Century Pictures, United Artists
Imitation of Life - Universal
One Night of Love - Columbia
The Thin Man - MGM
Viva Villa! - MGM
The White Parade - Fox
1935 (8th) Mutiny on the Bounty - MGM
Alice Adams - RKO Radio
Broadway Melody of 1936 - MGM
Captain Blood - Warner Bros.
David Copperfield - MGM
The Informer - RKO Radio
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer - Paramount
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Warner Bros.
Les Misérables - Twentieth Century Pictures, United Artists
Naughty Marietta - MGM
Ruggles of Red Gap - Paramount
Top Hat - RKO Radio
1936 (9th) The Great Ziegfeld - MGM
Anthony Adverse - Warner Bros.
Dodsworth - United Artists
Libeled Lady - MGM
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town - Columbia
Romeo and Juliet - MGM
San Francisco - MGM
The Story of Louis Pasteur - Warner Bros.
A Tale of Two Cities - MGM
Three Smart Girls - Universal
1937 (10th) The Life of Emile Zola - Warner Bros.
The Awful Truth - Columbia
Captains Courageous - MGM
Dead End - United Artists
The Good Earth - MGM
In Old Chicago - 20th Century Fox
Lost Horizon - Columbia
One Hundred Men and a Girl - Universal
Stage Door - RKO Radio
A Star Is Born - United Artists
1938 (11th) You Can't Take It with You - Columbia
The Adventures of Robin Hood - Warner Bros.
Alexander's Ragtime Band - 20th Century Fox
Boys' Town - MGM
The Citadel - MGM
Four Daughters - Warner Bros., First National
The Grande Illusion (La Grande illusion) - World Pictures
Jezebel - Warner Bros.
Pygmalion - MGM
Test Pilot - MGM
1939 (12th) Gone with the Wind - MGM
Dark Victory - Warner Bros.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Love Affair - RKO Radio
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Columbia
Ninotchka - MGM
Of Mice and Men - United Artists
Stagecoach - United Artists
The Wizard of Oz - MGM
Wuthering Heights - United Artists

1940's
1940 (13th) Rebecca - United Artists
All This and Heaven Too - Warner Bros.
Foreign Correspondent - United Artists
The Grapes of Wrath - 20th Century-Fox
The Great Dictator - United Artists
Kitty Foyle - RKO Radio
The Letter - Warner Bros.
The Long Voyage Home - United Artists
Our Town - United Artists
The Philadelphia Story - MGM
1941 (14th) How Green Was My Valley - 20th Century Fox
Blossoms in the Dust - MGM
Citizen Kane - RKO Radio
Here Comes Mr. Jordan - Columbia
Hold Back the Dawn - Paramount
The Little Foxes - RKO Radio
The Maltese Falcon - Warner Bros.
One Foot in Heaven - Warner Bros.
Sergeant York - Warner Bros.
Suspicion - RKO Radio
1942 (15th) Mrs. Miniver - MGM
Forty-Ninth Parallel - Columbia
King's Row - Warner Bros.
The Magnificent Ambersons - RKO Radio
The Pied Piper - 20th Century Fox
The Pride of the Yankees - RKO Radio
Random Harvest - MGM
The Talk of the Town - Columbia
Wake Island - Paramount
Yankee Doodle Dandy - Warner Bros.
1943 (16th) Casablanca - Warner Bros.
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Paramount
Heaven Can Wait - 20th Century Fox
The Human Comedy - MGM
In Which We Serve - United Artists
Madame Curie - MGM
The More the Merrier - Columbia
The Ox-Bow Incident - 20th Century Fox
The Song of Bernadette - 20th Century Fox
Watch on the Rhine - Warner Bros.
1944 (17th) Going My Way - Paramount
Double Indemnity - Paramount
Gaslight - MGM
Since You Went Away - United Artists
Wilson - 20th Century Fox
1945 (18th) The Lost Weekend - Paramount
Anchors Aweigh - MGM
The Bells of St. Mary's - RKO Radio
Mildred Pierce - Warner Bros.
Spellbound - United Artists
1946 (19th) The Best Years of Our Lives - RKO Radio
Henry V - United Artists
It's a Wonderful Life - RKO Radio
The Razor's Edge - 20th Century Fox
The Yearling - MGM
1947 (20th) Gentleman's Agreement - 20th Century Fox
The Bishop's Wife - RKO Radio
Crossfire - RKO Radio
Great Expectations - Cineguild, U-I
Miracle on 34th Street - 20th Century Fox
1948 (21st) Hamlet - Two Cities Films, U-I
Johnny Belinda - Warner Bros.
The Red Shoes - Eagle-Lion
The Snake Pit - 20th Century Fox
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Warner Bros.
1949 (22nd) All the King's Men - Columbia
Battleground - MGM
The Heiress - Paramount
A Letter to Three Wives - 20th Century Fox
Twelve O'Clock High - 20th Century Fox

1950's
1950 (23rd) All About Eve - 20th Century Fox
Born Yesterday - Columbia
Father of the Bride - MGM
King Solomon's Mines - MGM
Sunset Boulevard - Paramount
1951 (24th) An American in Paris - MGM
Decision Before Dawn - 20th Century Fox
A Place in the Sun - Paramount
Quo Vadis - MGM
A Streetcar Named Desire - Warner Bros.
1952 (25th) The Greatest Show on Earth - Paramount
High Noon - United Artists
Ivanhoe - MGM
Moulin Rouge - United Artists
The Quiet Man - Republic
1953 (26th) From Here to Eternity - Columbia
Julius Caesar - MGM
The Robe - 20th Century Fox
Roman Holiday - Paramount
Shane - Paramount
1954 (27th) On the Waterfront - Columbia
The Caine Mutiny - Columbia
The Country Girl - Paramount
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - MGM
Three Coins in the Fountain - 20th Century Fox
1955 (28th) Marty - United Artists
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing - 20th Century Fox
Mister Roberts - Warner Bros.
Picnic - Columbia
The Rose Tattoo - Paramount
1956 (29th) Around the World in Eighty Days - United Artists
Friendly Persuasion - Allied Artists
Giant - Warner Bros.
The King and I - 20th Century Fox
The Ten Commandments - Paramount
1957 (30th) The Bridge on the River Kwai - Columbia
Peyton Place - 20th Century Fox
Sayonara - Warner Bros.
12 Angry Men - Orion-Nova, United Artists
Witness for the Prosecution - United Artists
1958 (31st) Gigi - MGM
Auntie Mame - Warner Bros.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - MGM
The Defiant Ones - United Artists
Separate Tables - United Artists
1959 (32nd) Ben-Hur - MGM
Anatomy of a Murder - Columbia
The Diary of Anne Frank - 20th Century Fox
The Nun's Story - Warner Bros.
Room at the Top - Romulus, Continental

1960's
1960 (33rd) The Apartment - United Artists
The Alamo - United Artists
Elmer Gantry - United Artists
Sons and Lovers - 20th Century Fox
The Sundowners - Warner Bros.
1961 (34th) West Side Story - Mirisch Enterprises, United Artists
Fanny - Warner Bros.
The Guns of Navarone - Columbia
The Hustler - 20th Century Fox
Judgment at Nuremberg - United Artists
1962 (35th) Lawrence of Arabia - Columbia
The Longest Day - 20th Century Fox
The Music Man - Warner Bros.
Mutiny on the Bounty - MGM
To Kill a Mockingbird - U-I
1963 (36th) Tom Jones - United Artists
America, America - Warner Bros.
Cleopatra - 20th Century Fox
How the West Was Won - MGM
Lilies of the Field - United Artists
1964 (37th) My Fair Lady - Warner Bros.
Zorba the Greek - International Classics/20th Century Fox
Becket - Paramount
Dr. Strangelove - Columbia
Mary Poppins - Disney, Buena Vista
1965 (38th) The Sound of Music - 20th Century Fox
Darling - Anglo-Amalgamated, Embassy
Doctor Zhivago - MGM
Ship of Fools - Columbia
A Thousand Clowns - United Artists
1966 (39th) A Man for All Seasons - Columbia
Alfie - Paramount
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming - United Artists
The Sand Pebbles - 20th Century Fox
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Warner Bros.
1967 (40th) In the Heat of the Night - United Artists
Bonnie and Clyde - Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Doctor Dolittle - 20th Century Fox
The Graduate - Embassy
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - Columbia
1968 (41st) Oliver! - Columbia
Funny Girl - Columbia
The Lion in Winter - Avco Embassy
Rachel, Rachel - Warner Bros.
Romeo and Juliet - Paramount
1969 (42nd) Midnight Cowboy - United Artists
Anne of the Thousand Days - Universal
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - 20th Century Fox
Hello, Dolly! - 20th Century Fox
Z - Reggane Films-O.N.C.I.C., Cinema V

1970's
1970 (43rd) Patton - 20th Century Fox
Airport - Universal
Five Easy Pieces - BBS Productions, Columbia
Love Story - Paramount
MASH - 20th Century Fox
1971 (44th) The French Connection - 20th CenturyFox
A Clockwork Orange - Haek Films, Warner Bros.
Fiddler on the Roof - United Artists
The Last Picture Show - BBS Productions, Columbia
Nicholas and Alexandra - Horizon, Columbia
1972 (45th) The Godfather - Paramount
Cabaret - ABC Pictures, Allied Artists
Deliverance - Warner Bros.
Sounder - 20th Century Fox
The Emigrants (Utvandrarna) - Warner Bros. (Swedish)
1973 (46th) The Sting - Universal
American Graffiti - Lucasfilm/Coppola Company, Universal
The Exorcist - Warner Bros.
A Touch of Class - Brut Prods., Avco Embassy
Cries and Whispers - Cinematograph AB Prod., New World Pictures
1974 (47th) The Godfather Part II - Coppola Company, Paramount
Chinatown - Evans, Paramount - Robert Evans
The Conversation - Directors Company, Paramount
Lenny - United Artists
The Towering Inferno - 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros.
1975 (48th) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - United Artists
Barry Lyndon - Hawk Films, Warner Bros.
Dog Day Afternoon - Warner Bros.
Jaws - Universal
Nashville - ABC Entertainment, Paramount
1976 (49th) Rocky - United Artists
All the President's Men - Warner Bros.
Bound for Glory - United Artists
Network - MGM, United Artists
Taxi Driver - Phillips, Columbia
1977 (50th) Annie Hall - United Artists
The Goodbye Girl - MGM, Warner Bros.
Julia - 20th Century Fox
Star Wars - Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox
The Turning Point - Hera Productions, 20th Century Fox
1978 (51st) The Deer Hunter - EMI Films/Cimino, Universal
Coming Home - United Artists
Heaven Can Wait - Paramount
Midnight Express - Casablanca-Filmworks, Columbia
An Unmarried Woman - 20th Century Fox
1979 (52nd) Kramer vs. Kramer - Columbia
Apocalypse Now - Omni Zoetrope, United Artists
All That Jazz - Columbia, 20th Century Fox
Breaking Away - 20th Century Fox
Norma Rae - 20th Century Fox

1980's
1980 (53rd) Ordinary People - Paramount
Coal Miner's Daughter - Universal
The Elephant Man - Paramount
Raging Bull - United Artists
Tess - Renn-Burrill Société Française de Production (S.F.P.), Columbia
1981 (54th) Chariots of Fire - The Ladd Company, Warner Bros.
Atlantic City - International Cinema Corporation, Paramount
On Golden Pond - ITC Films/IPC Films, Universal
Raiders of the Lost Ark - Lucasfilm, Paramount
Reds - Paramount
1982 (55th) Gandhi - Indo-British Films, Columbia
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - Universal
Missing - Universal/PolyGram, Universal
Tootsie - Mirage/Punch, Columbia
The Verdict - 20th Century Fox
1983 (56th) Terms of Endearment - Paramount
The Big Chill - Carson Productions Group, Columbia
The Dresser - TV Limited/World Film Services, Columbia
The Right Stuff - Ladd Company, Warner Bros.
Tender Mercies - EMI-Antron Media, Universal/AFD
1984 (57th) Amadeus - Barrandov Studios, Orion
The Killing Fields - Goldcrest/International Film Investors, Warner Bros.
A Passage to India - G. W. Films Ltd., Columbia
Places in the Heart - Tri-Star
A Soldier's Story - Columbia
1985 (58th) Out of Africa - Universal
The Color Purple - Warner Bros.
Kiss of the Spider Woman - H. B. Filmes/Sugarloaf Films, Island Alive
Prizzi's Honor - ABC Motion Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Witness - Feldman, Paramount
1986 (59th) Platoon - Orion
Children of a Lesser God - Paramount
Hannah and Her Sisters - Orion
The Mission - Warner Bros.
A Room with a View - Cinecom
1987 (60th) The Last Emperor - Columbia
Broadcast News - 20th Century Fox
Fatal Attraction - Paramount
Hope and Glory - Davros Production Services, Columbia, Nelson Ent.
Moonstruck - MGM
1988 (61st) Rain Man - Mirage Entertainment, United Artists
The Accidental Tourist - Warner Bros.
Dangerous Liaisons - Lorimar Film Ent., NFH Prod., Warner Bros.
Mississippi Burning - Orion Pictures Corp.
Working Girl - 20th Century Fox
1989 (62nd) Driving Miss Daisy - Majestic Films Int., Warner Bros.
Born on the Fourth of July - Ixtlan Corp., Universal
Dead Poets' Society - Silver Screen Partners IV, Touchstone Pictures
Field of Dreams - Universal
My Left Foot - Ferndale Films

1990's
1990 (63rd) Dances with Wolves - Majestic Films, Orion Pictures
Awakenings - Columbia Pictures Corp.
Ghost - Paramount Pictures
The Godfather, Part III - Paramount Pictures, Zoetrope Studios
Goodfellas - Warner Bros.
1991 (64th) The Silence of the Lambs - Orion Pictures Corp.
Beauty and the Beast - Walt Disney Pictures
Bugsy - Baltimore Pictures, Mulholland Productions, TriStar Pictures
JFK - Ixtlan Corp., Le Studio Canal, Regency Entr., Warner Bros.
The Prince of Tides - Barwood Films, Columbia, Longfellow Pictures
1992 (65th) Unforgiven - Malpaso Productions, Warner Bros.
The Crying Game - British Screen, Channel Four Films, Miramax Films
A Few Good Men - Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures
Howards End - Channel Four Films, Merchant-Ivory Productions, Sony
Scent of a Woman - City Light Films, Universal Pictures
1993 (66th) Schindler's List - Amblin Ent., Universal Pictures
The Fugitive - Warner Bros.
In the Name of the Father - Hell's Kitchen Films, Universal Pictures
The Piano - Australian Film Comm., New South Wales Film/TV Office
The Remains of the Day - Columbia, Merchant-Ivory Productions
1994 (67th) Forrest Gump - Paramount Pictures
Four Weddings and a Funeral - Channel 4 Films, PolyGram Film Ent.
Pulp Fiction - Jersey Films, Miramax Films - Lawrence Bender
Quiz Show - Baltimore Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Wildwood Ent.
The Shawshank Redemption - Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia
1995 (68th) Braveheart - 20th Century Fox, Icon Ent., Paramount
Apollo 13 - Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Babe - Kennedy Miller Productions, Universal Pictures
Il Postino (The Postman) - Blue Dahlia Productions, Miramax
Sense and Sensibility - Columbia Pictures Corp., Mirage
1996 (69th) The English Patient - J&M Ent., Miramax Films
Fargo - Gramercy Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Ent., Working Title Films
Jerry Maguire - Gracie Films, TriStar Pictures
Secrets & Lies - Channel 4 Films, Thin Man Films, October Films
Shine - AFFC, Film Victoria, Momentum Films, Fine Line Features
1997 (70th) Titanic - 20th Century Fox, Paramount
As Good as It Gets - Gracie Films, TriStar Pictures
The Full Monty - 20th Century Fox, Channel 4 Films, Fox Searchlight
Good Will Hunting - Lawrence Bender Productions, Miramax Films
L.A. Confidential - Monarchy Enterprises, Regency Ent., Warner Bros.
1998 (71st) Shakespeare in Love - Miramax Films, Universal
Elizabeth - Channel 4 Films, PolyGram Filmed, Working Title Films
Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) - Miramax Films
Saving Private Ryan - Amblin Ent., DreamWorks SKG, Paramount
The Thin Red Line - Fox 2000 Pictures
1999 (72nd) American Beauty - DreamWorks SKG
The Cider House Rules - Film Colony, Miramax Films
The Green Mile - Castle Rock Ent., Darkwoods Prod., Warner Bros.
The Insider - Blue Light Productions, Touchstone Pictures
The Sixth Sense - Hollywood Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment

2000's
2000 (73rd) Gladiator - Universal & DreamWorks
Chocolat - Miramax
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) - Sony
Erin Brockovich - Columbia & Universal
Traffic - USA Films
2001 (74th) A Beautiful Mind - Universal & DreamWorks
Gosford Park - USA Films
In the Bedroom - Miramax
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - New Line
Moulin Rouge! - 20th Century Fox
2002 (75th) Chicago - Miramax
Gangs of New York - Miramax
The Hours - Paramount & Miramax
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - New Line
The Pianist - Focus Features
2003 (76th) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - New Line
Lost in Translation - Focus Features
Master and Commander - Universal, 20th Century Fox, Miramax
Mystic River - Warner Bros.
Seabiscuit - Universal, DreamWorks, Spyglass
2004 (77th) Million Dollar Baby - Warner Bros.
The Aviator - Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group, Warner Bros.
Finding Neverland - Miramax
Ray - Universal
Sideways - Fox Searchlight, 20th Century Fox
2005 (78th) Crash - Lions Gate
Brokeback Mountain - Focus Features
Capote - United Artists & Sony Pictures Classics
Good Night, and Good Luck - Warner Bros.
Munich - DreamWorks & Universal
2006 (79th) The Departed - Warner Bros.
Babel - Paramount Vantage
Letters from Iwo Jima - Warner Bros.
Little Miss Sunshine - Fox Searchlight
The Queen - Pathé Pictures
2007 (80th) - No Country For Old Men - Paramount Vantage
Atonement - Working Title Films
Juno - Dancing Elk Productions
Michael Clayton - Samuels Media
There Will Be Blood - Ghoulardi Film Company