Academy Award for Best Picture#1990s

At the 1st Academy Awards ceremony held in 1929 (for films made in 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 former 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. In particular, The Jazz Singer was disqualified from both awards, since its use of synchronized sound made the film a sui generis item that would have unfairly competed against either category, and the Academy granted the film an honorary award instead.{{cite book | last1 = Block | first1 = Alex Ben | last2 = Wilson | first2 = Lucy Autrey | title = George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success | publisher = HarperCollins | location = New York | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-0-06-177889-6 | url = https://archive.org/details/georgelucassbloc00alex |pages=110–113}}

The following year, the Academy dropped the Unique and Artistic Picture award, deciding retroactively that the award won by Wings was the highest honor that could be awarded, and allowed synchronized sound films to compete for the award.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/326478/sunrise-a-song-of-two-humans#articles-reviews|title=Why SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS is Essential|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=May 24, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405101632/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/326478/Sunrise-A-Song-of-Two-Humans/articles.html|archive-date=April 5, 2012}} Although the award kept the title Outstanding Picture for the next ceremony, the name underwent several changes over the years, as seen below. Since 1962, the award has been simply called Best Picture.

• 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

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 1999 to apply a maximum limit of three producers receiving the award, after the five producers of Shakespeare in Love had received the award.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/Oscars-2005/Who-gets-the-Oscar/2005/02/03/1107409980177.html|title=Who gets the Oscar?|agency=Associated Press|date=February 4, 2005|work=Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=October 23, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924194423/http://www.smh.com.au/news/Oscars-2005/Who-gets-the-Oscar/2005/02/03/1107409980177.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1408671.stm|title=Academy restricts Oscar winners|date=June 26, 2001|publisher=BBC|access-date=October 23, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214183006/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1408671.stm|archive-date=December 14, 2013}}{{cite journal |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=January 21, 2008 |title=PGA avoids credit limit |journal=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2008/film/news/pga-avoids-credit-limit-1117979406/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024204140/http://variety.com/2008/film/news/pga-avoids-credit-limit-1117979406/ |archive-date=October 24, 2013 }}

{{as of|2020}}, the "Special Rules for the Best Picture of the Year Award" limit recipients to those who meet two main requirements:{{cite web| url= https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf| title= 92ND ACADEMY AWARDS OF MERIT|publisher= Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | year= 2019 | access-date=April 26, 2020|page=23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424163237/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf | archive-date=April 24, 2019 | url-status=live }}

• Those with screen credit of "producer" or "produced by", explicitly excluding those with the screen credit "executive producer, co-producer, associate producer, line producer, or produced in association with"
• those three or fewer producers who have performed the major portion of the producing functions

The rules allow a {{lang|la|bona fide}} team of not more than two people to be considered a single "producer" if the two individuals have had an established producing partnership as determined by the Producers Guild of America Producing Partnership Panel. Final determination of the qualifying producer nominees for each nominated picture will be made by the Producers Branch Executive Committee, including the right to name any additional qualified producer as a nominee.

The Academy can make exceptions to the limit, as when Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were posthumously included among the four producers nominated for The Reader.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009498-reader/news/1793050/academy_makes_exceptions_for_pollack_minghella/ |title=Academy Makes Exceptions for Pollack, Minghella Does this mean more Oscar sympathy for surprise nominee The Reader? |last=Yamato |first=Jen |date=January 27, 2009 |work=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=October 18, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027072805/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009498-reader/news/1793050/academy_makes_exceptions_for_pollack_minghella/ |archive-date=October 27, 2013}} {{as of|2014}} the Producers Branch Executive Committee determines such exceptions, noting they take place only in "rare and extraordinary circumstance[s]."

Steven Spielberg currently holds the record for most nominations at thirteen, winning one, while Kathleen Kennedy holds the record for most nominations without a win at eight. Sam Spiegel and Saul Zaentz tie for the most wins with three each. During the time when the Oscar was given to production companies instead, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer received the most, with five wins and 40 nominations.

The Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director have been closely linked throughout their history. Of the 97 films that have won Best Picture, 70 have also been awarded Best Director. Only six films have been awarded Best Picture without receiving a Best Director nomination: Wings directed by William A. Wellman (1927/28), Grand Hotel directed by Edmund Goulding (1931/32), Driving Miss Daisy directed by Bruce Beresford (1989), Argo directed by Ben Affleck (2012), Green Book directed by Peter Farrelly (2018), and CODA directed by Sian Heder (2021). 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).{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/bestdirs1.html|title=Best Director Facts – Trivia (Part 2)|publisher=Filmsite|access-date=November 13, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901210327/http://www.filmsite.org/bestdirs1.html|archive-date=September 1, 2009}}

On June 24, 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced that the number of films to be nominated in the Best Picture award category would increase from 5 to 10, starting with the 82nd Academy Awards (2009).{{cite news|author=Joyce Eng |title=Oscar Expands Best Picture Race to 10 Nominees |url=https://www.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Oscar-Expands-Best-1007223.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208200429/http://www.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Oscar-Expands-Best-1007223.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 8, 2012 |work=TV Guide Online |date=June 24, 2009 |access-date=June 24, 2009 }} Although the Academy never officially said so, many commenters noted the expansion was likely in part a response to public criticism of The Dark Knight and WALL-E (both 2008) (and, in previous years, other blockbusters and popular films) not being nominated for Best Picture.{{Cite news|last=Buchanan|first=Kyle|date=January 22, 2020|title=10 Years Later, an Oscar Experiment That Actually Worked|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/movies/expanded-best-picture-oscar.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122200021/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/movies/expanded-best-picture-oscar.html |archive-date=January 22, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=June 5, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|last=Rogers|first=Nathaniel|date=July 18, 2018|title=How a Dark Knight Best Picture snub forced the Oscars to change|url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/18/17585878/dark-knight-oscars-best-picture|access-date=June 5, 2020|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718193222/https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/18/17585878/dark-knight-oscars-best-picture|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Phipps|first=Keith|date=January 30, 2020|title=A Decade Ago, the Oscars Looked Down on Superhero Movies. Now One Might Win Best Picture.|url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/1/30/21114274/superhero-movies-oscars-joker-dark-knight-black-panther|access-date=June 5, 2020|website=The Ringer|language=en|archive-date=January 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131154326/https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/1/30/21114274/superhero-movies-oscars-joker-dark-knight-black-panther|url-status=live}} Officially, the Academy said the rule change was a throwback to the Academy's early years in the 1930s and 1940s, when 8 to 12 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).[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-richie/poll-oscars-irv_b_824246.html Poll: Vote on the Oscars Like an Academy Member] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112164350/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-richie/poll-oscars-irv_b_824246.html |date=November 12, 2012 }}, Rob Richie, Huffington Post, February 16, 2011 In 2011, 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/new-best-picture-rules-could-discard-hundreds-ballots-or-more-28412|title=New Best Picture Rules Could Discard Large Number of Oscar Ballots (Exclusive)|author=Steve Pond|date=June 22, 2011|publisher=The Wrap|access-date=January 19, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304233702/http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/new-best-picture-rules-could-discard-hundreds-ballots-or-more-28412|archive-date=March 4, 2014}} 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."{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2011/06/oscar-academy-builds-surprise-into-best-picture-race-140014/ |title=OSCAR SHOCKER! Academy Builds Surprise & Secrecy Into Best Picture Race: Now There Can Be Anywhere From 5 To 10 Nominees |author=Nikki Finke |date=June 14, 2011 |work=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=MMC |access-date=June 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723021022/http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/oscar-academy-builds-surprise-into-best-picture-race/ |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=live }} This system lasted until 2021, when the Academy reverted back to a set number of ten nominees from the 94th Academy Awards onward.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/06/oscars-changes-rules-ten-best-picture-nominees-1234784121/|title=Oscars: Academy Sets Rules And Regulations For 94th Awards; 10 Best Picture Nominees, Plus Changes In Music And Sound Categories|author=Pete Hammond|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=June 30, 2021|access-date=January 13, 2021|archive-date=June 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630180725/https://deadline.com/2021/06/oscars-changes-rules-ten-best-picture-nominees-1234784121/|url-status=live}}

Nineteen non-English language films have been nominated in the category: La Grande Illusion (French, 1938); Z (French, 1969); The Emigrants (Swedish, 1972); Cries and Whispers (Swedish, 1973); The Postman (Il Postino) (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 because it was an American production); Amour (French, 2012); Roma (Spanish/Mixtec, 2018); Parasite (Korean, 2019); Minari (Korean, 2020, but ineligible for Best International Feature Film because it was an American production);{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics1.html|title=Best Pictures – Facts & Trivia (part 2)|publisher=Filmsite.org|access-date=November 13, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109122738/http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics1.html|archive-date=January 9, 2010}} Drive My Car (Japanese/Korean/Mandarin Chinese/German/Korean Sign Language, 2021), All Quiet on the Western Front (German, 2022), Anatomy of a Fall (French, 2023), Past Lives (Korean, 2023, but ineligible for Best International Feature Film because it was an American production), The Zone of Interest (German/Polish/Yiddish, 2023), Emilia Pérez (Spanish, 2024), and I'm Still Here (Portuguese, 2024). Parasite became the first film not in English to win Best Picture.{{Cite news|last=Shoard|first=Catherine|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/10/parasite-first-foreign-language-film-to-win-best-picture-oscar|title=Parasite makes Oscars history as first foreign language film to win best picture|date=February 10, 2020|work=The Guardian|access-date=February 10, 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=March 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323173436/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/10/parasite-first-foreign-language-film-to-win-best-picture-oscar|url-status=live}}[https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-03-15/2021-oscars-nominations-minari-everything-to-know "Everything to Know about Nominee 'Minari'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127070506/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-03-15/2021-oscars-nominations-minari-everything-to-know |date=January 27, 2022 }} (March 15, 2021). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 11, 2021.

Ten films wholly financed outside the United States have won Best Picture, eight of which were financed, in part or in whole, by the United Kingdom: Hamlet (1948), Tom Jones (1963), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Chariots of Fire (1981), Gandhi (1982), The Last Emperor (1987), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and The King's Speech (2010). The ninth film, The Artist (2011), was financed in France, and the tenth film, Parasite (2019), was financed in South Korea.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics2.html|title=Best Pictures – Genre Biases|publisher=Filmsite.org|access-date=November 13, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110054846/http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics2.html|archive-date=January 10, 2010}}

Since 1968, most Best Picture winners have been rated R under the Motion Picture Association's rating system. Oliver! is the only G-rated film and Midnight Cowboy is the only X-rated film (what is categorized as an NC-17 film today), so far, to win Best Picture; they won in back-to-back years, 1968 and 1969. The latter has since been changed to an R rating. Eleven films have won with a PG rating: the first was Patton (1970) and the most recent was Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Eleven more films have won with a PG-13 rating (which was introduced in 1984): the first was The Last Emperor (1987) and the most recent was CODA (2021). For unrated films, A Room with a View (1985) is the first film to not be rated by the MPA and be nominated Best Picture, though no unrated films have won Best Picture.

{{More citations needed|date=September 2023}}

Three animated films have been nominated for Best Picture: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Up (2009), and Toy Story 3 (2010). The latter two were nominated after the Academy expanded the number of nominees, but none have won.

No comic book film has won, although three have been nominated: Skippy (1931), Black Panther (2018), and Joker (2019).{{Cite web |last=Bibbiani |first=William |date=January 20, 2023 |title=The First Best Picture Oscar Nominee Based On A Comic Was In 1931 |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1174271/the-first-best-picture-oscar-nominee-based-on-a-comic-was-in-1931/ |access-date=September 12, 2023 |website=/Film |language=en-US |archive-date=June 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614174015/https://www.slashfilm.com/1174271/the-first-best-picture-oscar-nominee-based-on-a-comic-was-in-1931/ |url-status=live }}

Two fantasy films have won: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and The Shape of Water (2017), although more have been nominated.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is the only horror/thriller film to win Best Picture. Six others have been nominated: The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), The Sixth Sense (1999), Black Swan (2010), Get Out (2017), and The Substance (2024).

Several science-fiction films have been nominated for Best Picture, though Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) was the first one to win.{{Cite web |last=Spry |first=Jeff |date=March 14, 2023 |title='Everything Everywhere All At Once' is now the most celebrated sci-fi film in Oscar history |url=https://www.space.com/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-most-celebrated-oscars-sci-fi-film |access-date=September 12, 2023 |website=Space.com |language=en |archive-date=September 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923013345/https://www.space.com/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-most-celebrated-oscars-sci-fi-film |url-status=live }}

Titanic (1997) is the only disaster film to win Best Picture, though other such films have been nominated, including Airport (1970) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

No documentary has been nominated for Best Picture, although Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness was nominated in the Unique and Artistic Picture category at the 1927/28 awards. A Best Documentary Feature category was introduced in 1941.

Several musical adaptations based on material previously filmed in non-musical form have won Best Picture, including Gigi, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Oliver!, and Chicago.

Several epics or historical epic films have won Best Picture, including the first recipient Wings. Others include Cimarron, Cavalcade, Gone with the Wind, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, Patton, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Gandhi, The Last Emperor, Dances With Wolves, Schindler's List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic, Gladiator, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Oppenheimer.

Ten films that were presented as direct sequels have been nominated for Best Picture: The Bells of St. Mary's (1945; the sequel to the 1944 winner, Going My Way), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Godfather Part III (1990), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Toy Story 3 (2010), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and Dune: Part Two (2024).

Toy Story 3, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Top Gun: Maverick are the only sequels to be nominated without any predecessors being nominated. The Godfather Part II and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King are the only sequels to have won the award, and their respective trilogies are the only series to have three films nominated. The Godfather series is the only film series with multiple Best Picture winners, with the first film winning the award for 1972 and the second film winning the award for 1974.

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, the two films have mutually independent stories. 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, and the two films have different casts and creative teams and were not presented as a series.{{Cite web |date=December 27, 2022 |title=The only sequels to have won Best Picture Oscars |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-only-sequels-to-have-won-best-picture-oscars/ |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US |archive-date=January 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122071930/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-only-sequels-to-have-won-best-picture-oscars/ |url-status=live }} Conversely, 2024's Wicked uses iconography and characters who appeared in 1939's The Wizard of Oz and other Oz films, but is not a direct prequel to any film.

The Lion in Winter features Peter O'Toole as King Henry II, a role he had played previously in the film Becket, but The Lion in Winter is not a sequel to Becket. Similarly, The Queen features Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, a role he had played previously in the television film The Deal. Christine Langan, producer of both productions, described The Queen as not being a direct sequel, only that it reunited the same creative team.Wells, Matt (August 30, 2004). "[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/aug/30/media.arts Helen Mirren poised for royal role] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307163813/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/aug/30/media.arts |date=7 March 2016 }}". Guardian Unlimited (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved on January 15, 2022.

Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima was a companion piece to his film Flags of Our Fathers that was 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.

In addition, Black Panther is a continuation of the events that occurred in Captain America: Civil War and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Along similar lines to sequels, there have been few nominees and winners that are either remakes or adaptations of the same source materials or subjects.

Ben-Hur, which won Best Picture of 1959, is a remake of the 1925 silent film with a similar title and both were adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The Departed, which won Best Picture of 2006, is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs and is the first remake of a non-English language or international film to win.

Other nominees include 1963's Cleopatra about the titular last queen of Egypt following the 1934 version, 2018's A Star is Born following the 1937 film of the same name, and 2019's Little Women following the 1933 film of the same name with both being adaptations of the 1868 novel.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/greta-gerwigs-adaptation-brings-little-women-oscar-noms-tally-14-1268988/|title=Oscars: Greta Gerwig's Adaptation Brings 'Little Women' Noms Tally to 14|first1=Jordan|last1=Wilson|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 13, 2020|access-date=March 26, 2022|archive-date=March 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318173856/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/greta-gerwigs-adaptation-brings-little-women-oscar-noms-tally-14-1268988/|url-status=live}} True Grit, which was nominated for Best Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards, is the second adaptation of Charles Portis's 1968 novel following the 1969 film of the same name.

Four of the nominees for the 94th ceremony were based on source material previously made into films: CODA, Dune, Nightmare Alley, and West Side Story. The 2021 version of West Side Story became the second adaptation of the same source material for a previous Best Picture winner to be nominated for the same award after 1962's Mutiny on the Bounty.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/movies/oscars-best-picture-remakes.html|title=Four Best Picture Contenders Are Remakes. Does That Matter to Oscar Voters?|first=Ben|last=Zauzmer|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 25, 2022|access-date=March 26, 2022|archive-date=March 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326185243/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/movies/oscars-best-picture-remakes.html|url-status=live}} For that same ceremony, CODA became the second remake of a non-English-language or international film to win.

The 2022 German-language All Quiet on the Western Front is the second adaptation of the 1929 novel after the 1930 English-language film, and the third adaptation of the same source material of a previous Best Picture winner.{{Cite web |last=Wise |first=Damon |date=January 24, 2023 |title=Edward Berger's 'All Quiet On The Western Front' Continues Remarkable Awards-Season Run With Oscar Noms Haul |url=https://deadline.com/2023/01/2023-oscars-all-quiet-on-the-western-front-9-nominations-1235238643/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125014030/https://deadline.com/2023/01/2023-oscars-all-quiet-on-the-western-front-9-nominations-1235238643/ |url-status=live }}

File:Wings (1927).webm

At the 1st Academy Awards, the Best Picture award (then named "Academy Award for Outstanding Picture") was presented to the 1927 silent film Wings.

The Artist (2011) was the first essentially silent (with the exception of a single scene of dialogue, and a dream sequence with sound effects) film since Wings to win Best Picture. It was the first silent nominee since 1928's The Patriot and the first Best Picture winner to be produced entirely in black-and-white since 1960's The Apartment. (Schindler's List, the 1993 winner, was predominantly black-and-white but contains some color sequences.)

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 (prior to its 2018 reissues by The Criterion Collection and the British Film Institute) 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3068 |title=The Broadway Melody |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=July 7, 2014 |quote="The Technicolor footage for this sequence has since been lost, and only a black-and-white version is now available." |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714220955/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3068 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}

The 1928 film The Patriot is the only Best Picture nominee that is lost (about one-third is extant).{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/mostwanted/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001033156/http://www.oscars.org/mostwanted/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 1, 2012 |title=Oscar's Most Wanted |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=May 24, 2012}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/R/Racket1928.html|title=The Racket – Progressive Silent Film List|publisher=Silent Era|access-date=May 24, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331231944/http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/R/Racket1928.html|archive-date=March 31, 2012}} The only surviving complete prints of 1931's East Lynne and 1934's The White Parade exist within the UCLA film archive.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73829/east-lynne#trivia|title=East Lynne Trivia|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=May 24, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215055955/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73829/East-Lynne/trivia.html|archive-date=December 15, 2013}}

The Academy has established a set of "representation and inclusion standards", called Academy Aperture 2025, which a film will be required to satisfy in order to compete in the Best Picture category, starting with the 96th Academy Awards for films released in 2023.{{cite web |date=August 2022 |title=Representation and Inclusion Standards |url=https://www.oscars.org/awards/representation-and-inclusion-standards |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215073102/https://www.oscars.org/awards/representation-and-inclusion-standards |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |access-date=February 15, 2023 |website=Oscars.org}}[https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/09/08/910928503/new-diversity-standards-for-best-picture-oscar-nominees-starting-in-2024 New Diversity Standards For Best Picture Oscar Nominees, Starting In 2024] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204135656/https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/09/08/910928503/new-diversity-standards-for-best-picture-oscar-nominees-starting-in-2024 |date=February 4, 2024 }}, NPR, September 8, 2020 There are four general standards, of which a film must satisfy two to be considered for Best Picture: (a) on-screen representation, themes and narratives; (b) creative leadership and project team; (c) industry access and opportunities; and (d) audience development. As explained by Vox, the standards "basically break down into two big buckets: standards promoting more inclusive representation and standards promoting more inclusive employment".{{cite web |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Alissa |date=September 9, 2020 |title=The Oscars' new rules for Best Picture nominees, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/9/9/21429083/oscars-best-picture-rules-diversity-inclusion |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215073105/https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/9/9/21429083/oscars-best-picture-rules-diversity-inclusion |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |access-date=February 15, 2023 |website=Vox}} The standards are intended to provide greater opportunities for employment, in cast, crew, studio apprenticeships and internships, and development, marketing, publicity, and distribution executives, among underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, LGBTQ+ people, and persons with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.[https://deadline.com/2021/02/coming-soon-film-academys-inclusion-standards-form-1234697847/ Coming Soon: The Film Academy’s “Inclusion Standards” Form] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702065127/https://deadline.com/2021/02/coming-soon-film-academys-inclusion-standards-form-1234697847/ |date=July 2, 2023 }}, Deadline Hollywood, February 22, 2021

For the 94th and 95th Academy Awards (films released in 2021 and 2022), filmmakers were required to submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form to be considered for Best Picture but were not required to fulfill the standards. These standards will only apply to the Best Picture category and do not affect a film's eligibility in other Oscar categories.

At the 89th Academy Awards on February 26, 2017, presenter Faye Dunaway read La La Land as the winner of the award. However, she and Warren Beatty had mistakenly been given the duplicate envelope for the "Best Actress in a Leading Role" award, which Emma Stone had won for her role in La La Land. While accepting the award, La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz, who was given the correct envelope, realized the mistake and announced that Moonlight had won the award.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/moonlight-wins-best-picture-mistake-presenter-warren-beatty/story?id=45769592|title='Moonlight' wins best picture after 'La La Land' mistakenly announced|last2=Edison Hayden|last1=Rothman|first2=Michael|first1=Michael|date=February 27, 2017|work=ABC News|access-date=February 27, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227052424/http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/moonlight-wins-best-picture-mistake-presenter-warren-beatty/story?id=45769592|archive-date=February 27, 2017}}

{{Further information|The Greatest Show on Earth (film)#Oscar controversy}}

Retrospectively, The Greatest Show on Earth has been considered by some to be one of the worst Best Picture winners in history.{{cite web |last=WENN |date=February 25, 2005 |title=Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" Voted Worst Oscar Winner |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/Mel_Gibsons_Braveheart_Voted_Worst_Oscar_Winner/2435436 |access-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203230603/http://www.hollywood.com/news/Mel_Gibsons_Braveheart_Voted_Worst_Oscar_Winner/2435436 |url-status=live }}

{{Further information|Brokeback Mountain#Best Picture controversy|Crash (2004 film)#Oscar controversy|Green Book (film)#Criticism from Shirley's relatives}}

In general, the awardees of that category have been criticized for disproportionately recognizing films about white men over those of women or non-white people.{{cite web |title=The 2015 Oscar nominations in two words: 'Racist,' 'Sexist' |website=Los Angeles Daily News |date=January 15, 2015 |url=http://www.dailynews.com/events/20150115/the-2015-oscar-nominations-in-two-words-racist-sexist |access-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-date=August 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818185239/http://www.dailynews.com/events/20150115/the-2015-oscar-nominations-in-two-words-racist-sexist |url-status=live }}

In opposition, the Academy's decision to favor Best Picture winning films with depiction of race relations among people of color (most primarily Driving Miss Daisy, Crash and Green Book) was heavily criticized; all winners labeled are directed by white filmmakers. This led to significant backlash over racism against the Academy.{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2023-03-10 |title=21 Controversial Oscar Winners: Why 'Green Book,' 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and More Ignited Backlash |url=https://variety.com/lists/oscars-controversial-winners/driving-miss-daisy-2/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

In 2005, Brokeback Mountain losing the Best Picture to Crash was heavily criticized, with some critics such as Kenneth Turan accusing the Academy members of homophobia and benefitting from making a non-groundbreaking choice in Crash,{{cite news |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |date=March 5, 2006 |title=Breaking no ground: Why 'Crash' won, why 'Brokeback' lost and how the Academy chose to play it safe |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/env-turan5mar05,0,5359042.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060326203621/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/env-turan5mar05%2C0%2C5359042.story |archive-date=March 26, 2006 |access-date=May 23, 2009 |work=Los Angeles Times |authorlink=Kenneth Turan}}{{cite news |date=April 16, 2009 |title=Maybe Crash's upset at the Oscars shouldn't have been such a surprise? |url=http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/04/maybe-crashs-upset-at-the-oscars-shouldnt-have-been-such-a-surprise.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113010233/http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/04/maybe-crashs-upset-at-the-oscars-shouldnt-have-been-such-a-surprise.html |archive-date=January 13, 2012 |access-date=May 23, 2009 |work=Los Angeles Times}} considered as one of the most notable Oscars upsets.{{Cite web |last1=Horn |first1=John |last2=King |first2=Susan |date=March 6, 2006 |title='Crash' Named Best Picture in Upset Over 'Brokeback' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-06-et-oscarmain6-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328053830/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-06-et-oscarmain6-story.html |archive-date=March 28, 2022 |access-date=January 16, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Zauzmer |first=Ben |date=April 23, 2021 |title=The Math Behind Oscars' Biggest Best Picture Upsets Ever |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/oscar-upsets-biggest-ever-4171178/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117004824/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/oscar-upsets-biggest-ever-4171178/ |archive-date=January 17, 2023 |access-date=January 16, 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Bleiler |first=David |date=March 10, 2006 |title=Did Homophobia Steal 'Brokeback' Oscar? |url=http://articles.philly.com/2006-03-10/news/25415538_1_british-film-awards-10-best-lists-directors-guild |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003220456/http://articles.philly.com/2006-03-10/news/25415538_1_british-film-awards-10-best-lists-directors-guild |archive-date=October 3, 2015 |access-date=September 30, 2020 |website=Philly}} After announcing the award, presenter Jack Nicholson was caught on camera mouthing the word "whoa" out of apparent surprise at the result.{{Cite web |date=March 31, 2011 |title=Crash Wins Best Picture: 2006 Oscars |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfQs7WbVse8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818162327/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfQs7WbVse8 |archive-date=August 18, 2023 |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=YouTube}} The film's use of moral quandary as a storytelling medium was widely reported as ironic, since many saw it as the "safe" alternative to Brokeback Mountain, which is about a gay relationship (the other nominees, Good Night, and Good Luck, Capote, and Munich also tackle heavy subjects of McCarthyism, homosexuality, and terrorism, respectively).{{Cite magazine |last=Sullivan |first=Kevin P. |date=March 2, 2018 |title=Why 'Crash' beat 'Brokeback Mountain' for Best Picture |url=https://ew.com/oscars/2018/03/02/crash-brokeback-mountain-best-picture-oscars/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112213819/https://ew.com/oscars/2018/03/02/crash-brokeback-mountain-best-picture-oscars/ |archive-date=January 12, 2023 |access-date=January 12, 2023 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en}}

Though there have been exceptions like Barry Jenkins's Moonlight, films like Precious and Get Out have been seen as potentially being shut out of the Best Picture race because of older and white Academy voters choosing not to see them.{{cite news |last=Buchanan |first=Kyle |author2=Stacey Wilson Hunt |author3=Chris Lee |date=Feb 2018 |title=We Polled New Oscar Voters: How Are They Changing the Way the Academy Thinks? |url=http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/how-new-oscar-voters-are-changing-the-way-the-academy-thinks.html |access-date=January 9, 2020 |work=Vulture}} From 2018 onwards, the Academy made an effort to add more younger, female, non-white and non-American voters, and to create a non-voting "emeritus" status for people who had not worked in the film industry after a certain length of time, in order to diversify and rejuvenate their voter bloc.

{{Further information|Saving Private Ryan#Accolades|Shakespeare in Love#Oscar controversy}}

File:Harvey_Weinstein_Césars_2014_(cropped)_(centered).jpg

Saving Private Ryan was immediately pegged as a favorite for the category by many members and fans of Spielberg's films, but it lost to Shakespeare in Love. The Academy's decision was widely criticized.{{cite magazine |author=Susman, Gary |date=February 20, 2013 |title=Oscar Robbery: 10 Controversial Best Picture Races |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/02/20/oscar-robbery-10-controversial-best-picture-races/slide/1999-saving-private-ryan-vs-shakespeare-in-love/ |access-date=May 21, 2015 |magazine=Time}}{{cite web |last=Hyman |first=Nick |date=February 22, 2011 |title=The Least Deserving Best Picture Winners Since 1990 |url=https://www.metacritic.com/feature/least-deserving-oscar-winners-and-snubs |access-date=May 21, 2015 |website=Metacritic |archive-date=March 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323191647/http://www.metacritic.com/feature/least-deserving-oscar-winners-and-snubs |url-status=dead }}{{Cite magazine |last=Dockterman |first=Eliana |title=The 12 Most Controversial Best Picture Oscar Winners of All Time |url=https://time.com/4239180/oscars-best-picture-controversy/ |access-date=2020-02-12 |magazine=Time |language=en-us}} The choice was seen as one of the biggest upsets in the awards history, and led to DreamWorks executives (including Terry Press) and many industry pundits accusing Miramax Films and one of the Shakespeare in Love producers, Harvey Weinstein, of winning due to their award campaign's negative messaging against Saving Private Ryan rather than their own film's merits. Press stated that Weinstein and Miramax "tried to get everybody to believe that Saving Private Ryan was all in the first 15 minutes".{{Cite web |last=Weinstein |first=Harvey |date=2017-02-26 |title=Harvey Weinstein On Oscar Races & The Truth Behind 'Shakespeare In Love' Vs 'Saving Private Ryan' |url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/harvey-weinstein-oscar-lion-shakespeare-in-love-saving-private-ryan-warren-beatty-1201999291/ |access-date=2020-02-10 |website=Deadline |language=en |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228120252/https://deadline.com/2017/02/harvey-weinstein-oscar-lion-shakespeare-in-love-saving-private-ryan-warren-beatty-1201999291/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |date=8 December 2017 |title=Shakespeare in Love and Harvey Weinstein's Dark Oscar Victory |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/shakespeare-in-love-and-harvey-weinsteins-dark-oscar-victory |access-date=2020-02-10 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en |archive-date=June 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601180729/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/shakespeare-in-love-and-harvey-weinsteins-dark-oscar-victory |url-status=live }}

File:Annie_Awards_Jeffrey_Katzenberg.jpg being nominated in the Best Picture category.]]

The category of Best Animated Feature was created for the 74th Academy Awards to ensure the recognition of animated films; prior to its creation, the only animated film ever nominated for Best Picture was 1991's Beauty and the Beast. However, the award has since received criticism on the grounds that it discourages animated films from being eligible to win Best Picture. While the Academy rules allow for a film to be nominated in both categories,{{cite web |title=Rule Seven: Special Rules for the Animated Feature Film Award |url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/rule07.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605174517/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/rule07.html |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |access-date=April 26, 2011 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}} only two animated films (Up and Toy Story 3) have been nominated for Best Picture since the creation of the two categories.

A prominent example was the 2001 film Shrek; DreamWorks and producer Jeffrey Katzenberg campaigned heavily for the film to be awarded Best Picture, but it was not nominated in the category despite receiving nominations for a Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy, PGA Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture, BAFTA Award for Best Film, and Critics' Choice Awards for Best Picture (and was the first animated film nominated in the latter three categories).{{cite web |date=February 7, 2017 |title=15 Amazing Animated Movies That Were Snubbed By The Oscars |url=http://screenrant.com/academy-awards-best-animated-movies-biggest-oscar-snubs/?view=all |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404131022/http://screenrant.com/academy-awards-best-animated-movies-biggest-oscar-snubs/?view=all |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |website=Screen Rant}}{{cite news |date=December 20, 2001 |title=Golden Globes: 2002 winners in full |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1721758.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215050207/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1721758.stm |archive-date=December 15, 2013 |access-date=October 10, 2013 |work=BBC News}}{{Cite web |title=Golden Globes |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/shrek |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122190646/https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/shrek |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |access-date=December 16, 2020}} Similarly, the 2008 film WALL-E received many accolades and garnered speculation that it might be nominated for Best Picture, but it was instead nominated for six categories, tying with Beauty and the Beast as the most nominated animated films in Oscar history, and won the award for Best Animated Feature Film.{{cite web |title=The 2008 Top Tens |url=http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2009/top_ten/00scoreboard.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531131508/http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2009/top_ten/00scoreboard.htm |archive-date=May 31, 2009 |access-date=May 27, 2009}}{{cite news |last=Keegan Winters |first=Rebecca |date=July 7, 2008 |title=Can WALL-E Win Best Picture? |url=http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1820824,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413132749/http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1820824,00.html |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |access-date=April 9, 2014 |newspaper=Time}}{{cite news |last=Bandyk |first=Matthew |date=January 22, 2009 |title=Academy Awards Controversy: Wall-E Gets Snubbed For Best Picture Oscar |url=http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/risky-business/2009/01/22/academy-awards-controversy-wall-e-gets-snubbed-for-best-picture-oscar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717180938/http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/risky-business/2009/01/22/academy-awards-controversy-wall-e-gets-snubbed-for-best-picture-oscar |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |access-date=April 9, 2014 |newspaper=US News}}{{cite news |last=Breznican |first=Anthony |date=July 2, 2008 |title=Is the best-picture Oscar within WALL-E's reach? |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-07-01-wall-e-oscar_N.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125030613/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-07-01-wall-e-oscar_N.htm |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=April 9, 2014 |newspaper=USA Today}} Other animated films that garnered Best Picture speculation but were ultimately not nominated include Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio,{{Cite web |last=Kruske |first=Kyle |date=2023-01-05 |title=Every Animated Film Nominated for Best Picture (and a Few that Should've Been) |url=https://movieweb.com/every-animated-film-nominated-for-best-picture/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=MovieWeb |language=en |archive-date=March 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311162954/https://movieweb.com/every-animated-film-nominated-for-best-picture/ |url-status=live }} The Boy and the Heron,{{Cite web |title=The Boy And The Heron & Suzume Eligible For Best Picture Category In Oscars 2024 |url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64393210/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}} and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Clayton |date=2023-06-02 |title=Why 'Across the Spider-Verse,' 'The Dark Knight' of Animated Films, Should Be a Best Picture Oscar Contender |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/awards/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse-best-picture-oscar-contender-1235631185/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228120252/https://variety.com/2023/film/awards/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse-best-picture-oscar-contender-1235631185/ |url-status=live }} with the former two films winning Best Animated Feature Film at back-to-back ceremonies.

{{Further information|Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (film)#Best Picture nomination controversy}}

Critics and audiences criticized Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close's nomination for Best Picture, with some calling the film one of the worst Best Picture nominees ever.{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=Xan |date=February 23, 2012 |title=Oscars 2012: Is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close the worst best picture nominee ever? | Film |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/feb/23/oscars-extremely-loud-incredibly-close |access-date=2012-07-07 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-date=October 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022165904/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/feb/23/oscars-extremely-loud-incredibly-close |url-status=live }} Chris Krapek of The Huffington Post wrote very negatively about the film's nomination, calling the film "not only the worst reviewed Best Picture nominee of the last 10 years, [but] easily the worst film of 2011".{{cite news |date=February 22, 2012 |title=Chris Krapek: Extremely Loud Oscar Angst |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-krapek/extremely-loud-oscar-angs_b_1291485.html |access-date=2012-07-07 |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913200300/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-krapek/extremely-loud-oscar-angs_b_1291485.html |url-status=live }} Paste Magazine's Adam Vitcavage called the film's consensus for a Best Picture nominee "certainly the worst for at least 28 years",{{cite web |date=2012-01-25 |title=Is Extremely Loud the Worst-Reviewed Oscar-Nominated Movie in History? |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/01/examining-extremely-loud-and-incredibly-closes-osc.html |access-date=2012-07-07 |publisher=Pastemagazine.com |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322223516/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/01/examining-extremely-loud-and-incredibly-closes-osc.html |url-status=live }} and David Gritten of The Telegraph called the nomination "mysterious".{{cite news |last=Gritten |first=David |date=January 27, 2012 |title=Oscars 2012: The mystery of the ninth Oscar nomination for best film |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/oscars/9042051/Oscars-2012-The-mystery-of-the-ninth-Oscar-nomination-for-best-film.html |access-date=2012-07-07 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}

The nomination of Emilia Pérez for Best Picture, among other categories, was heavily criticized. The main causes for criticism was that the film's trans representation was stereotypical and backwards,{{Cite web |last=GLAAD |date=2024-11-15 |title="Emilia Pérez" is Not Good Trans Representation {{!}} GLAAD |url=https://glaad.org/emilia-perez-is-not-good-trans-representation/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=glaad.org |language=en-US}} and its portrayal of Mexican culture being inaccurate, along with director Jacques Audiard's comments about the Spanish language being "a language of developing countries, it's a language of countries of few means, of poor people, of migrants."{{Cite web |last=|first= |title=Oscars 2025: The 'Emilia Pérez' controversy explained |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/oscars-2025-emilia-perez-controversy-explained/story?id=119163111#:~:text=In%20November,%20GLAAD%20compiled%20commentary,step%20backward%20for%20trans%20representation.%22 |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the titular role, accused the team of fellow Best Picture nominee I'm Still Here (as well as its lead, fellow Best Actress nominee Fernanda Torres) of running a smear campaign against her and Emilia Pérez,{{Cite magazine |last=Mier |first=Tomás |date=2025-01-30 |title=Karla Sofía Gascón Takes Back Claim That Fernanda Torres' Team Speaks 'Badly' About Her |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/karla-sofia-gascon-takes-back-claim-fernanda-torres-team-spoke-badly-about-her-1235250763/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} which is explicitly against AMPAS' rules of campaigning.{{Cite web |last=Feinberg |first=Scott |date=2024-04-22 |title=Oscars: Film Academy Updates Rules and Campaign Protocols, Announces Changes to Special Awards |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-2025-changes-rules-special-awards-campaigns-1235878854/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} The accusations were found to be baseless and itself perceived as an attempt to smear Torres' and I'm Still Here's reputation. As attention grew around Gascón, a series of tweets in which she made several bigoted comments, of racist and Islamophobic nature,{{Cite web |last=Vary |first=Adam B. |date=2025-01-30 |title='Emilia Pérez' Star Karla Sofía Gascón Under Fire Over Tweets About Muslims, George Floyd, Oscars Diversity |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/news/karla-sofia-gascon-tweets-muslims-george-floyd-backlash-emilia-perez-1236291448/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} were unearthed by Canadian journalist Sarah Hagi.{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Clayton |date=2025-02-01 |title=Journalist Who Uncovered Karla Sofía Gascón's Racist Tweets Explains Why She Looked for Them: 'I'm Not a Studio Plant' |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/awards/journalist-sarah-hagi-discovered-karla-sofia-gascon-tweets-1236293396/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} The majority of Oscar pundits agreed that they marked the end of Emilia Pérez's, the year's most nominated picture, chances of winning Best Picture.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-01 |title=Will Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón's offensive X posts derail the Oscar favourite's chances? |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250131-will-offensive-x-posts-derail-an-oscars-favourite-emilia-perez |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}

In the list below, winners are listed first in the gold 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, but it may be the year after first release (as with Casablanca and, if the film-festival premiere is considered, Crash and The Hurt Locker). 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 nominee.

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 number of producers on a film can be nominated for Best Picture, should they be deemed eligible.

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; it was adjusted from 2011 to 2020 to vary between five and ten, but has been a full ten since 2022.

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. This has been the rule every year since except 2020, when the end date was extended to February 28, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021, which was correspondingly limited to March 1 to December 31.

Since 2023, the category's winners and nominees from the 1927/28 and 1928/29 ceremonies have entered the public domain.{{cite web| title=Preserved Projects| url=http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=wings&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All| website=Academy Film Archive| access-date=January 12, 2025| archive-date=October 6, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006204939/https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=wings&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All| url-status=live}}

{{legend|#FAEB86|indicates the winner}}

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;3 wins

• Sam Spiegel
• Saul Zaentz

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;2 wins

• Clint Eastwood
• Arthur Freed
• Dede Gardner
• Jeremy Kleiner
• Branko Lustig
• Albert S. Ruddy
• Robert Wise

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;13 nominations{{cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/Help/Statistics?file=Pic-Facts.pdf|title=BEST PICTURE FACTS: MOST NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS|access-date=January 13, 2020|publisher=oscars.org|archive-date=April 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425112515/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/Help/Statistics?file=Pic-Facts.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Tapp |first=Tom |date=February 8, 2022 |title=Steven Spielberg Receives Record 11th Producing Nomination & 8th Directing Nomination For 'West Side Story' |url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/best-director-oscar-steven-spielberg-eight-times-1234928428/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307112402/https://deadline.com/2022/02/best-director-oscar-steven-spielberg-eight-times-1234928428/ |url-status=live }}

• Steven Spielberg

;9 nominations

• Scott Rudin

;8 nominations

• Kathleen Kennedy
• Dede Gardner

;7 nominations

• Eric Fellner
• Jeremy Kleiner

;6 nominations

• Tim Bevan
• Stanley Kramer

;5 nominations

• Bradley Cooper
• Francis Ford Coppola
• Clint Eastwood
• Frank Marshall
• Kristie Macosko Krieger

;4 nominations

• Warren Beatty
• James L. Brooks
• David Brown
• Ethan Coen
• Megan Ellison
• Donna Gigliotti
• Peter Jackson
• Norman Jewison
• Graham King
• Marc Platt
• Sydney Pollack
• David Puttnam
• Martin Scorsese
• Sam Spiegel
• George Stevens
• Irwin Winkler

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;3 nominations

• Paul Thomas Anderson
• Lawrence Bender
• Jason Blum
• James Cameron
• Iain Canning
• Ceán Chaffin
• Robert Chartoff
• Joel Coen
• Bruce Cohen
• Christian Colson
• Michael De Luca
• Steve Golin
• Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Brian Grazer
• Ed Guiney
• David Heyman
• Mark Johnson
• Stanley Kubrick
• Jon Landau
• Robert Lorenz
• Daniel Lupi
• Ismail Merchant
• Christopher Nolan
• Barrie M. Osborne
• Patrick J. Palmer
• Mary Parent
• Brad Pitt
• Emile Sherman
• Emma Thomas
• Emma Tillinger Koskoff
• Hal B. Wallis
• Fran Walsh
• Robert Wise
• Saul Zaentz
• Richard D. Zanuck

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;2 nominations

• Buddy Adler
• Robert Altman
• Fred Berger
• Kathryn Bigelow
• Mark Boal
• John Boorman
• Cale Boyter
• John Brabourne
• Robbie Brenner
• Graham Broadbent
• Lisa Bruce
• Dana Brunetti
• Jim Burke
• Peter Chernin
• Alfonso Cuarón
• Pete Czernin
• J. Miles Dale
• Guillermo del Toro
• Cecil B. DeMille
• Finola Dwyer
• Todd Field
• John Foreman
• Gray Frederickson
• Arthur Freed
• Richard N. Gladstein
• Jonathan Gordon
• Jerome Hellman
• Grant Heslov
• Grant Hill
• Ron Howard
• Stanley R. Jaffe
• Dan Janvey
• Dan Jinks
• Ross Katz
• A. Kitman Ho
• Arnold Kopelson
• Gary Kurtz
• Yorgos Lanthimos
• Ang Lee
• Ernest Lehman
• Baz Luhrmann
• Branko Lustig
• Michael Mann
• Anthony McCarten
• Frank McCarthy
• Martin McDonagh
• Frances McDormand
• Adam McKay
• Barry Mendel
• Kevin Messick
• Arnon Milchan
• George Miller
• Doug Mitchell
• Gil Netter
• David Parfitt
• Amy Pascal
• Jordan Peele
• Julia Phillips
• Michael Phillips
• Amanda Posey
• Sean McKittrick
• Fred Roos
• Charles Roven
• Albert S. Ruddy
• Tracey Seaward
• Ronald L. Schwary
• JoAnne Sellar
• Michael Shamberg
• Stacey Sher
• Bernard Smith
• Peter Spears
• Ray Stark
• Oliver Stone
• Jenno Topping
• Douglas Urbanski
• Denis Villeneuve
• Jerry Wald
• Jack L. Warner
• Harvey Weinstein
• Douglas Wick
• James Woolf
• John Woolf
• William Wyler
• Peter Yates
• Sam Zimbalist
• Fred Zinnemann
• Edward Zwick

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Columbia Pictures and United Artists have the most wins with 12, while 20th Century Studios has the most nominations with 64.

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• Academy Aperture 2025
• BAFTA 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
• Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
• 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 presenters of the Academy Award for Best Picture
• List of Academy Award–nominated films
• List of Academy Award–winning films
• List of Big Five Academy Award winners and nominees
• List of film production companies
• List of films considered the best
• Lists of films
• List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees

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• [http://www.oscars.org/ Oscars.org] (official Academy site)
• [http://www.oscar.com/ Oscar.com] (official ceremony site)
• [http://www.oscars.org/oscars/awards-databases-0 The Academy Awards Database] (official site)

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Category:Awards established in 1929

Picture

Category:Awards for best film