Academy Award for best picture | Years, Winners, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

Also called:

Oscar for best picture

award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. It honors the film deemed the best of a given year—as determined by the academy’s voting members—and is typically regarded as the most prestigious of the various Academy Awards. The prize, which was initially known as the Academy Award for outstanding picture and underwent various name changes, was presented in 1929 at the first Academy Award ceremony, and it recognized films from 1927–28. It was not until the seventh ceremony, in 1935, that the award honored movies released only the previous year. The producers of the winning film receive a gold-plated statuette known as an Oscar. However, the academy has various eligibility requirements, and only as many as three producers can receive the award. Below is a list of the winning movies and their years of release.

1920s and 1930s

1940s and 1950s

1960s and 1970s

1980s and 1990s

2000s and 2010s

2020s

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.