For more than 90 years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been designating one film as the best motion picture of the year.
Some of these winners have become classics. Others have been forgotten by all but trivia diehards.
Here are the winners from each ceremony going back to the 1920s.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2023): From left, Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan star in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The action-packed dramedy won seven Oscars, including best actress (Yeoh) and best supporting actor (Quan). Allyson Riggs/A24“CODA” (2022): “CODA,” which stands for child of deaf adults, tells the story of a young girl — played by Emilia Jones — who is the only hearing person in her deaf family.“Nomadland” (2021): Frances McDormand won best actress for her role as a woman who, following job loss and the death of her husband, finds a community and kinship among people who live in their vans. Director Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color and the first woman of Asian descent to win the Oscar for best director. Searchlight Pictures“Parasite” (2020): This South Korean film, which centers on two families on opposite sides of the economic gap, became the first non-English film to win best picture. Director Bong Joon Ho won an Oscar, too, and the film also won for best original screenplay. Barunson E&A“Green Book” (2019): “Green Book,” the true story about a friendship between an African-American pianist and a white bouncer touring the Deep South in the early 1960s, won the best picture Oscar and two others: best original screenplay and best supporting actor (Mahershala Ali). The “green book” refers to the guide that told black motorists which hotels would accept them. Universal Pictures“The Shape of Water” (2018): Guillermo del Toro’s story about a mute woman who falls in love with a man-like fish creature won four awards on Oscar night: best picture, best director (del Toro), best production design and best original score. fox searchlight“Moonlight” (2017): “Moonlight,” a coming-of-age drama about a gay black man in a rough Miami neighborhood, was named the winner for 2016 — but only after “La La Land” was mistakenly announced first. “Moonlight” is based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” A24“Spotlight” (2016): “Spotlight” — a film about Boston Globe investigative reporters digging into a sex abuse scandal involving Catholic priests — won best picture at the 88th annual Academy Awards. First Look Media“Birdman” (2015): “Birdman,” starring Michael Keaton, also won three other Oscars: best director, best cinematography and best original screenplay. The film, about a onetime superhero actor making a comeback bid through a Broadway play, was filled with unusual touches: It was filmed as if all one shot, scored with a jazzy-drum soundtrack and shaded with magical realism. Fox Searchlight“12 Years a Slave” (2014): Benedict Cumberbatch, left, and Chiwetel Ejiofor appear in “12 Years a Slave,” which won the Oscar in 2013. The story of Solomon Northup (Ejiofor), a free African-American man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, won three awards: best picture, best supporting actress (Lupita Nyong’o) and best adapted screenplay (John Ridley). Jaap Buitendijk/Fox Searchlight Pictures
