Top 84 Best Picture Winners Ever

24. The King’s Speech (2010 − 83rd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: An unlikely friendship develops between King George VI and his speech therapist on the cusp of World War II.
Why It’s Great: While we would have probably ranked it No. 6 among the nominees – Inception, Black Swan, The Fighter, Winter’s Bone, True Grit, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, The Social Network, and The Kids Are All Right – it’s still an enjoyable and well-crafted film worth your time.
Oscar Wins: 4
Budget: $15 million ($15.435 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.2
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23. Rebecca (1940 − 13th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A young woman marries a widower, but finds the memory of the woman she is replacing hard to shake.
Why It’s Great: Alfred Hitchcock’s American feature debut was a big success critically and at the box office. It also received a staggering 11 nominations, though it would only win two, one of which was Best Picture. Other films shooting for the top prize were All This, and Heaven Too, Foreign Correspondent, The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Dictator, Kitty Foyle, The Letter, The Long Voyage Home, Our Town and The Philadelphia Story.
Oscar Wins: 2
Budget: $1.288 million ($20.376 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.3
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22. Unforgiven (1992 − 65th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: An aging and reformed outlaw pursues a bounty in the Old West and becomes reacquainted with his killer instincts.
Why It’s Great: Clint Eastwood’s triumphant return – and departure – from the genre where he made his name. While we don’t agree with the idea it’s the best western of all time, it’s certainly up there, thanks to two legendary turns – one by Eastwood and the other by a villainous Gene Hackman. Unforgiven outdrew A Few Good Men, Howard’s End, Scent of a Woman and The Crying Game for the win.
Oscar Wins: 4
Budget: $14.4 million ($22.734 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.3
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21. On the Waterfront (1954 − 27th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A former boxer, now longshoreman, stands up to the ruthless bosses of his labor union.
Why It’s Great: It’s hard not to like the little man versus the big man scenario, and the world of boxing lends itself to that quite well. Throw in Marlon Brando in his prime and a stellar script by Budd Schulberg, and you’ve got something more than a contender. Other nominees: The Caine Mutiny, The Country Girl, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Three Coins in the Fountain.
Oscar Wins: 8
Budget: $910,000 ($7.507 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.3
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20. All about Eve (1950 − 23rd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Aspiring actress uses an aging stage performer to further her career.
Why It’s Great: Audiences today will probably love to see this one for Bette Davis, Anne Baxter and Marilyn Monroe, but the story is a timeless one involving ambition and betrayal. It was also unusual for the time to have a movie so heavily driven by its female performances earn this type of recognition. Other nominees: Born Yesterday, Father of the Bride, Sunset Boulevard and King Solomon’s Mines.
Oscar Wins: 6
Budget: Data unavailable
IMDB User Rating: 8.4
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19. The Apartment (1960 − 33rd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: An ambitious man opens his apartment up to business higher-ups for philandering and falls in love along the way.
Why It’s Great: Billy Wilder had a decidedly ugly, though not altogether unappealing view of the world. Even though you wouldn’t want to know a lot of his characters, they sure were fun to watch. The Apartment beat out Elmer Gantry, Sons and Lovers, The Alamo and The Sundowners, and Wilder captured the Best Director award.
Oscar Wins: 5
Budget: $3 million ($22.467 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.4
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18. Amadeus (1984 − 57th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Composers Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are chronicled in this lavish tale of pride, envy, and, possibly, murder.
Why It’s Great: F. Murray Abraham (Salieri) and Tom Hulce (Mozart) carry the film and were both nominated for the Best Actor award as a result. (Abraham won.) Director Milos Foreman keeps things rollicking along at a fast clip despite the close to 3-hour runtime. Great acting, great music, a lot of fun. Other nominees were The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart and A Soldier’s Story.
Oscar Wins: 8
Budget: $18 million ($38.357 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.4
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17. Braveheart (1995 − 68th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: 13th Century Scottish warrior William Wallace fights for the FREEDOM of his people from tyrannical British rule.
Why It’s Great: He may be nuttier than squirrel turds, but Mel Gibson is a gifted storyteller, and his wins here for Best Picture and Best Director were well-deserved. Other nominees included Il Postino, Babe, Sense and Sensibility and Apollo 13.
Oscar Wins: 5
Budget: $53 million ($77.248 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.4
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16. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957 − 30th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: World War II. The Japanese capture enemy soldiers and force them to build a bridge that will help with an impending invasion. Some of the men have other ideas, while one does not.
Why It’s Great: Director David Lean understood how to make you hate these characters one minute and cheer them the next. His strength for characterization was unlike any filmmaker who ever lived, and TBOTRK is only one of his masterpieces. Others nominated for the BP prize: Sayonara, Peyton Place, Witness for the Prosecution and 12 Angry Men.
Oscar Wins: 7
Budget: $3 million ($23.63 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.4
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15. The Sting (1973 − 46th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: The con is on when two grifters target a ruthless mob boss in 1936 Chicago.
Why It’s Great: Paul Newman and Robert Redford reunite with director George Roy Hill in a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid reunion trumping their first outing, hard as that was to do. The Sting also juggled atmosphere, tension and humor – a difficult task – with expert precision. Other BP nominees: American Graffiti, Cries and Whispers, The Exorcist and A Touch of Class.
Oscar Wins: 6
Budget: $5.5 million ($27.457 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.4
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