Can You Name All of These Best Picture Winners From an Image?

By: Jonnathan Chadwick
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
Can You Name All of These Best Picture Winners From an Image?
Image: Paramount Pictures / 20th Century Fox / Lightstorm Entertainment

About This Quiz

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in the summer of 1929, and it celebrated movies from 1927 and 1928. There were just 12 categories, and the entire ceremony lasted 15 minutes. It wasn't broadcast on TV or radio, and there were two "Best Picture" awards. They were called "Outstanding Picture" and "Unique and Artistic Feature." The movie "Wings" won "Outstanding Picture." "Sunrise" won "Unique and Artistic Feature."

The Academy dropped the "Unique and Artistic Feature" award the next year and experimented with the "Outstanding Picture" award for the next three decades. Hollywood declared that "Wings" was the first movie to win the night's highest honor, and in 1962, the Academy settled on the name "Best Picture." The top award has been labeled as such ever since.

There have been 91 Best Pictures, and not all of them have been good. Some have been horrible and some have been life-changing. Some have dominated the box office and some have flopped. The most recent black and white film to win Best Picture happened in 2016. The first color film won in 1940. No true comedy has ever won, but many Best Picture winners claim to be comedies. Only one horror film has won. Only three films have swept the major categories, and only one film has gone 11 for 11. Can you name these Best Picture winners from just a screenshot?


parasite
Barunson E&A Corp
Which of these movies made history as the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture?
“Roma”
"Amour"
"Parasite"
"Babel"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In addition to Best Picture, the South Korean hit also took home Oscars for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Film. Director Bong Joon Ho’s twisty black comedy meets thriller explores class divisions, telling the story of the Kim family who cons their way into the lives of the wealthy Park family.

Can You Fix These Messed Up Movie Quotes?2
20th Century Fox/Paramount Pictures/Lightstorm Entertainment
Leonardo DiCaprio became "king of the world" in this disaster story that earned 11 Academy Awards. What is it?
"Argo"
"Titanic"
"The Revenant"
"The Departed"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Titanic" was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and took home 11 of them. "All About Eve" is the only film with as many nominations. James Cameron directed and produced the film and won Best Director for his work.

The Godfather Part II
Paramount Pictures/The Coppola Company
This is commonly considered the greatest movie sequel ever. Do you know it?
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
"The Godfather: Part II"
"Rocky II"
"Superman II"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Several sequels have been nominated for Best Picture, but the third "Lord of the Rings" film and the second "Godfather" film are the only ones to win. Robert De Niro portrayed the younger Vito Corleone and won a Best Supporting Actor award for the role.

Advertisement

Forrest Gump
Wendy Finerman Productions
Do you know this war hero who invented the smiley face, invested in Apple early, made JFK laugh and founded Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.?
"Tom Jones"
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
"A Beautiful Mind"
"Forrest Gump"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Author Winston Groom sold the movie rights to his novel for $350,000 and 3% of the net profit. The film grossed nearly $700 million, but slick accountants reported a $0 net profit, and Winston was paid nothing. Tom Hanks earned a percentage of gross profits and walked away with $40 million.

The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
New Line Cinema/WingNut Films
Can you name this 2003 adventure film that won every single category it was nominated for?
"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
"Chicago"
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
"The Shape of Water"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Although this film didn't sweep the five main categories, this is considered a clean sweep. It was nominated for 11 awards and won all of them. Many films have come close to sweeping, and 1987's "The Last Emperor" went nine for nine, which is the second-highest clean sweep.

Casablanca
Warner Bros. – First National Pictures
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman will always remember Paris in this film. What is it?
"Casablanca"
"It Happened One Night"
"The Maltese Falcon"
"The Bridge on the River Kwai"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This 1942 black-and-white film is known for its iconic lines. It was released to coincide with "Operation Torch," which was a WWII allied invasion of strategic locations in northern Africa, including the city of Casablanca.

Advertisement

gone with the wind
Selznick International Pictures/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
It was all black and white until this movie. Can you name the first color film to win Best Picture?
"The Bridge on the River Kwai"
"West Side Story"
"The Sound of Music"
"Gone With the Wind"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Gone With the Wind" is one of two novels to win the Pulitzer Prize and then go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Oscar for her supporting role in the film.

The Silence of the Lambs
Strong Heart/Demme Production
Do you know the most recent film to sweep the major categories at the Academy Awards?
"The Silence of the Lambs"
"Crash"
"Green Book"
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Silence of the Lambs" starred Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, and the movie won every major award and the 1992 ceremony. The film is also the only horror film ever to win Best Picture. Only six horror films have ever been nominated for Best Picture.

Lawrence of Arabia
Horizon Pictures
What's the longest movie to ever win Best Picture?
"Shakespeare in Love"
"The Godfather: Part II"
"Lawrence of Arabia"
"Gone With the Wind"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

At three hours and 54 minutes, the total run time of "Lawrence of Arabia" is two minutes longer than "Gone With the Wind," which includes a five-minute intermission. The shortest Best Picture winner is 1955's "Marty," which clocks in at 91 minutes.

Advertisement

Schindler's List
Amblin Entertainment
This 1993 WWII drama is filmed almost entirely in black and white except for that red coat. What's the movie?
"All the King's Men"
"The Artist"
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
"Schindler's List"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Some people consider this a black-and-white film, but there are some spots of color throughout. Spielberg wanted the film to resemble a documentary, so he shot it in black and white. The film scored 12 Oscar nominations and seven wins.

Rain Man
Guber-Peters Company/Star Partners II, Ltd.
Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman are two brothers traveling across the country in this 1988 drama. Do you know it?
"Driving Miss Daisy"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Terms of Endearment"
"Rain Man"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dustin Hoffman played an autistic savant in this film, and he won the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance. The film also won Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, making it awfully close to sweeping.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Fantasy Films
Only three movies have swept the major categories at the Oscars. Do you know this one starring Jack Nicholson as a mental patient?
"The Departed"
"The Shining"
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
"Chinatown"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ken Kesey's 1962 novel was turned into one of the greatest movies of all time in 1975. The film won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress. The movie was set and filmed in a real mental hospital, the Oregon State Hospital.

Advertisement

The Godfather
Paramount Pictures/Alfran Productions
In what film does Don Corleone rule his family's empire with offers no one can refuse?
"Casino"
"Goodfellas"
"A Bronx Tale"
"The Godfather"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Godfather" was just the second R-rated movie to win Best Picture, and it's regularly considered one of the best movies ever. We first hear about Don Corleone making people offers they can't refuse in the first installment of the franchise.

12 Years A Slave
Regency Enterprises/River Road Entertainment/Plan B Entertainment/New Regency Productions/Film4 Productions
What's this movie that tells the story of Solomon Northup?
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"12 Years A Slave"
"Moonlight"
"The Artist"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Steve McQueen became the first black director to win a Best Picture Academy Award in 2013 for this adapted film about Solomon Northup. Northup wrote his memoir in 1853. He was born free in New York City and then kidnapped and sold into slavery.

The Shape of Water
TSG Entertainment/Double Dare You Productions
A lonely cleaning lady falls in love with a mysterious creature at a secret government lab in this 2017 Best Picture. Do you know it?
"It Happened One Night"
"The Shape of Water"
"Chicago"
"Million Dollar Baby"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Guillermo del Toro wrote, directed and produced this 2017 film that scored 13 Academy Award nominations and four wins. It was del Toro's first Oscar after four nominations. Del Toro spent several years working on the story.

Advertisement

Million Dollar Baby
Lakeshore Entertainment/Malpaso Productions
Clint Eastwood starred in and directed this film about a veteran corner man and his star fighter. Do you know the film?
"Million Dollar Baby"
"No Country for Old Men"
"True Grit"
"A Beautiful Mind"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Million Dollar Baby" came pretty close to sweeping the major Oscars in 2005. The film won Best Picture. Clint Eastwood won Best Director. Hillary Swank won Best Actress, and Morgan Freeman won Best Supporting Actor. Eastwood was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Jaime Foxx in "Ray."

Braveheart
Icon Productions/The Ladd Company
William Wallace leads the Scots against the Kingdom of England in this war epic. What is it?
"The English Patient"
"Gladiator"
"Braveheart"
"The Patriot"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sir William Wallace was a real person who led the Scots in rebellion during the First War of Scottish Independence in 1297. Mel Gibson directed, produced and starred in the film that went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Cinematography.

Gandhi
Goldcrest Films/International Film Investors/National Film Development Corporation of India/Indo-British Films
Can you name this film where Briton Ben Kingsley plays one of Britain's most outspoken critics?
"Amadeus"
"Gandhi"
"Ben-Hur"
"Lawrence of Arabia"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Someone in Hollywood thought it made sense to have an English actor play England's most famous critic, and it worked. Ben Kingsley was born to Indian parents in England and won an Oscar for his performance in the film.

Advertisement

The Hurt Locker
Voltage Pictures/Grosvenor Park Media/Film Capital Europe Funds/First Light Productions/Kingsgate Films
Kathryn Bigelow became the first female to win Best Director for this Best Picture. Do you know it?
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"The Hurt Locker"
"The King's Speech"
"Crash"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Hurt Locker" was released in 2009 and made history multiple ways. It was the first time a female won for direction, and it's also the lowest-grossing film to go on to win Best Picture. It had grossed less than $15 million when it won. To date, it's grossed almost $50 million.

Rocky
United Artists/Chartoff-Winkler Productions
Do you know the first sports film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards?
"Million Dollar Baby"
"Pride of the Yankees"
"The Hustler"
"Rocky"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Rocky" beat out "Taxi Driver," "Network" and "All the President's Men" to win Best Picture in 1976. "The Champ" and "Pride of the Yankees" were nominated decades earlier but didn't win the award. "Raging Bull" was nominated four years later but lost to "Ordinary People."

Argo
GK Films/Smokehouse Pictures
Ben Affleck starred in and directed this spy thriller about the CIA, a fake movie and a hostage rescue mission. Can you name the film?
"Argo"
"Good Will Hunting"
"The Town"
"Spotlight"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Argo" scored seven nominations at the 2013 Academy Awards and won three awards. The film focuses on the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Ben Affleck played the lead role of Tony Mendez. Mendez was the CIA agent who pretended to film a movie in order to save the hostages.

Advertisement

A Beautiful Mind
Imagine Entertainment
Russell Crowe starred in back-to-back Best Picture winners with "Gladiator" in 2000 and this film in 2001. What is it?
"Cinderella Man"
"A Beautiful Mind"
"Argo"
"The King's Speech"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This 2001 film is based on the real story of mathematician John Nash. Nash won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 but suffered from mental illness much of his adult life. His biography of the same name was written by Sylvia Nasar in 1998.

All About Eve
20th Century Fox
Broadway's biggest star fears being replaced by her younger understudy in this 1950 drama. What is it?
"An American in Paris"
"The Apartment"
"All About Eve"
"The Greatest Show on Earth"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"All About Eve" is full of classic quotes and is considered one of Hollywood's best original screenplays. The film earned a record 14 nominations and is the only film ever to earn four female acting nominations.

Gladiator
Scott Free Productions/Red Wagon Entertainment
Maximus goes from general to slave to hero in this Ancient Roman drama. Do you know it?
"The Champ"
"Braveheart"
"Chariots of Fire"
"Gladiator"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Russel Crowe was nominated for back-to-back Best Actor awards for "Gladiator" and "A Beautiful Mind," but he only won for "Gladiator." Both movies went on to win Best Picture. "Gladiator" is credited with reviving public interest in historical epics.

Advertisement

The Artist
La Petite Reine/ARP Sélection/Studio 37/La Classe Américaine/France 3 Cinema/U Film/Jouror Productions/JD Prod
Do you know the most recent black-and-white film to win Best Picture?
"All About Eve"
"The Apartment"
"The Artist"
"Schindler's List"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Artist" took home the main award at the 2011 Oscars. Not only was the movie filmed in black and white, but it was also mostly a silent film except for some minor dialogue. The most recent black-and-white film nominated for Best Picture was "Roma" in 2018.

The French Connection
Philip D'Antoni Productions
What was the first R-rated film to win the Best Picture award?
"The French Connection"
"Patton"
"The Godfather"
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hollywood movies didn't have ratings until 1968, but movies were really vanilla up until that point. "The French Connection" won Best Picture in 1971, and "The Godfather" won in 1972. The 1970 winner, "Patton," was heavily edited in 1970 because Francis Ford Coppola didn't want an R-rating.

Hamlet
Two Cities
This 1948 film was the first non-Hollywood film to win the Best Picture award. What is it?
"Tom Jones"
"Hamlet"
"Chariots of Fire"
"The Last Emperor"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Hamlet" was released in 1948 and it was Britain's first film to win Best Picture. Only eight other films have been financed outside of Hollywood and went on to win Best Picture. "The Artist" was the most recent. It was financed in France.

Advertisement

The Departed
Plan B Entertainment/Initial Entertainment Group/Vertigo Entertainment/Media Asia Films
Can you name this Scorsese gangster flick set in Boston and loosely based on Whitey Bulger?
"Raging Bull"
"Casino"
"Goodfellas"
"The Departed"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

After "Goodfellas," "Casino," "Raging Bull," and the plethora of classic movies directed by Martin Scorsese, it took until 2006 for him to nab the Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards. "The Departed" is a remake of a 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller.

Spotlight
Participant Media / First Look Media / Anonymous Content / Rocklin/Faust Productions / Spotlight Film
The Boston Globe's investigative unit uncovers widespread scandal within the Catholic church in this 2015 winner. What is it?
"The Departed"
"Spotlight"
"Green Book"
"Moonlight"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This biographical film follows the real investigative unit inside "The Boston Globe" known as the "Spotlight" team. The team won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for its exposes on widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Birdman
Regency Enterprises/New Regency/M Productions/Le Grisbi Productions/TSG Entertainment/Worldview Entertainment
This entire movie looks like it was filmed in one shot. What is it?
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"Spotlight"
"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
"The Revenant"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Alejandro Inarritu decided to make this film look like a single shot because, as he said, "We live our lives with no editing." Almost everybody told him it wouldn't work, but he did it anyway. The film scored nine nominations and four wins at the Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

Advertisement

No Country for Old Men
Scott Rudin Productions/Mike Zoss Productions
A hunter comes across a deal gone wrong and finds himself running for his life in this movie set in the Texas desert. What's the movie?
"Unforgiven"
"Rain Man"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Josh Brolin finds himself running for his life in this neo-western thriller originally written by Cormac McCarthy. The Coen brothers adapted the novel into a screenplay two years after it was published, and the film won four Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay.

American Beauty
Jinks/Cohen Company
Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening star in this 1999 drama. What is it?
"Million Dollar Baby"
"Shakespeare in Love"
"American Beauty"
"Spotlight"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"American Beauty" was released in 1999 and came very close to sweeping the five major Oscars. The film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Annette Bening was nominated for Best Actress but lost to Hillary Swank in "Boys Don't Cry."

It Happened One Night
Columbia Pictures
Can you name the first move to sweep all the major Academy Awards?
"Citizen Kane"
"It Happened One Night"
"The Silence of the Lambs"
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This Frank Capra romantic comedy was released in 1934, which was just the seventh year Hollywood held the Academy Awards. Claudette Colbert hitchhikes by flashing her knee on the side of the road in what was considered a risque scene at the time.

Advertisement

On the Waterfront
Horizon Pictures
Marlon Brando "coulda been a contender" in this 1954 Best Picture. What is it?
"Apocalypse Now"
"The Godfather"
"On the Waterfront"
"A Streetcar Named Desire"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This 1954 film about union corruption in New Jersey was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won eight of them. The film was inspired by a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper articles published in 1948.

All the King's Men
Columbia Pictures
Only two stories in history have won a Pulitzer Prize and a Best Picture Oscar. Can you name this one?
"From Here to Eternity"
"All the King's Men"
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
"Gone With the Wind"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Many novels have been turned into a film and found success in Hollywood. "The Godfather" and "Forrest Gump" are prime examples, but those books weren't shortlisted for a Pulitzer. "Gone With the Wind" is the other Pulitzer Prize Best Picture.

The Deer Hunter
EMI
Who can forget the Russian Roulette scene in this film? What movie is it?
"Platoon"
"The Deer Hunter"
"Ordinary People"
"Raging Bull"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The most nominated actor in history, Meryl Streep, scored her first Oscar nomination for her role in this 1978 film. She didn't win, but the film went on to win five categories after nine nominations.

Advertisement

Crash
Bob Yari Productions/DEJ Productions/Blackfriars Bridge/Harris Company/ApolloProScreen Productions/Bull's Eye Entertainment
Do you know this movie that dissects racial stereotypes during Christmastime in Los Angeles?
"Crash"
"Spotlight"
"Moonlight"
"A Beautiful Mind"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This isn't your typical Christmas movie but it has all the Christmas themes of family and caring. Several strangers in LA learn how to deal with different types of people as they butt heads during the holiday season.

The Best Years of Our Lives
Samuel Goldwyn Productions
What's this 1946 Best Picture winner about WWII heroes who struggle to adapt to society after the war?
"The Best Years of Our Lives"
"Pride of the Yankees"
"Gentlemen's Agreement"
"The Lost Weekend"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The timing of this movie's release led to its massive commercial success. It was released just as Americans were returning from the war, and a war reporter wrote the screenplay. The film went on to win seven Academy Awards and four of the five major categories.

Rebecca
Selznick International Pictures
Can you name the only Alfred Hitchcock film to win the Best Picture Academy Award?
"Rebecca"
"North by Northwest"
"Psycho"
"Rear Window"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Alfred Hitchcock is known as the master of suspense. He might be known for "Psycho," "Rear Window" and "North by Northwest," but this black-and-white thriller from 1940 is his only Best Picture win. He was nominated for five Best Director Oscars but never won, which ties for the record.

Advertisement

Annie Hall
Rollins-Joffe Productions
Do you know this Woody Allen comedy famous for breaking the fourth wall?
"Crimes and Misdemeanors"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Manhattan"
"Annie Hall"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Annie Hall" was released in 1977. Today, it's considered a comedy, but in 1977 it was considered a step in a serious direction for Woody Allen. No straight-up comedy has ever been nominated for Best Picture. This is as close as it gets.

Moonlight
A24/Plan B Entertainment/Pastel Productions
Can you name this 2016 film that lost and then won the Best Picture award?
"The Shape of Water"
"Green Book"
"La La Land"
"Moonlight"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Not to be outdone by Steve Harvey's mix-up at Miss Universe 2015, the Best Picture presenters at the 2016 ceremony, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, incorrectly announced "La La Land" the 2016 Best Picture. They quickly fixed the mistake and correctly awarded the honor to "Moonlight."

You Got:
/41
Paramount Pictures / 20th Century Fox / Lightstorm Entertainment