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Steven Spielberg Wins Best Director
One of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Steven Spielberg finally received the coveted Best Director award for his epic Holocaust film Schindler's list. Domestically, the film grossed an impressive $96.1 million on a budget of just $22 million. On top of that, the movie became the first black-and-white film to win Best Picture in 33 years. -
Tom Hanks Wins Second Straight Oscar
Tom Hanks received the Best Actor award for the second straight year. He won one year earlier for Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia and won this year for the box office hit Forrest Gump. The film grossed $329.7 million in North America to become the third-biggest movie of all time. The movie was nominated for a total of 13 Oscars and won six. -
Titanic Wins 11 Oscars
Titanic, the film that held the title of the highest-grossing movie of all time for 12 years, was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 11, including Best Picture and Best Director (James Cameron). On top of its awards success, the movie was an absolute global phenomenon, raking in more than $600 million in North America and $1.8 billion worldwide. -
Shakespeare in Love Wins Best Picture
In one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history, romantic dramedy Shakespeare in Love beats out Steven Spielberg's World War II epic Saving Private Ryan for the Best Picture prize. This took place even though the latter film grossed more than twice that of the former. -
Chicago Becomes First Musical to Win Best Picture in Decades
With an all-star cast and incredible musical numbers, Chicago was a huge success at the Academy Awards, winning six Oscars, including Best Picture. The film grossed a strong $170.7 million domestically as it became the second-largest musical of all time behind 1978's Grease. -
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Wins 11 Oscars
Peter Jackson's final film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, won all 11 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, an Oscar record. The movie was the top-grossing film of 2003 and biggest moneymaker of the trilogy, bringing in nearly $378 million in Norh America and more than $1.1 billion worldwide. -
Clint Eastwood Wins Best Director
At the age of 74, Clint Eastwood became the oldest person to win Best Director. He won for Million Dollar Baby, which also won Best Picture, Best Actress (Hilary Swank) and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). The film brought in a stellar $100.5 million in North America and became one of the biggest of Eastwood's career. -
Martin Scorsese Wins Best Director
Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese finally wins the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed after being nominated five previous times. The film made $132.4 million in North America, becoming the top-grossing film of Scorsese's long career. It also won Best Picture and was the highest-grossing film of the five nominees. -
Penélope Cruz Wins Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz becomes the first Spanish actress to receive an Academy Award for her role in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The film made $23.2 million in North America, a very respectable given its limited release. Worldwide, it grossed $96.4 million. -
Kathryn Bigelow Wins Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to ever win an Academy Award for Best Director for her film The Hurt Locker. Even though the small movie made just $17 million domestically, it was very successful at the Oscars, winning five other awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
