The 10 Best Picture Oscar Winners With The Highest Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Ahead of the nominations for The Oscars 2025, it seems like an appropriate time to look back at the 10 Best Picture winners with the highest scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Interestingly, the Best Picture category is the only one to receive 10 nominations, rather than the standard five, across all 23 categories. With the broad scope of talent in 2024, it is difficult to predict which film at the 2025 Oscars ceremony could be the strongest contender to come out on top. That being said, the PGA nominees for Best Motion Picture make the Best Picture race a little clearer.

It is safe to say the past century has seen a surge in high-quality films. Since the ceremony began in 1929, not all the Best Picture winners have performed well financially. This has little impact on their cultural standing in history, as of all 96 winners, over half of them have a critics rating of 90% or above on Rotten Tomatoes. These films are equally popular with the public as they are with the Academy. The list of the Best Picture winners ranked by Tomatometer highlights how many incredible titles have been awarded with the accolade.

10

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

98% On Rotten Tomatoes

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Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Not Rated

Release Date

November 4, 1927

Runtime

94 Minutes

Director

F.W. Murnau

Writers

Hermann Sudermann, Carl Mayer

Cast

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    George O’Brien

    The Man (Anses)

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Janet Gaynor

    The Wife (Indre)

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    Margaret Livingston

    The Woman from the City

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Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is a 1927 silent film directed by F.W. Murnau. The story centers on a married farmer who becomes entangled with a woman from the city, leading to a dramatic conflict as she attempts to persuade him to murder his wife.

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The 1927 motion picture, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is the tenth highest-rated Best Picture winner, with 98% on the Tomatometer. It tells a rather simple story of a husband’s betrayal, and his affair with a girl from the city. The movie begins with a dreamlike depiction of rural life, and gradually moves to portray the bustling life of a latter-day American city.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is a production by F.W. Murnau, who had created the 1922 Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, prior to this. For this reason, Sunrise is associated with 20th century German Expressionism. However, it was for this reason that the final result was a commercial flop. Critics argued that Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans was contradictory, as it moved the nuanced expressionist style into a big scale, Hollywood production. That being said, it has found its standing as a classic today in spite of not recuperating its costs.

9

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

98% On Rotten Tomatoes

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All Quiet on the Western Front

Passed

Release Date

August 24, 1930

Runtime

152 Minutes

Director

Lewis Milestone

Writers

Erich Maria Remarque, Maxwell Anderson, George Abbott, Del Andrews

Producers

Carl Laemmle Jr.

Cast

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Lew Ayres

    Paul Bäumer

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    Louis Wolheim

    Stanislas ‘Kat’ Katczinsky

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    John Wray

    Himmelstoss

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All Quiet on the Western Front is a 1930 film that follows a group of young German soldiers navigating the brutal conditions of World War I on the Western Front, revealing the stark disparity between their initial patriotism and the grim realities of war.

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All Quiet on the Western Front follows a group of German schoolboys who are enlisted at the beginning of the First World War at the hands of their teacher. The film is told through the lens of the young German recruits, and it focuses its efforts on highlighting the tragedies of war. The 1930 production is the original version, and is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Erich Maria Remarque.

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9

All Quiet on the Western Front is a major achievement for wartime films, and it went onto win five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. In recent years, All Quiet on the Western Front was adapted for the screen in 2022, and was directed by Edward Berge. Although it did not receive as many accolades, the modern picture did win an Academy Award for Best Production Design and Best International Feature.

8

Rebecca (1940)

98% On Rotten Tomatoes

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Rebecca

PG-13

Release Date

March 23, 1940

Runtime

121 minutes

Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers

Daphne Du Maurier, Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison, Philip MacDonald, Michael Hogan

Cast

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    Laurence Olivier

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    Joan Fontaine

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    George Sanders

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A young bride struggles to escape the lingering influence of Rebecca, her husband Max De Winter’s late wife, whose death remains shrouded in mystery. While uncovering Max’s disturbing secret, she faces the obsessive housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who remains fiercely loyal to Rebecca and refuses to recognize her as the rightful mistress of the home.

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The 1940 film Rebecca is Alfred Hitchcock’s only Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards. It also marks Hitchcock’s first American film, and currently sits at 98% on the Tomatometer. Rebecca delivers a stirring atmosphere and spellbinding tension, which brings Hitchcock’s legendary status as the master of suspense to fruition. The story is detailed, and tells of a young woman who marries a widower, only to discover his former wife, Rebecca, had a rather mysterious death years earlier.

The movie opened to critical and commercial success, and received eleven nominations at the Academy Awards, surpassing any other film that year. In 2018, Rebecca became one of the films recognized by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” as it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

7

It Happened One Night (1934)

98% On Rotten Tomatoes

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It Happened One Night

Approved

Release Date

February 22, 1934

Runtime

105 Minutes

Director

Frank Capra

Writers

Robert Riskin, Samuel Hopkins Adams

Cast

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    Clark Gable

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Claudette Colbert

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    Walter Connolly

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It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy directed by Frank Capra. The film follows the adventures of a runaway heiress, played by Claudette Colbert, who teams up with a charming but out-of-work reporter, portrayed by Clark Gable. Their journey is marked by humorous and heartfelt moments that challenge social conventions and lead to unexpected romance.

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It Happened One Night was released in 1934, and was directed by Frank Capra — who later went onto direct the renowned feature, It’s a Wonderful Life. Capra’s acclaimed romantic comedy is some of his best work, and has been the inspiration for many films within the same genre. The movie features a lady who marries a pilot in an act of rebellion against her father.

It Happened One Night is a crowning achievement at the Academy Awards, as it became the first of only three movies to ever win all five major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Screenplay. The film was an immediate commercial success thanks to the performances of its lead actors. The enduring popularity of It Happened One Night is owed to the comedic nature brought to life by the cast, in addition to their on-screen chemistry.

6

Schindler’s List (1993)

98% On Rotten Tomatoes

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Schindler’s List

R

Release Date

December 15, 1993

Runtime

195 Minutes

Director

Steven Spielberg

Writers

Thomas Keneally, Steven Zaillian

Cast

  • Headshot Of Liam Neeson In The UK premiere of Marlowe

    Liam Neeson

  • Headshot Of Ben Kingsley In The 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

    Ben Kingsley

  • Headshot Of Ralph Fiennes

    Ralph Fiennes

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Schindler’s List is a historical drama directed by Steven Spielberg, chronicling the efforts of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved over a thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, the film vividly portrays the atrocities committed during World War II while highlighting Schindler’s transformation from a profit-driven industrialist to a humanitarian savior.

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Schindler’s List is arguably one of the greatest movies ever made. Without a doubt, the epic historical drama is Steven Spielberg’s magnum opus and was a defining moment in the director’s professional career. The movie depicts a number of real historical figures, and tells the story of how Oskar Schindler rescued over 1,000 individuals from Nazi execution during the Second World War.

The movie will remain a turning point in the historical narrative of the Holocaust, as the narrative inspired many survivors to tell their own story.

Although Schindler’s List won the Best Picture category at the 66th Academy Awards, there was a lot of discourse surrounding the Best Supporting Actor, where Ralph Fiennes lost for his portrayal of Amon Goth in Schindler’s List. Not only was Schindler’s List the first win in the Best Director category for Spielberg, but it earned over $300 million at the box office. While this is significant, Schindler’s List will remain to be remembered for its relevance in history. The movie will remain a turning point in the historical narrative of the Holocaust, as the narrative inspired many survivors to tell their own story.

5

Moonlight (2016)

98% On Rotten Tomatoes

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Moonlight

R

Release Date

October 21, 2016

Runtime

111 Minutes

Director

Barry Jenkins

Writers

Barry Jenkins

Cast

  • Headshot Of Janelle Monae

    Janelle Monae

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    Edson Jean

  • Headshot Of Alex R. Hibbert

    Alex R. Hibbert

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Written and directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight follows Chiron (Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert) during three stages of his life, starting in childhood and progressing all the way up through adulthood. The film explores themes of identity and sexuality, chronicling Chiron’s life as a gay black man growing up in Miami to an abusive, drug-addicted mother. 

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Moonlight joins the list of films with a 98% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2016 film, brought to the screen by A24, shows the three crucial stages in Chirton’s life as he ventures on the journey to manhood. Barry Jenkins directed the piece, and Moonlight is a pivotal account of African-American life, which is too rarely featured in cinema. The movie is groundbreaking and won three Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and the Best Supporting Actor win for Mahershala Ali.

Notably, Moonlight was the first film with an all-Black cast to win Best Picture. Unfortunately, one of the most recognizable moments for Moonlight at the Oscars was the confusion around the announcement for Best Picture. In the final moments of the ceremony, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway declared La La Land as the winner of Best Picture, before it was revealed this was incorrect. The cast of Moonlight swiftly came onto stage to accept the award.

4

On the Waterfront (1954)

99% On Rotten Tomatoes

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On The Waterfront

NR

Release Date

June 22, 1954

Runtime

108 Minutes

Director

Elia Kazan

Writers

Budd Schulberg

Producers

Sam Spiegel

Cast

  • Marlon Brando

    Marlon Brando

    Father Barry

  • Headshot Of Karl Malden

    Karl Malden

    Terry Malloy

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Lee J. Cobb

    Johnny Friendly

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On The Waterfront is a classic drama film directed by Elia Kazan, released in 1954. The film tells the story of Terry Malloy, a dockworker who becomes a longshoreman and gets caught up in a corrupt union. Starring Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, the film explores themes of morality, redemption, and the struggle for justice on the waterfront.

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On the Waterfront stars the famed actor of the 20th century, and acts as one of the movies that defined Marlon Brando’s career. On the Waterfront earned Brando his first Oscar award, and won for Best Picture, too. The supporting cast help build the appeal of On the Waterfront, but ultimately, it is Brando who brings this film to life. It has been said that Brando redefined the cinematic landscape, and the 1954 film is one of the greatest instances of this.

The crime drama is still incredibly poignant today, and centers around a crisis of conscience in a world fraught with violence and corruption. The incredibly powerful feature by Elia Kazan was re-released to theaters in April 2024. The 4K digital restoration was put together by Columbia Pictures to celebrate its 70th anniversary.

3

All About Eve (1950)

99% On Rotten Tomatoes

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All About Eve

Not Rated

Release Date

October 13, 1950

Runtime

138 Minutes

Director

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Cast

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Bette Davis

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Anne Baxter

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    George Sanders

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In this backstage drama, aspiring actress Eve Harrington enters Broadway star Margo Channing’s life, weaving a tale of hardship. Welcomed by Margo and her circle, Eve’s gratitude soon reveals darker intentions as she manipulates her way into Margo’s world.

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All About Eve is the 23rd movie to win the Best Picture award at the Academy Awards, and has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. All About Eve is reputable for breaking records at the ceremony, with four female acting nominees — an accomplishment that is unmatched, even today. In total, the film received six awards across multiple categories. However, the film omitted recognition of the original short story writer, Mary Orr.

The Hollywood classic revolves around a venerated Broadway star and an aspiring star who sets out to destroy her professional career and personal relationships. All About Eve delighted critics during its release in 1950. The film offers a refreshing feminist perspective for a film of its time, and All About Eve‘s main cast stars the beloved Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, and George Sanders.

2

Casablanca (1942)

99% On Rotten Tomatoes

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8.9/10

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Casablanca

PG

Release Date

January 23, 1943

Runtime

102 minutes

Director

Michael Curtiz

Writers

Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Murray Burnett, Joan Alison, Casey Robinson

Cast

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Humphrey Bogart

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Ingrid Bergman

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Paul Henreid

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Set in Morocco against the backdrop of the Second World War, Casablanca stars Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, a nightclub owner whose past comes back to haunt him when an old lover comes to ask for his help in smuggling her and her current husband out of the Nazi-occupied city. Ingrid Bergman stars alongside Bogart as Ilsa, with a further cast that includes Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, and Dooley Wilson. 

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Casablanca is one of the most illustrious pieces of cinema in Hollywood history, and is an undisputed masterpiece in story and performance. Casablanca is a tale of romance and has only become more treasured in the years following its release. This is, in part, owed to the captivating performances of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The intricate story follows a man confronted with his former lover, seeking his help as she flees the Nazi reign with her new partner.

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The movie has had a momentous impact, but it is the dialogue in Casablanca that serves as it’s defining characteristic. There have been discussions about a sequel or remake to Casablanca in the past, but these ideas have never materialized. This is an increasingly positive outcome, as it would be difficult to recreate the magic of Casablanca following its lasting legacy.

1

Parasite (2019)

99% On Rotten Tomatoes

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Parasite

R

Release Date

November 8, 2019

Runtime

132 minutes

Director

Bong Joon Ho

Writers

Jin Won Han, Bong Joon Ho

Cast

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Yeo-Jeong Jo

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Myeong-hoon Park

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    Jeong-eun Lee

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Best Picture Oscar winner Parasite follows the impoverished Kim family, who live in a small apartment and consistently struggle to make ends meet. After they chance across the gullible and wealthy Park family, the Kims ingratiate themselves through lies and deceit, earning themselves jobs taking care of the household. However, their newfound luck is built on an ever-growing foundation of mistruths – one that threatens to fall down around them at any moment.

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Parasite astounded audiences in 2019, where it quickly became a favorite for both audiences and critics alike. Bong Joon-ho’s film offers political commentary through dark humor and themes that create a masterclass in suspense. Parasite tells of the relationship between a wealthy family and an impoverished one, where greed and discrimination are central themes.

Parasite won four Academy Awards, and became the first non-English language film to win Best Picture.

The film was praised for providing an in-depth look into a number of timely social themes, and the incredibly strong performances from the entire cast of Parasite. Consequently, Parasite won four Academy Awards, and became the first non-English language film to win Best Picture.

With a remarkably modest budget of only $11.4 million, Parasite surpassed the $200 million mark at the global box office. Not only is the feature the director’s highest-grossing release, Parasite immediately became the most streamed foreign-language film on Hulu, according to IndieWire.

Source: IndieWire

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Oscars

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The Oscars, also known as The Academy Awards, is an annual awards show celebrating workers in the film industry for their artistic and technical abilities. The Oscars are often considered the most prestigious awards show in the industry and date back to 1929. The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10, 2024, and be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.

Location

Los Angeles, CA

Dates

March 2, 2025

Network

ABC