15 Best Best Picture Winners (1990-2020)

By Vlad Zakh · March 30, 2026

United States Drama thought provoking

The Shawshank Redemption famously lost its year and remains the most beloved film here, while Parasite closed the era as the first non-English-language Best Picture winner. Argo is a hostage-rescue story with sustained procedural tension, Gladiator still entertains two decades on, and Birdman is a technically dazzling look at fame. American Beauty, Spotlight, The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, Million Dollar Baby, The Silence of the Lambs, Moonlight and 12 Years a Slave round out the list.

Argo (2012)

01

Argo (2012)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A fake movie production is used as cover to smuggle six Americans out of revolutionary Iran.

Directed by Ben Affleck · 2h 00m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Gladiator (2000)

02

Gladiator (2000)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 80% Metacritic 67

A betrayed Roman general seeks vengeance on the corrupt emperor who murdered his family.

Directed by Ridley Scott · 2h 35m · Rated R

Won 5 Oscars61 wins & 105 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Kanopy, YouTube TV · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

American Beauty (1999)

03

American Beauty (1999)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 87% Metacritic 84

A suburban father's midlife crisis upends his family when he becomes infatuated with his daughter's friend.

Directed by Sam Mendes · 2h 02m · Rated R

Won 5 Oscars112 wins & 102 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Birdman (2014)

04

Birdman (2014)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A washed-up superhero actor risks everything to reinvent himself with a serious Broadway production.

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu · 2h 00m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Spotlight (2015)

05

Spotlight (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 97% Metacritic 93

A team of investigative journalists exposes decades of institutional cover-up within the Catholic Church.

Directed by Tom McCarthy · 2h 09m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars124 wins & 146 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Hurt Locker (2008)

06

The Hurt Locker (2008)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A bomb-disposal soldier's addiction to danger makes him both brilliant and reckless in the field.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow · 2h 11m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

07

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A rags-to-riches structure told through game-show trivia.

Directed by Danny Boyle · 2h 01m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

08

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 90% Metacritic 86

A gruff boxing trainer reluctantly takes on a determined female fighter with nothing left to lose.

Directed by Clint Eastwood · 2h 12m · Rated PG-13

Won 4 Oscars68 wins & 86 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

09

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

IMDb ★ 8.6 RT 95% Metacritic 86

A trainee FBI agent consults an imprisoned cannibal to catch an active serial killer.

Directed by Jonathan Demme · 1h 59m · Rated R

Won 5 Oscars71 wins & 50 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, MGM Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Moonlight (2016)

10

Moonlight (2016)

IMDb ★ 7.4 RT 98% Metacritic 99

A quiet, three-part coming-of-age story told with real restraint.

Directed by Barry Jenkins · 1h 52m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars237 wins & 315 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Hulu, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

12 Years a Slave (2013)

11

12 Years a Slave (2013)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 95% Metacritic 96

A free Black man is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War South.

Directed by Steve McQueen · 2h 14m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars244 wins & 338 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Schindler's List (1993)

12

Schindler's List (1993)

IMDb ★ 9.0 RT 98% Metacritic 95

Essential and difficult, and still one of the most important films ever made.

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 3h 15m · Rated R

Won 7 Oscars91 wins & 49 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Departed (2006)

13

The Departed (2006)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 91% Metacritic 85

A remake that somehow out-tenses its own already tense source material.

Directed by Martin Scorsese · 2h 31m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars100 wins & 141 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

No Country for Old Men (2007)

14

No Country for Old Men (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 93% Metacritic 92

A chase movie that refuses every genre convention it sets up.

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen · 2h 02m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars165 wins & 139 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Parasite (2019)

15

Parasite (2019)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 99% Metacritic 97

A poor family schemes its way into the lives of a wealthy household, with unforeseen consequences.

Directed by Bong Joon Ho · 2h 13m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars309 wins & 261 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.