10 Movie Musicals That Have Won Best Picture at the Oscars
10 Movie Musicals That Have Won Best Picture at the Oscars
Dave Quinn, Carson BlackwelderFri, March 13, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC
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Julie Andrews as Maria in 1965's 'The Sound of Music'; Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly in 2002's 'Chicago'Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock (2) -
To date, just 10 movie musicals have won an Oscar for Best Picture since the inception of the Academy Awards in 1929
The Broadway Melody (1929), West Side Story (1961) and Chicago (2002) are among the films to receive the top honor
The 98th Academy Awards will air live on ABC and stream live on Hulu on March 15, with Conan O'Brien returning as host
Only 10 movie musicals have won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Ever since the very first "talkie" (1927's The Jazz Singer) revolutionized the industry by incorporating synchronized dialogue, musicals have flooded the silver screen. Over the years, the robust spectacle of song and dance has made a tremendous impact on cinema, with some titles becoming box-office juggernauts, award show magnets or both.
Despite experiencing a slow start since the inaugural Oscars ceremony in 1929, musicals had a monumental decade in the 1960s. However, the last film to bring home the top prize of the night was over 20 years ago, with Chicago winning Best Picture in 2003.
Since then, there was Envelopegate in 2017, when the Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling-led La La Land was mistakenly announced the winner for Best Picture. (Moonlight actually won.) In 2025, the stage adaptation Wicked was a frontrunner to defy the odds in the category, but the honor went to indie flick Anora. Not to mention, there have been some surprising snubs over the years, from 1986's Little Shop of Horrors and 2021's Tick, Tick... Boom! to 2025 films Wicked: For Good and Song Sung Blue.
Here are the movie musicals that hit all the right notes and waltzed away with the coveted Best Picture statuette at the Oscars.
01 of 10
1930: The Broadway Melody
A scene from 1929's 'The Broadway Melody'Credit: MGM/REX/Shutterstock
As the first "talkie" to win the Oscar for Best Picture, 1929's The Broadway Melody marked a huge step forward in the industry and for movie musicals. As MGM's first musical, its success paved a path for some of the big screen's most memorable movie musicals, including The Wizard of Oz (1939), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Featuring music by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Arthur Freed, The Broadway Melody starred Anita Page, Bessie Love and Charles King as vaudeville performers and songwriters trying to get their big break on the Great White Way.
It beat out dramas like Alibi (1929), In Old Arizona (1928) and The Patriot (1928) — and one musical, The Hollywood Revue (1929) — in what was only the Academy's second annual awards.
02 of 10
1937: The Great Ziegfeld
A scene from 1936's 'The Great Ziegfeld'Credit: MGM/REX/Shutterstock
Based on the life and career of Ziegfeld Follies creator Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., the extravagant The Great Ziegfeld (1936) took home Best Picture at the ninth annual Oscars — beating a whopping nine nominees, including Anthony Adverse (1936), Dodsworth (1936), Libeled Lady (1936), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Romeo and Juliet (1936), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), and fellow musicals San Francisco (1936) and Three Smart Girls (1936).
Starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and Best Actress winner Luise Rainer, the film is packed with grand musical numbers and extravagant costumes. It spawned two sequels — 1941's Ziegfeld Girl, with James Stewart and Judy Garland, and 1945's Ziegfeld Follies, directed by Garland's husband and Liza Minnelli's father, Vincente Minnelli.
03 of 10
1945: Going My Way
A scene from 1944's 'Going My Way'Credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock
The movie musical hit its stride in the 1940s. However, 1945 saw only one movie musical nominated for Best Picture at the 17th annual Oscars: Going My Way (1944), which won against dramas Double Indemnity (1944), Gaslight (1944), Since You Went Away (1944) and Wilson (1944).
It was the year's highest-grossing film and launched a musical career for its star, Bing Crosby, who played a priest in a troubled New York City parish. The film was such a success that Paramount Pictures followed it up with a sequel the next year called The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), which also earned a Best Picture nod.
In addition to being one of the 10 movie musicals to claim the Oscars' biggest prize, Going My Way is also considered one of the few comedic films to earn the Academy's highest honor.
04 of 10
1952: An American in Paris
Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan and Leslie Caron as Lise Bouvier in 1951's 'An American in Paris'Credit: MGM/REX/Shutterstock
The '50s were a decade chock-full of iconic Hollywood musicals, and there was no bigger star than Gene Kelly. He took home an honorary statuette for his triple-threat talents in 1952, the same year his film An American in Paris won Best Picture at the 24th Oscars.
The musical masterpiece, about two friends who fall for the same Parisian woman, features a score by George Gershwin and classic songs like "Embraceable You," "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "I Got Rhythm" and "'S' Wonderful." It's best known for its breathtaking 17-minute final ballet sequence that reportedly cost half a million dollars to produce, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Nominated alongside A Place in the Sun (1951), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Decision Before Dawn (1951) and Quo Vadis (1951), the film earned six Academy Awards.
It was adapted for the stage in a 2015 Broadway musical.
05 of 10
1959: Gigi
From left: Hermione Gingold as Madame Alvarez, Louis Jourdan as Gaston Lachaille and Leslie Caron (sitting) as Gigi in 1958's 'Gigi'Credit: MGM/REX/Shutterstock
Vincente may have lost Best Director for An American in Paris; however, he made up for it at the 31st Oscars with 1958's Gigi — which would set records with nine overall wins, including Best Picture against Auntie Mame (1958), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Defiant Ones (1958) and Separate Tables (1958). (That record was short-lived, as Ben-Hur toppled it at the following Academy Awards with 11 wins.)
The film brought Broadway songwriters Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe back to the big screen after their 1956 musical, My Fair Lady, swept the Tony Awards (more on that later). The 14 original Gigi songs spurred hits like "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and "The Night They Invented Champagne."
Based on Colette's 1944 novella of the same name, Gigi tells the story of an unlikely courtship between a young girl, played by Leslie Caron, and a wealthy Parisian playboy, played by Louis Jourdan.
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It was adapted for the stage in 1973 and again in 2015 in a revival starring Vanessa Hudgens in the titular role.
06 of 10
1962: West Side Story
Richard Beymer as Tony and Natalie Wood as Maria in 1961's 'West Side Story'Credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock
Musicals were big business in the '60s and resulted in four Best Picture winners, including 1961's West Side Story, which took home 10 Oscars at the 34th Academy Awards and beat out Fanny (1961), The Guns of Navarone (1961), The Hustler (1961) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961).
Adapted from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's 1957 Broadway musical based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the film tells the tale of two star-crossed New York City lovers from opposite sides of their neighborhood. Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Rita Moreno starred, with Jerome Robbins co-directing alongside Robert Wise (and recreating his iconic finger-snapping choreography from the stage).
With 10 Oscars, West Side Story has the most Academy Award wins of any movie musical. It received high praise from critics and audiences alike, becoming the year's second-highest-grossing film, per the official website. It is still considered one of the gold standards in stage-to-screen adaptations.
In 2021, West Side Story returned to theaters in Steven Spielberg's adaptation, starring Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort. It garnered seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, with Ariana DeBose ultimately winning Best Supporting Actress in 2022 for her performance as Anita, originated by Moreno (who won the same award 60 years prior).
07 of 10
1965: My Fair Lady
Audrey Hepburn (center) as Eliza Doolittle in 1964's 'My Fair Lady'Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock
It took less than 10 years for Lerner and Loewe's acclaimed 1956 stage musical My Fair Lady to make the jump to the big screen in 1964. Based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion, the film tells the story of arrogant phonetics professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), who sets out to turn a poor Cockney flower seller named Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) into a proper English high-society woman.
The film won eight Academy Awards at the 37th annual ceremony, including Best Picture, triumphing over Becket (1964), Dr. Strangelove (1964), fellow musical Mary Poppins (1964) and Zorba the Greek (1964).
Harrison also picked up the Best Actor trophy for the film, reprising his role from the original Broadway show. Hepburn wasn't nominated for Best Actress — the award went to Andrews for Mary Poppins.
Considering that Julie Andrews originated Eliza Doolittle on Broadway opposite Harrison, it was a controversial win.
08 of 10
1966: The Sound of Music
From left: Charmian Carr as Liesl von Trapp, Kym Karath as Gretl von Trapp, Nicholas Hammond as Friedrich von Trapp, Julie Andrews as Maria, Debbie Turner as Marta von Trapp, Angela Cartwright as Brigitta von Trapp and Duane Chase as Kurt von Trapp in 1965's 'The Sound of Music'Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock
Andrews may have missed out on My Fair Lady, but she later scored one of the most iconic roles of her career in The Sound of Music — the 1965 film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 Tony-winning stage musical.
She played Maria, a young Austrian nun-in-training who becomes the governess to the seven children of a retired naval officer (Christopher Plummer).
The film was the highest-grossing of the year and, despite mixed critical reviews, it took home five Oscars at the 38th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The competition? Darling (1965), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ship of Fools (1965) and A Thousand Clowns (1965).
Andrews would lose Best Actress to Darling's Julie Christie.
09 of 10
1969: Oliver!
Mark Lester (left) as Oliver and Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger in 1968's 'Oliver!'Credit: Romulus/Warwick/REX/Shutterstock
Oliver! was the last of the decade's big-screen musicals to nab the Best Picture honor, doing so in 1969. The coming-of-age musical would take home six awards at the 41st Academy Awards, including one for director Carol Reed and an honorary one for choreographer Onna White.
An adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart's stage musical originally premiered in London in 1960 and on Broadway in 1963. The film starred Mark Lester as the titular orphan, Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger and Ron Moody as experienced thief Fagin (Wild and Moody were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively).
Oliver! beat The Lion in Winter (1968), Rachel, Rachel (1968), Romeo and Juliet (1968) and the musical Funny Girl (1968) to take home the top prize.
10 of 10
2003: Chicago
Renée Zellweger (center) as Roxie Hart in 2002's 'Chicago'Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock
A movie musical wouldn't take home another Oscar until Chicago in 2003 at the 75th Academy Awards. The genre all but vanished from cinemas after a string of box-office flops in the '70s and '80s, though Hello, Dolly! (1969), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Cabaret (1972), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Moulin Rouge! (2001) all received Best Picture nominations across the years.
Directed by Rob Marshall, the film is an adaptation of John Kander and Fred Ebb's 1975 stage musical about two murderous women in the 1920s whose crimes lead to their celebrity. (Its 1996 Tony-winning revival is still playing on Broadway.)
Chicago won six Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for star Catherine-Zeta Jones. Renée Zellweger, John C. Reilly and Queen Latifah were all nominated for their performances. Meanwhile, star Richard Gere, who won the Golden Globe for his role, was one of the year's biggest snubs.
It beat Gangs of New York (2002), The Hours (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Pianist (2002) to win Best Picture.
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