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20th Academy Awards (1948)
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Oscars 1948 Winners & Nominees

The 20th Academy Awards (1948) took place on March 20, 1948. Hamlet won Best Motion Picture and 2 more awards. Every winner and nominee in all 15 categories is below.

All 15 categories Most wins
categories
15
nominations
25
films nominated
10
winners
9
Held on
Best Motion Picture
Hamlet
Headline winners

Oscars 1948: The Winners

Hamlet won Best Motion Picture against 2 other nominees. John Huston (Best Director) and Edmund Gwenn (Best Supporting Actor) took the main individual prizes.

Hamlet (1948) movie poster Best Motion Picture

Best Motion Picture

Hamlet

1948 · Drama · $126 worldwide

3 wins from 5 nominations at the 20th Academy Awards (1948)

  • Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)
  • Best Costume Design (Black-and-White)

Following his father’s sudden death, Prince Hamlet grapples with grief and suspicion surrounding his mother’s swift marriage to his uncle. Consumed by a desire for revenge and haunted by his father's ghost, Hamlet feigns madness while investigating a dark secret. He must confront a court rife with deception, betrayal, and the weighty questions of life and death.

About Hamlet
Scoreboard

Oscars 1948: Which Films Won the Most

Hamlet won 3 awards from 5 nominations. 5 films won at least once, while The Snake Pit went home empty-handed from 5 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. Hamlet (1948) movie poster
    Hamlet 3 / 5
    1948 · Drama · 3 wins from 5 nominations
  2. The Naked City (1948) movie poster
    The Naked City 2 / 3
    1948 · Drama, Mystery · 2 wins from 3 nominations
  3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) movie poster
    The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 2 / 3
    1948 · Adventure, Drama · 2 wins from 3 nominations
  4. The Bishop's Wife (1948) movie poster
    The Bishop's Wife 1 / 1
    1948 · Drama, Fantasy · 1 win from 1 nomination
  5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) movie poster
    Miracle on 34th Street 1 / 1
    1947 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 1 nomination
  6. The Snake Pit (1948) movie poster
    The Snake Pit 0 / 5
    1948 · Drama, Mystery · 0 wins from 5 nominations
  7. A Foreign Affair (1948) movie poster
    A Foreign Affair 0 / 2
    1948 · Drama, Comedy · 0 wins from 2 nominations
  8. Red River (1948) movie poster
    Red River 0 / 2
    1948 · Drama, Western · 0 wins from 2 nominations
  9. Romance on the High Seas (1948) movie poster
    Romance on the High Seas 0 / 2
    1948 · Comedy, Romance · 0 wins from 2 nominations
  10. Life with Father (1947) movie poster
    Life with Father 0 / 1
    1947 · Comedy · 0 wins from 1 nomination
Full results

All 15 Oscars 1948 Categories: Winners & Nominees

15 categories and 25 nominations. The winner of each comes first, on a green row. Search for a film or a person, show only the winners, or jump straight to a category.

15 categories · 25 nominations

Jump to a category

Oscars 1948 Best Writing (Motion Picture Story)

Official name: Writing (Motion Picture Story)

2 nominees

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1948 Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)

Official name: Art Direction (Black-and-White)

1 nominee

Oscars 1948 Best Costume Design (Black-and-White)

Official name: Costume Design (Black-and-White)

1 nominee

Oscars 1948 Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

Official name: Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

2 nominees

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1948 Best Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

Official name: Music (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

1 nominee

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1948 Best Music (Song)

Official name: Music (Song)

1 nominee

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1948 Best Sound Recording

Official name: Sound Recording

1 nominee
Movie marathon

The Oscars 1948 Best Motion Picture Marathon

All 3 Best Motion Picture nominees at the 20th Academy Awards (1948), back to back: 6 hours 28 minutes.

Total running time 6h 28m 6 hours 28 minutes All 3 films
Longest
Hamlet 2h 34m
Shortest
The Snake Pit 1h 48m
By genre

The Genres Behind the Oscars 1948 Winners

Drama led with 22 nominations across 8 films and won 9. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 9 wins · 22 nominations · 41%
  2. Mystery 2 wins · 8 nominations · 25%
  3. Comedy 2 wins · 7 nominations · 29%
  4. Western 2 wins · 5 nominations · 40%
  5. Romance 1 win · 5 nominations · 20%
  6. Thriller 2 wins · 3 nominations · 67%
  7. Crime 2 wins · 3 nominations · 67%
  8. Film-Noir 2 wins · 3 nominations · 67%
  9. Adventure 2 wins · 3 nominations · 67%
  10. Musical 0 wins · 2 nominations · 0%
1948 season

How the Rest of the 1948 Awards Season Voted

The other 2 ceremonies of 1948.

All 1948 awards
Earlier years

Previous Oscars Ceremonies

The 6 ceremonies before this one, with the winner of each top prize. The Oscars page has every year back to 1929.

Every Oscars ceremony

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FAQ

Oscars 1948: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 20th Academy Awards (1948), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Motion Picture at the 20th Academy Awards (1948)?

Hamlet (1948) won Best Motion Picture. The other nominees were The Snake Pit and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

About Hamlet

Which film won the most awards at the 20th Academy Awards (1948)?

Hamlet (1948) won the most: 3 awards from 5 nominations. The Naked City and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre followed with 2 wins each.

Which film had the most nominations at the 20th Academy Awards (1948)?

Hamlet (1948) and The Snake Pit (1948) led with 5 nominations each.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 20th Academy Awards (1948)?

Best Director: John Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Best Supporting Actor: Edmund Gwenn for Miracle on 34th Street.

When was the 20th Academy Awards (1948)?

The 20th Academy Awards (1948) took place on March 20, 1948. The database has 15 categories and 25 nominations for it.