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33rd Academy Awards (1961)
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Oscars 1961 Winners & Nominees

The 33rd Academy Awards (1961) took place on April 17, 1961. The Apartment won Best Motion Picture and 3 more awards. Spartacus matched it with 4 wins. Every winner and nominee in all 19 categories is below.

All 19 categories Most wins
categories
19
nominations
48
films nominated
21
winners
13
Held on
Best Motion Picture
The Apartment
Headline winners

Oscars 1961: The Winners

The Apartment won Best Motion Picture against 1 other nominee. Billy Wilder (Best Director), Elizabeth Taylor (Best Actress) and Peter Ustinov (Best Supporting Actor) took the main individual prizes.

The Apartment (1960) movie poster Best Motion Picture

Best Motion Picture

The Apartment

1960 · Drama, Comedy, Romance · $18.8M worldwide

4 wins from 9 nominations at the 33rd Academy Awards (1961)

  • Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)
  • Best Director
  • Best Film Editing

A mother and daughter grapple with a strained relationship within the confines of their small apartment. Everyday pressures and unspoken resentments build, creating a fragile atmosphere. A single, pivotal event forces them to confront their issues, leading to a moment of reckoning for the daughter. Ultimately, she finds the strength to pursue her independence and create a future separate from her mother.

About The Apartment
Scoreboard

Oscars 1961: Which Films Won the Most

The Apartment and Spartacus won 4 awards each. 7 films won at least once, while Sunrise at Campobello went home empty-handed from 4 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. The Apartment (1960) movie poster
    The Apartment 4 / 9
    1960 · Drama, Comedy · 4 wins from 9 nominations
  2. Spartacus (1960) movie poster
    Spartacus 4 / 6
    1960 · Adventure, Biography · 4 wins from 6 nominations
  3. Exodus (1960) movie poster
    Exodus 1 / 3
    1960 · Action, Drama · 1 win from 3 nominations
  4. BUtterfield 8 (1960) movie poster
    BUtterfield 8 1 / 2
    1960 · Drama · 1 win from 2 nominations
  5. Splendor in the Grass (1961) movie poster
    Splendor in the Grass 1 / 1
    1961 · Drama, Romance · 1 win from 1 nomination
  6. Pollyanna (1960) movie poster
    Pollyanna 1 / 1
    1960 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 1 nomination
  7. The Time Machine (1960) movie poster
    The Time Machine 1 / 1
    1960 · Adventure, Sci-Fi · 1 win from 1 nomination
  8. Sunrise at Campobello (1960) movie poster
    Sunrise at Campobello 0 / 4
    1960 · Biography, Drama · 0 wins from 4 nominations
  9. The Sundowners (1960) movie poster
    The Sundowners 0 / 4
    1960 · Adventure, Drama · 0 wins from 4 nominations
  10. Psycho (1960) movie poster
    Psycho 0 / 4
    1960 · Mystery, Thriller · 0 wins from 4 nominations
Full results

All 19 Oscars 1961 Categories: Winners & Nominees

19 categories and 48 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.

19 categories · 48 nominations

Jump to a category

Oscars 1961 Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)

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

2 nominees

Oscars 1961 Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)

Official name: Cinematography (Black-and-White)

3 nominees

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1961 Honorary Award

1 nominee

Oscars 1961 Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

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

3 nominees

Oscars 1961 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 1961 Best Special Effects

Official name: Special Effects

1 nominee
By genre

The Genres Behind the Oscars 1961 Winners

Drama led with 41 nominations across 17 films and won 12. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 12 wins · 41 nominations · 29%
  2. Romance 6 wins · 15 nominations · 40%
  3. Comedy 5 wins · 14 nominations · 36%
  4. Adventure 5 wins · 13 nominations · 38%
  5. Biography 4 wins · 13 nominations · 31%
  6. War 5 wins · 10 nominations · 50%
  7. History 4 wins · 9 nominations · 44%
  8. Thriller 1 win · 6 nominations · 17%
  9. Action 1 win · 5 nominations · 20%
  10. Mystery 0 wins · 5 nominations · 0%
1961 season

How the Rest of the 1961 Awards Season Voted

The other 3 ceremonies of 1961, with the winner of each top prize. The Apartment also won the top prize at 2 of them.

All 1961 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 1961: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 33rd Academy Awards (1961), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Motion Picture at the 33rd Academy Awards (1961)?

The Apartment (1960) won Best Motion Picture. The other nominee was The Sundowners.

About The Apartment

Which film won the most awards at the 33rd Academy Awards (1961)?

The Apartment and Spartacus each won 4 awards.

Which film had the most nominations at the 33rd Academy Awards (1961)?

The Apartment (1960) led with 9 nominations and won 4 of them.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 33rd Academy Awards (1961)?

Best Director: Billy Wilder for The Apartment. Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor for BUtterfield 8. Best Supporting Actor: Peter Ustinov for Spartacus.

When was the 33rd Academy Awards (1961)?

The 33rd Academy Awards (1961) took place on April 17, 1961. The database has 19 categories and 48 nominations for it.