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42nd Academy Awards (1970)
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Oscars 1970 Winners & Nominees

The 42nd Academy Awards (1970) took place on April 7, 1970. Midnight Cowboy won Best Picture and 2 more awards. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid won the most, 4 of its 7 nominations. Every winner and nominee in all 17 categories is below.

All 17 categories Most wins
categories
17
nominations
51
films nominated
14
winners
14
Held on
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
Headline winners

Oscars 1970: The Winners

Midnight Cowboy won Best Picture against 2 other nominees. John Schlesinger (Best Director), John Wayne (Best Actor) and Gig Young (Best Supporting Actor) took the main individual prizes.

Midnight Cowboy (1969) movie poster Best Picture

Best Picture

Midnight Cowboy

1969 · Drama · $44.8M worldwide

3 wins from 7 nominations at the 42nd Academy Awards (1970)

  • Best Director
  • Best Writing (Screenplay—based on material from another medium)

A charming Texan, Joe Buck, arrives in New York City with dreams of success as a ladies’ man. He unexpectedly encounters Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, a streetwise hustler with his own struggles. As they navigate the gritty underbelly of the city, an unlikely friendship develops between the naive Joe and the cynical Ratso. Their bond is tested by Ratso’s declining health and Joe’s difficult journey to adapt to urban life, revealing a poignant exploration of loneliness and connection.

About Midnight Cowboy
Scoreboard

Oscars 1970: Which Films Won the Most

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid won 4 awards from 7 nominations. 7 films won at least once, while Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice went home empty-handed from 4 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) movie poster
    Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 4 / 7
    1969 · Adventure, Drama · 4 wins from 7 nominations
  2. Hello, Dolly! (1969) movie poster
    Hello, Dolly! 3 / 7
    1969 · Adventure, Comedy · 3 wins from 7 nominations
  3. Midnight Cowboy (1969) movie poster
    Midnight Cowboy 3 / 7
    1969 · Drama · 3 wins from 7 nominations
  4. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) movie poster
    They Shoot Horses, Don't They? 1 / 9
    1969 · Drama · 1 win from 9 nominations
  5. Marooned (1969) movie poster
    Marooned 1 / 3
    1969 · Adventure, Sci-Fi · 1 win from 3 nominations
  6. True Grit (1969) movie poster
    True Grit 1 / 2
    1969 · Adventure, Drama · 1 win from 2 nominations
  7. Cactus Flower (1969) movie poster
    Cactus Flower 1 / 1
    1969 · Comedy, Romance · 1 win from 1 nomination
  8. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) movie poster
    Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice 0 / 4
    1969 · Drama, Comedy · 0 wins from 4 nominations
  9. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) movie poster
    Goodbye, Mr. Chips 0 / 2
    1969 · Drama, Romance · 0 wins from 2 nominations
  10. The Reivers (1969) movie poster
    The Reivers 0 / 2
    1969 · Drama, Comedy · 0 wins from 2 nominations
Full results

All 17 Oscars 1970 Categories: Winners & Nominees

17 categories and 51 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.

17 categories · 51 nominations

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Oscars 1970 Best Special Visual Effects

Official name: Special Visual Effects

1 nominee
Movie marathon

The Oscars 1970 Best Picture Marathon

All 3 Best Picture nominees at the 42nd Academy Awards (1970), back to back: 6 hours 9 minutes.

Total running time 6h 9m 6 hours 9 minutes All 3 films
Longest
Hello, Dolly! 2h 26m
Shortest
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1h 50m
By genre

The Genres Behind the Oscars 1970 Winners

Drama led with 41 nominations across 11 films and won 10. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 10 wins · 41 nominations · 24%
  2. Adventure 9 wins · 21 nominations · 43%
  3. Comedy 4 wins · 17 nominations · 24%
  4. Romance 4 wins · 17 nominations · 24%
  5. Western 5 wins · 12 nominations · 42%
  6. Musical 3 wins · 10 nominations · 30%
  7. Crime 4 wins · 9 nominations · 44%
  8. Sci-Fi 1 win · 3 nominations · 33%
  9. Thriller 1 win · 3 nominations · 33%
  10. Action 0 wins · 2 nominations · 0%
1970 season

How the Rest of the 1970 Awards Season Voted

The other 3 ceremonies of 1970, with the winner of each top prize. Midnight Cowboy also won the top prize at 2 of them.

All 1970 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 1970: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 42nd Academy Awards (1970), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Picture at the 42nd Academy Awards (1970)?

Midnight Cowboy (1969) won Best Picture. The other nominees were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Hello, Dolly!

About Midnight Cowboy

Which film won the most awards at the 42nd Academy Awards (1970)?

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) won the most: 4 awards from 7 nominations. Hello, Dolly! and Midnight Cowboy followed with 3 wins each.

Which film had the most nominations at the 42nd Academy Awards (1970)?

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) led with 9 nominations and won one of them.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 42nd Academy Awards (1970)?

Best Director: John Schlesinger for Midnight Cowboy. Best Actor: John Wayne for True Grit. Best Supporting Actor: Gig Young for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Best Supporting Actress: Goldie Hawn for Cactus Flower.

When was the 42nd Academy Awards (1970)?

The 42nd Academy Awards (1970) took place on April 7, 1970. The database has 17 categories and 51 nominations for it.