best picture Award Winners
Movies inspired by and based on true stories.
​Explore highly rated true story films from the 1920s to the 2020s that won the Best Picture Academy Awards and Golden Globe awards. View trailers, reviews, films, and facts behind the stories for critically acclaimed films!​
Best Picture Award Winners of the 2020s
What new award-winning films can we enjoy today, inspired by or based on true stories and events?
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Three true story films in the 2020s have won Best Picture awards. Best Picture Oscar award winners from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were Nomadland (2020) and Oppenheimer (2023). Golden Globe winners for Best Picture were Nomadland (2020), The Fabelmans (2022), and Oppenheimer (2023).​
What are the real stories and events behind these award winners?​
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R | Drama | A woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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What to Know About Nomadland and the Real-Life Community Behind the Movie by Annabel Gutterman on Time
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Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder on Amazon
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PG-13 | Drama | Inspired by director Steven Spielberg's childhood and adolescence, this drama depicts Sammy Fabelman falling in love with movies as a boy and learning to make his own, along with coping with the drama of family life and peers.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The Fabelmans True Story: How Accurate It Is To Spielberg's Childhood article by Taylor Diamond on Screen Rant
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Steven Spielberg: National Humanities Medal 1999 article on National Endowment for the Humanities
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R | Biography, Drama, History | During World War II, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer works on the top-secret Manhattan Project with a team of scientists who develop the atomic bomb, resulting in the world's first nuclear explosion.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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American Prometheus book by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin on Amazon
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The Real History Behind Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ by Andy Kifer on Smithsonian Magazine
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Oppenheimer the movie: Physics World writers give their verdict on Physics World
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Oppenheimer Is a Mind-Blower, but How Is It as History? by Fred Kaplan on Slate
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J. Robert Oppenheimer: 5 Facts About the ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb’ by Becky Little on History.com
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When Oppenheimer, ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb,’ Was Blacklisted by Becky Little on History.com
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Enjoy more of the best true story films of the 2020s, and get the facts behind the stories!
Best Picture Award Winners of 2010-2019
The 2010s were a source of abundant films inspired by and based on true stories and real events. Let's dive into the award winners!
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Fact-based Best Picture Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: The King's Speech (2010), Argo (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Spotlight (2015), and Green Book (2018).
Fact-based Best Picture Golden Globe awards: The Social Network (2010), Argo (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), American Hustle (2013), The Revenant (2015), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Green Book (2018), and 1917 (2019).
What are the real stories and events behind these award winners?​
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R | Biography, Drama, Disability, History | The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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George VI biography on Biography.com and Wikipedia
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Lionel Logue biography on Wikipedia
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Based on a True Story? Scene-by-scene Breakdown of Hollywood Films on information is beautiful
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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law | In 2003, Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that became known as Facebook. Six years later, when he is one of the youngest billionaires in the world, Zuckerberg is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the former co-founder. Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires.
Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook book by Ben Mezrich on Amazon
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Mark Zuckerberg biography on Biography.com and Wikipedia
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February 4 (This Day in History) on History.com
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Based on a True Story? Scene-by-scene Breakdown of Hollywood Films on information is beautiful
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R | Biography, Drama, History, Thriller | In 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking sixty-six American hostages. Six Americans escape and take refuge with the Canadian ambassador, but they are in danger of being found and executed. The U.S. government calls on CIA agent Tony Mendez to rescue them. He acts undercover as a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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"How Accurate Is Argo?" by David Haglund on Slate
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"CIA reveals what's real vs. reel in 'Argo'" by C. Molly Smith on Entertainment Weekly
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Episode 40: Argo on History by Hollywood podcast
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R | Biography, Drama, History | In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup is a free black man from upstate New York who is abducted and sold into slavery.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts: ​
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Based on a True Story? Scene-by-scene Breakdown of Hollywood Films on information is beautiful
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How Accurate Is 12 Years a Slave? on Slate
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'12 Years' Gets Story Right But Context, Some Details May Be Off on All Things Remembered on NPR
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R | Biography, Crime, Drama, Journalism | In 2001, journalists at The Boston Globe investigate and uncover the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the Roman Catholic Church.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Based on a True Story? Scene-by-scene Breakdown of Hollywood Films on information is beautiful
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R | Action, Adventure, Drama, Survival, Western | In 1823, frontiersman Hugh Glass goes on a fur trading expedition, where he is mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team, but he treks through the snowy terrain to find his way back to civilization.
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PG-13 | Biography, Comedy, Drama, Music | Dr. Don Shirley is a world-class African-American pianist who's about to embark on a concert tour in the Deep South in 1962. In need of a driver and protection, Shirley recruits Tony Lip, a tough-talking bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx. Despite their differences, the two men soon develop an unexpected bond while confronting racism and danger in an era of segregation.
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Trailers and Reviews:
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Coming soon!
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Best Picture Award Winners of 2000-2009
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Where were you in the year 2000, the dawn of the 21st century? Where was the world? What films did we enjoy then? Enjoy the best true story films from the beginning of the century.
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True story films that won Best Picture Oscar awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: A Beautiful Mind (2001), Chicago (2002), and The Hurt Locker (2009).
True story films that won Best Picture Golden Globe awards: Almost Famous (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Chicago (2002), The Aviator (2004), and Walk the Line (2005).​
Enjoy the best true story films from the dawn of the 21th century, and get the facts behind the stories!
Best Picture Award Winners of the 1900s
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Did you have the privilege of being alive and enjoying great films in the 1900s when they first came out? Were you not even born then, but you'd love to dive into excellent true story films of the past? What films did the world enjoy then, rate highly, and award? ​Several films in the 20th century based on and inspired by true stories won Best Picture awards.
Fact-based Best Picture Oscar award winners from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences include:
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All the King's Men (1949)
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The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
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On the Waterfront (1954)
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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
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The Sound of Music (1965)
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A Man for All Seasons (1966)
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The French Connection (1971)
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Chariots of Fire (1981)
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Gandhi (1982)
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Amadeus (1984)
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Out of Africa (1985)
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Platoon (1986)
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The Last Emperor (1987)
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Rain Man (1988)
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Schindler's List (1993)
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Braveheart (1995)
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Titanic (1997)
Golden Globe Best Picture winners based on and inspired by true stories:
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The Song of Bernadette (1943)
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All the King's Men (1949)
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The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
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With a Song in My Heart (1952)
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On the Waterfront (1954)
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The King and I (1956)
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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
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Becket (1964)
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The Sound of Music (1965)
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A Man for All Seasons (1966)
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Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
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The French Connection (1971)
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Midnight Express (1978)
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Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
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Amadeus (1984)
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Out of Africa (1985)
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Platoon (1986)
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The Last Emperor (1987)
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Rain Man (1988)
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Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
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Bugsy (1991)
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Beauty and the Beast (1991)
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Schindler's List (1993)
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Evita (1996)
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Titanic (1997)
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Saving Private Ryan (1998)
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What are the real stories and events behind these award winners?
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Enjoy the best true story films from the 20th century, and get the facts behind the stories!