Will a Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Award Winner Win an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Motion Picture?

Will a Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Award Winner Win an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Motion Picture?

"Best Motion Picture" Golden Globe to Oscar Correlations in the 1980's

If you asked me that question in the 1980's, I'd probably be inclined to bet "yes." Of the "Best Motion Picture" Academy Award (Oscar) winners, in the 1980's, seven films won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Motion Picture - Drama" and one film won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical."

The eight movies that won Golden Globes and Oscars for "Best Motion Picture" in the 1980's are "Ordinary People," "Terms of Endearment," "Amadeus," "Out of Africa," "Platoon," "The Last Emperor," "Rain Man" and "Driving Miss Daisy" (the only "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical" winner).

"Best Motion Picture" Golden Globe to Oscar Correlations in the 1990's

In the 1990's, seven of ten Oscar winners for "Best Motion Picture" received Golden Globes in one of the two "Best Motion Picture" categories. Like the 1980's, the breakdown highly favored dramas over the "comedy or musical" category.

"Shakespeare in Love" was the only movie, in the 1990's, that won a "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical" award and proceeded to win the Academy Award (Oscar) for "Best Motion Picture." The six movies that won Golden Globes for "Best Motion Picture - Drama" and proceeded to win Oscars for "Best Motion Picture" are "Dances with Wolves," "Schindler's List," "Forrest Gump," "The English Patient," "Titanic" and "American Beauty."

In the 1980's, 80% of Oscar winners for "Best Motion Picture" previously won one of the Golden Globes for "Best Motion Picture." In the 1990's, only 70% of Oscar winners for "Best Motion Picture" previously won one of the Golden Globes for "Best Motion Picture." During the first decade of the 21^st century, the 2000's, a mere 50% of Oscar winners for "Best Motion Picture" previously won one of the Golden Globes for "Best Motion Picture."

"Best Motion Picture" Golden Globe to Oscar Correlations in the 2000's

In the 2000's, four Academy Award (Oscar) winners for "Best Motion Picture" won the respective Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture - Drama." Those movies were "Gladiator," "A Beautiful Mind," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "Slumdog Millionaire." One movie in the 2000's won the Oscar for "Best Motion Picture" after winning the Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical." That movie was "Chicago."

Of the thirty Oscar winning "Best Motion Picture" movies in the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's, twenty (66.6%) won some kind of "Best Motion Picture" Golden Globe. Seventeen Oscar winning films (57%) won a Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture - Drama." Three Oscar winning movies (10%) won a Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical." Only ten movies in the past thirty years (33%) won an Academy Award (Oscar) without winning a Golden Globe for either "Best Motion Picture - Drama" or "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical."

In the past three decades, the trend has veered slightly away from a Golden Globe win being indicative of an Oscar win. In fact, in the past six years, only one Oscar winning "Best Motion Picture" - "Slumdog Millionaire" - won a Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture," performing the feat in the drama category. In five out of the past six years, the Academy did not see eye to eye with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) (the group that holds the Golden Globes). Although, preceding that, there was an eight year span in which all "Best Motion Picture" Oscars were awarded to films that won a "Best Motion Picture" Golden Globe in either the drama or comedy or musical categories.

A definitive correlation between Golden Globes and Oscars acting awards is displayed in the article "Golden Globe Awards an Indication of Academy Award (Oscar) Success?"

Sources:

http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/bestpictures/index.html

http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/categories