With the 95th Academy Awards just around the corner, it’s worth looking back on the history of the Best Picture category and how many times it has been kind to sports films.
While sports movies haven’t always fared well at the Oscars, a few have broken through over the years and have captured the industry’s attention.
There aren’t many Best Picture winners that deal with the world of sports, but the ones that have won have become classics in the genre.
Let’s take a look back at the couple of sports films that have taken home the Academy Awards’ top prize.
Rocky
The first sports film to ever win Best Picture was Rocky, the classic underdog boxing film that starred Sylvester Stallone.
The film topped All the President’s Men, Bound for Glory, Network and Taxi Driver for the 49th Academy Awards’ top prize.
Rocky also won Best Director for John G. Avildsen and Best Film Editing for Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad.
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire became the second sports-based film to take home the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The film followed two British athletes training for the 1924 Olympics and featured the iconic Vangelis score (above), which won Best Original Score.
Chariots of Fire topped Atlantic City, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Reds for the honor. The film also won Best Original Screenplay for Colin Welland and Best Costume Design Milena Canonero.
Million Dollar Baby
It wasn’t until 2004 that another sports film took home Best Picture.
Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby became the third film to take home the top prize, topping The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray and Sideways.
The film also won Best Director for Eastwood, Best Actress for Hilary Swank and Best Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman.
