How Many Best Pictures Were Based on a Book?

A bookish Oscars deep dive

The Oscars have captivated our nation for nearly a century. Love or hate, they give all of the US a common topic of discussion for weeks, something almost everyone can know a little about or have an opinion on, even if it's only to say, "Didn't see it." 2023 was a particular bookish year for the Academy Awards, with half of the Best Picture nominees being based on books.

If you're a reader, you may even start to think most good films are really based on books. But is that true? Well, I did the math and can tell you.

Out of 96 Best Picture winners:

• 49 have been based on a book, short story, or novella.
• 14 more were based on plays or stage shows.
• Leaving us 33 out of 96 Best Pictures that were stories made for the screen.

Of those remaining 33, only 2 were remakes of other films, those being the 2006's The Departed, a remake of a film from Hong Kong called Infernal Affairs; and the 2021 film CODA, a remake of La Famille Bélier, a film from France. 1 was based on a symphonic poem. The rest, as far as I found, were purely original screenplays with some were based on real events.

Books have certainly made an impact on film, haven't they? Now to dive deep and take a look at every picture and the book that inspired it.

Every Best Picture Winner Based on a Book Ever

Notes on this blog: I've listed the film release year rather than the year of the Academy Awards ceremony. After the year and title of the winning film is the work the film is based on.

1930: All Quiet on the Western Front

Based on the book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Our first winner adapted from a book happened at only the third ever Academy Award ceremony. Back when this film won, the award was called "Outstanding Production" rather than Best Picture. The book, a novel written by a WWI veteran about the mental and physical trauma experienced during the war, was originally published in German in 1929, only a year before the film came out.

1931: Cimarron

Based on the book Cimarron by Edna Ferber

The very next year was another bookish winner. The #1 bestselling novel of 1930 that inspired the film is historical fiction about land runs in Oklahoma after the civil war, in land once owned by the Cherokee Nation.

1932: Grand Hotel

Based on the play by William M. Drake, which was based on the book by Grand Hotel (Menschen im Hotel) by Vicki Baum

I hope this doesn't sound too "six degrees of separation" to include. Only seems fair that if a film was based on a play which only existed because of a novel then the film should appear in this list. Right? With that disclaimer out of the way (this scenario will come up again), let me to tell you about Grand Hotel, the English title for a novel originally published in German, which inspired this Best Picture winner. The hotel holds a mirror to society, serving as a microcosm of the world of the 1920s, and in fact the name "Grand Hotel" went on to become an unofficial name for the genre of novels this work spawned, where a group of people are collected in a building or ship.

Sidebar: Every Best Picture Winner Based on a Play

The next winner, 1933's Cavalcade, did not make the based on a book list, but inspired an un-planned sidebar. Here is a list-within-a-list of all Best Picture Oscar winners based on plays. I did not separate these out to diminish the talent of playwrights, which is a distinct art all its own, rather to honor that distinction. Plays have a much-cherished place in the literary canon, and I do encourage you to pick one up.

• 1933: Cavalcade—Based on a play by Noël Coward.
• 1936: The Great Ziegfeld—a cinematic adaptation of Broadway’s Ziegfeld Follies.
• 1938: You Can't Take It with You—Based on a Pulitzer-winning play by George S. Kaufman.
• 1942: Casablanca—Based on the play Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison.
• 1948: Hamlet—This remains the only straight adaptation of a Shakespeare play to win Best Picture.
• 1953: Marty—Based on a teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky.
• 1961: West Side Story—Based on the Broadway show by Bernstein and Sondheim, which is inspired by Romeo and Juliet.
• 1964: My Fair Lady—Based on the stage musical, which is based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.
• 1966: A Man for All Seasons—Based on this 1960 play of the same name about Sir Thomas More by Robert Bolt.
• 1984: Amadeus—based on a 1979 play by Peter Schaffer which was itself inspired by an 1830 play.
• 1989: Driving Miss Daisy—Based on a play by Alfred Uhry.
• 2002: Chicago—Plays took a decade-long break but came back with this Bob Fosse decadence.
• 2017's Moonlight, based off of work by Tarell Alvin McCraney, was adapted from a drama school project of his titled "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue." The full script of this piece has not been published.
• While 2019's Parasite, written/directed by Bong Joon-ho, was originally conceived as play, Joon-ho pivoted from stage to screenwriting early on. A theatre company in Japan did adapt the film to stage in 2023, though! It's like writing inception.

1934: It Happened One Night

Based on the short story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams

This film swept the year's Academy Awards and has really stolen the spotlight from its source material. Surprisingly, the author behind the charming short story about a man and woman who must share a train car was most well-known for his investigative journalism, muckraking, and canal expertise (what a renaissance man!). Sadly, this particular story is hard to come by in print, we do not have any copies in stock and see them rarely.

1935: Mutiny on the Bounty

Based on the book Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Normal Hall

Mutiny on the Bounty was a 1932 novel telling a fictional account of a real 1789 mutiny against Lieutenant William Bligh. The book is from the POV of a young man aboard the ship who is only along for the ride from the start of the mutiny, to after, all the way back to England where he is court martialed.

This film is the second winner in a row to star Clark Gable, who is building quite the bookish career here.

Sidebar: 1937's The Life of Émile Zola

This one doesn't count for this list, it's not based on a book, so I had to sidebar again to mention it for being about the life of an author. The film covers the life of French writer Émile Zola: novelist, playwright, journalist, and overall fascinating historical figure, known best for Germinal and Thérèse Raquin.

1939: Gone With the Wind

Based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Mitchell

This adaptation was based on a book written only three-years earlier, in 1936. Mitchell's novel about Scarlett O'Hara, a white Southern woman determined not to lose her home and her status through the American civil war, has been a divisive classic since publication, seeing both immense love and heavy criticism over the last century.

1940: Rebecca

Based on Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

One of this writer's personal favorite books on the list! This gothic novel about the intrusive memory of a deceased wife was adapted to the screen by Alfred Hitchcock—what a great synchronicity that this 1938 novel was written at the perfect time to be adapted by the master of suspense himself.

1941: How Green Was My Valley

Based on the book by Richard Llewellyn

This novel about a family in the Welsh mining community captured hearts across the world in 1939 when it was originally published and has three sequels (book 2, book 3, book 4) that are now rare due to being out of print.

1942: Mrs. Miniver

Based on the book by Jan Struther

The author behind this lovable character and film began writing for Punch, a British satire and humor magazine. Her work there got the attention of The Times, where she worked to create an "ordinary sort of woman" who today we all know and love as Mrs. Miniver.

1945: The Lost Weekend

Based on the novel The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson

A talented alcoholic writer is the star of this novel. Jackson drew on his own experiences and struggles with alcoholism while writing the book.

1946: The Best Years of Our Lives

Based on the novella Glory for Me by MacKinlay Kantor

A Pulitzer prize-winning author tackles the Odysseus-like journey of servicemen returning home from war.

1947: Gentleman's Agreement

Based on the book Gentleman's Agreement by Laura Z. Hobson

The 1947 novel on which the film was based tackled current antisemitism in the United States, centering on a gentile who pretends to be Jewish to write a piece about antisemitism. The book sold over 1 million copies the year it was published.

1949: All the King's Men

Based on the book of the same name by Robert Penn Warren

The Pulitzer-winning 1946 novel that inspired the film traces the rise and fall of a fictional Southern politician. The marketing for the film actually advertised using the book's Pulitzer-winning status as a selling point.

1950: All About Eve

Based on the short story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr

The short story that inspired the Bette Davis flick was originally published in Cosmopolitan Magazine. Yep, that same magazine you can pick up today. It's hard to find the short story in print now.

Sidebar: 1951's An American in Paris

Going off track again for a little bit of fascinating origin history, as this is the first, and only, Oscar-winning film I can find that is adapted from music! It turns out this classic musical rom-com is based on a George Gershwin symphonic poem, which is a piece of orchestral music that tells a full story. The story of this symphonic poem is Gershwin's own tales of his experiences as, well, an American in Paris like the name says. He did not put it down into words anywhere, thus making the film ineligible for this list. Fascinating, nonetheless.

1953: From Here to Eternity

Based on the book From Here to Eternity by James Jones

Believe it or not, this was Jones' debut novel. Published in 1951, the story is set ten years earlier in a U.S. Army infantry company stationed in Hawaii shortly before the Pearl Harbor attacks.

1956: Around the World in 80 Days

Based on the book of the same name by Jules Verne

Jules Verne in with the save, Hollywood nearly went three years there without a book adaptation. This 1956 film was based on a book written in 1873, one of the longest distances between source material and film so far, though 1963 will shatter that record soon.

1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Based on the novel The Bridge Over the River Kwai (Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï) by Pierre Boulle

This war novel was originally published in French, and is partially inspired by the author's real experiences working in Malaysia, using the construction of the Burma railway as its historical framework.

1958: Gigi

Based on the novella Gigi by Colette

This beloved Audrey Hepburn film comes to us from a French novella about Gigi, a young Parisian woman being brought up to become a courtesan. The author chose Hepburn herself for the title role.

1959: Ben-Hur

Based on Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A Christian novel originally published in 1880, Wallace's Ben-Hur was a best seller from its release, surpassing Uncle Tom's Cabin, the previous best seller that had been at the top for nearly three decades.

1962: Lawrence of Arabia

Based on the book Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence

The autobiographical narrative of "war and adventure" tells us about Lawrence's time as a British Army Colonel. He was stationed as a military advisor to the Bedouin during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

1963: Tom Jones

Based on The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

Though the title implies this is all about Tom, his story does not truly begin until he meets Sophia. Their love story is what has made this story resonate for centuries. The book was written in 1749, making it over 200 years between the source material and this adaptation.

1965: The Sound of Music

Based on the musical, which is based on the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp

The Sound of Music being based on a true story was not on my bingo card for this deep dive. Though of course the stage show has embellishments, such as the Captain not being a music-hater in real life, Rolf's character is entirely a fabrication, and no, they didn't sing their way away from nazis. But they did sing.

1967: In the Heat of the Night

Based on In the Heat of the Night by John Ball

Introducing once and future police detective icon, Virgil Tibbs. In the first of a series, Tibbs, who is Black, has to pass through an insular, bigoted Southern town to solve a murder case.

1968: Oliver!

Based on the stage musical, which is based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

The exclamation point in the title of the film feels so jarring against the material of the book, an un-glamorous tale of London criminals and the terrors of child labor. What is it about Dickens bleak material that pairs so well with a chorus?

1969: Midnight Cowboy

Based on the book by James Leo Herlihy

Hellman's novel that inspired the film is a unique tale that takes you through the life of Texan Joe Buck, who has a dream and a plan: build up the perfect Cowboy persona to make a living as a gigolo to rich women in New York. The novel expounds on why he is who he is.

1970: Patton

Based on Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and A Soldier's Story by Omar N. Bradley

George C. Scott starred as General Patton in the film and rejected a Best Actor Oscar for it, not believing in the competition of actors or in the whole awards thing in general.

1971: The French Connection

Based on the true-crime novel by Robin Moore

This book about the world's most successful narcotics investigation is technically the second true-crime film on the list, since we did have the mutiny earlier. It is the first to really match the true-crime genre as we know it today.

1972: The Godfather

Based on The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Puzo's crime family saga has earned a reputation as both one of the best movies and one of the best books of all time.

1974: The Godfather Part II

Also based on The Godfather by Mario Puzo

What makes Godfather Part II unique from other sequel adaptations is that the author of the book himself got to work on the script, making this film almost a sequel to the book as well as an adaptation, having included a mixture of new and existing material.

1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Based on the book of the same name by Ken Kesey

The book of this famous film actually centered on and was narrated by Chief Bromden, who in the book is our observer and the teller of McMurphy's antics in the Oregon psychiatric hospital the book is set in.

1979: Kramer vs. Kramer

Based on the book Kramer versus Kramer by Avery Corman

Hollywood was having a creative streak from '76-'78, making up movies out of nothing. The adaptations to which we're accustomed are back with the original marriage story. Corman's book and the movie share the same plot, one about a divorced couple and their legal battle for custody when the mother changes her mind after two years away.

1980: Ordinary People

Based on Ordinary People by Judith Guest

This novel was Guest's first ever, and originally published in 1976. Ordinary People is a year in the life of an affluent family in the suburbs as they recover from the death of one son, and the suicide attempt of the other son shortly after.

1983: Terms of Endearment

Based on the novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry

McMurtry's novel about the lives of widow Aurora Greenway and her daughter Emma is actually one of cycle called his Houston series, which includes recurring characters all set in Houston, TX. This book is as much of a tear-jerker as the film.

1985: Out of Africa

Based on the autobiographical Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (pseudonym of Karen Blixen); Additional material from another book by the same author, Shadows on the Grass

Dinesen wrote this book about her life living in Africa near her family's coffee plantation, in what is today called Kenya, in 1937. She wrote the follow up, Shadows on the Grass, in 1960. The film took many creative, narrative liberties.

1987: The Last Emperor

Based on From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi by Pu Yi

First published in China in 1960, this autobiography of the life of China's last emperor was republished once in 1964 with some parts removed, then again republished in 2007, fully restored.

1990: Dances With Wolves

Based on a book of the same name by Michael Blake

The civil war novel that inspired this notorious Oscar winner about a stranded general who finds himself becoming a part of Sioux tribe came out in 1988, and the author wrote a sequel in 2001.

1991: The Silence of the Lambs

Based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris

Author Roald Dahl called this classic psychological horror book, "subtle, horrific and splendid, the best book I have read in a long time." Not much more needs to be said! The only disappointment in this book is that you do have to supply your own Anthony Hopkins performance when reading.

1993: Schindler's List

Based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally

Australian writer Keneally met Holocaust survivor Poldek Pfefferberg, whose life inspired this book, completely by chance in Beverly Hills. Keneally went into Pfefferberg's shop for a new briefcase and came out with a story that would become a worldwide phenomenon. Keneally also wrote a memoir about his time working on this book, Searching for Schindler.

1994: Forrest Gump

Based on the book of the same name by Winston Groom

Here is a case where the film and the book are drastically different, Forrest's astronaut career and friend Sue the orangutan being just a sample of cut plotlines. Unsurprisingly, author Groom did have issues with the adaptation. He went on to write a sequel which begins, from Forrest's perspective, with "Don't ever let nobody make a movie of your life's story. Whether they get it right or wrong, it don't matter."

1996: The English Patient

Based on the novel The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

The 1992 book that inspired this film had received significant critical acclaim on its own, with it winning the Booker Prize, one of the highest English-Literature honors there is.

2001: A Beautiful Mind

Based on the biography A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

This biography is about the life of Nobel Prize winning mathematician John Nash, who lead an accomplished academic career at Princeton and MIT and worked for the RAND corporation, while dealing with Schizophrenia.

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel, The Return of the King.

Fantasy fans rejoiced at this accurate adaptation of the third book in the Lord of the Rings series, an all-time favorite series across the world by the father of modern high fantasy.

2004: Million Dollar Baby

Based on Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner by F.X. Toole

Don't get confused, though there is a book called Million Dollar Baby it has nothing to do with this boxing film. The book the film is based on was a story collection by an actual fight manager.

2007: No Country for Old Men

Based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy

McCarthy has a record for hard-hitting, visceral stories that don't shy away from the disturbing. Keep that in mind if you choose to read this tale about Llewellyn Moss, a man on the run.

2008: Slumdog Millionaire

Based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup

Vikras Swarup's author debut about a man on the game show winning it all is a page-turning good read, full of love, perseverance, drama, and humor, the kind of ingredients that Hollywood just couldn't resist.

2012: Argo

Based on the memoir The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Méndez with Malcolm McConnell, as well as a 2007 Wired article called "The Great Escape"

Hollywood took a few years off there from book adaptations. Thank you to Ben Affleck and Chris Terrio for adding another book to this list, this time a thrilling nonfiction look at espionage in action.

2013: 12 Years a Slave

Based on the memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup

The 1853 memoir follows the life of its author, a man who was born free in New York but kidnapped in Washington, DC, being sold into slavery in Louisiana and stuck there 12 years before he was finally freed.

2020: Nomadland

Based on the book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder

This nonfiction book looks at the lives of people who work seasonal jobs in the US, those who travel around the country for work, who have had to give up the idea of living a life with roots to survive.

2023: Oppenheimer

Based on the biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

The final entry, our most recent Oscar winner which inspired the creation of this list. You may not know the biopic about the man who created the atomic bomb was based on a book simply from watching, yet the influence of it is there throughout the whole film and it makes a compelling read.

Final Tally: 49/96

Thanks for sticking with this epic list and deep dive, along all the sidebars and fun facts that I couldn't help but throw in. I don't know if I know more about Hollywood now or not, at least I will never lose Oscars trivia again, plus found some books to add to my TBR. Which from this list had you interested or surprised?

Read more by Amanda Cleveland