The only sequels to have won Best Picture Oscars
We’re living in the prime time of sequels. More specifically, original stories are largely taking a back seat to spinoffs based on established stories. Some of the best TV shows this year (Andor, What We Do in the Shadows) and some of the biggest films (Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water) all had built-in lore and previous instalments that helped audiences connect with them immediately.
Even the Academy Awards love to give it up for sequels. Although the Oscars usually tend to give out awards to original stories, literary adaptations, or otherwise stand-alone properties, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences has nominated quite a few sequels in its time.
Although spinoffs and continuations are usually seen as a modern phenomenon, the first sequel to be nominated for an Oscar dates back all the way to 1936. Broadway Melody of 1936 doesn’t have any plot connection to the 1929 Best Picture winner The Broadway Melody, but they remain connected through their shared studio, MGM.
Whether 1945’s The Bells of St. Mary’s truly qualifies as a sequel is up for debate, but what is true is that Bing Crosby portrayed the film’s central character, Father O’Malley, in 1944’s Going My Way. Crosby even won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance, so when he returned to the part, the Academy was ready to recognise him again.
The first true-blue sequel to ever land an Oscar for Best Picture is a film that is still considered one of the finest examples of the form: The Godfather Part II. As it happens, all three films in The Godfather series were nominated for Best Picture, making it one of the most acclaimed film series of all time.
It would take another 30 years for a sequel to take home the top prize. In 2003, the distinction went to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The previous two films in the Lord of the Rings series, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, were both also nominated for Best Picture, but only Return of the King went home with the Oscar.
The Silence of the Lambs could technically be included in this list, as it’s the second part of Thomas Harris’ series of books that include serial killer Hannibal Lecter. Michael Mann directed an adaption of the book series’ first story, Red Dragon, and produced it with the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group under the title Manhunter. When Silence of the Lambs came out five years later, it had a new director, new studio, new Hannibal Lecter and enough stand-alone substance to it that it is rarely considered a sequel to Manhunter.
Over the more recent years, films like Mad Max: Fury Road, Toy Story 3, and Black Panther have raised the prestige of sequels and spinoffs. All three films were nominated for Best Picture, although none of them took home the award. Perhaps Top Gun or Avatar will bring sequels back to the Oscars this year, but for now, the group of Best Picture winners that also happen to be sequels is one of the most exclusive groups in Oscars history.
