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A visual history · Golden Globes

The winners who defined Film (Drama).

75 ceremonies, 1951–2025. 75 different winners.

Who won most recently?
The Brutalist in 2025.
  1. The BrutalistA24
  2. OppenheimerUniversal
  3. The FabelmansUniversal
  4. The Power of the DogNetflix
  5. NomadlandSearchlight Pictures
  6. 1917Universal
Years explored
1951–2025
Different winners
75
Category leader
No leader
About this record

Best Motion Picture – Drama was first awarded in 1951, so it does not run the full 1944–2025 window.

The drama award began in 1951, when the single Best Motion Picture split into drama and musical-or-comedy awards.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19512025

01 / The reigns

26 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited network / distributor.

One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by network / distributor; scroll sideways for the full run.
American Beauty'00
Gladiator'01
A Beautiful Mind'02
The Hours'03
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'04
The Aviator'05
Brokeback Mountain'06
Babel'07
Atonement'08
Slumdog Millionaire'09
Avatar'10
The Social Network'11
The Descendants'12
Argo'13
12 Years a Slave'14
Boyhood'15
The Revenant'16
Moonlight'17
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'18
Bohemian Rhapsody'19
1917'20
Nomadland'21
The Power of the Dog'22
The Fabelmans'23
Oppenheimer'24
The Brutalist'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Universal leads the recorded network / distributor credits with 8 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Universal8 wins
Searchlight5 wins
20th Century3 wins
A242 wins
Paramount2 wins
Warner Bros.2 wins
Wins by network / distributor
  1. Universal831%
  2. Searchlight519%
  3. 20th Century312%
  4. A2428%
  5. Paramount28%
  6. Warner Bros.28%
  7. Other415%

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerNetwork / Distributor
2025The Brutalist
beat 5 others
  • A Complete Unknown
  • Conclave
  • Dune: Part Two
  • Nickel Boys
  • September 5
A24
2024Oppenheimer
beat 5 others
  • Anatomy of a Fall
  • Killers of the Flower Moon
  • Maestro
  • Past Lives
  • The Zone of Interest
Universal
2023The Fabelmans
beat 4 others
  • Avatar: The Way of Water
  • Elvis
  • Tár
  • Top Gun: Maverick
Universal
2022The Power of the Dog
beat 4 others
  • Belfast
  • CODA
  • Dune
  • King Richard
Netflix
2021Nomadland
beat 4 others
  • The Father
  • Mank
  • Promising Young Woman
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7
Searchlight Pictures
20201917
beat 4 others
  • The Irishman
  • Joker
  • Marriage Story
  • The Two Popes
Universal
2019Bohemian Rhapsody
beat 4 others
  • Black Panther
  • BlacKkKlansman
  • If Beale Street Could Talk
  • A Star Is Born
20th Century Fox
2018Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
beat 4 others
  • Call Me by Your Name
  • Dunkirk
  • The Post
  • The Shape of Water
Fox Searchlight
2017Moonlight
beat 4 others
  • Hacksaw Ridge
  • Hell or High Water
  • Lion
  • Manchester by the Sea
A24
2016The Revenant
beat 4 others
  • Carol
  • Mad Max: Fury Road
  • Room
  • Spotlight
20th Century Fox
2015Boyhood
beat 4 others
  • Foxcatcher
  • The Imitation Game
  • Selma
  • The Theory of Everything
IFC Films
201412 Years a Slave
beat 4 others
  • Captain Phillips
  • Gravity
  • Philomena
  • Rush
Fox Searchlight
2013Argo
beat 4 others
  • Django Unchained
  • Life of Pi
  • Lincoln
  • Zero Dark Thirty
Warner Bros.
2012The Descendants
beat 5 others
  • The Help
  • Hugo
  • The Ides of March
  • Moneyball
  • War Horse
Fox Searchlight
2011The Social Network
beat 4 others
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The King's Speech
Columbia/Sony
2010Avatar
beat 4 others
  • The Hurt Locker
  • Inglourious Basterds
  • Precious
  • Up in the Air
20th Century Fox
2009Slumdog Millionaire
beat 4 others
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Frost/Nixon
  • The Reader
  • Revolutionary Road
Fox Searchlight
2008Atonement
beat 6 others
  • American Gangster
  • Eastern Promises
  • The Great Debaters
  • Michael Clayton
  • No Country for Old Men
  • There Will Be Blood
Focus Features
2007Babel
beat 4 others
  • Bobby
  • The Departed
  • Little Children
  • The Queen
Paramount Vantage
2006Brokeback Mountain
beat 4 others
  • The Constant Gardener
  • Good Night, and Good Luck
  • A History of Violence
  • Match Point
Focus Features
2005The Aviator
beat 5 others
  • Closer
  • Finding Neverland
  • Hotel Rwanda
  • Kinsey
  • Million Dollar Baby
Miramax/Warner Bros.
2004The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
beat 4 others
  • Cold Mountain
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  • Mystic River
  • Seabiscuit
New Line Cinema
2003The Hours
beat 4 others
  • About Schmidt
  • Gangs of New York
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  • The Pianist
Paramount/Miramax
2002A Beautiful Mind
beat 4 others
  • In the Bedroom
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  • The Man Who Wasn't There
  • Mulholland Drive
Universal/DreamWorks
2001Gladiator
beat 5 others
  • Billy Elliot
  • Erin Brockovich
  • Sunshine
  • Traffic
  • Wonder Boys
DreamWorks/Universal
2000American Beauty
beat 4 others
  • The End of the Affair
  • The Hurricane
  • The Insider
  • The Talented Mr. Ripley
DreamWorks