1978 Film Year: Oscar Winners & Nominees
The AwardWentTo archive contains 101 Academy Award records for the 1978 film year, covering 48 films and including 22 wins.
Years follow the source film eligibility/dataset year, which may differ from the ceremony calendar year. Counts describe film-linked archive records, including historical and special-award context where supplied.
Best Picture result
- ★ The Deer HunterBarry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall, Producers
5 Best Picture award records for this film year. See the full result · Best Picture history
Acting category results
Leading winning films
Ranked by winning records in this film-year selection.
- The Deer Hunter
5 wins from 9 award records
- Coming Home
3 wins from 8 award records
- Midnight Express
2 wins from 6 award records
- Heaven Can Wait
1 win from 9 award records
- Days of Heaven
1 win from 4 award records
- Superman
1 win from 4 award records
Category winners
Select a category to explore its history, or jump to this year's full records.
- ★ Coming Home — Luke Martin
- ★ The Deer Hunter — Nick
- ★ Coming Home — Sally Hyde
- ★ California Suite — Diana Barrie
- ★ Thank God It's Friday — Last Dance
- ★ Superman
Nominations and award records by category
Showing 101 of 101 archive records. Gold stars mark winning records.
Best Picture
- ★ The Deer Hunter IMDB — Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall, Producers
- Coming Home IMDB — Jerome Hellman, Producer
- Heaven Can Wait IMDB — Warren Beatty, Producer
- Midnight Express IMDB — Alan Marshall and David Puttnam, Producers
- An Unmarried Woman IMDB — Paul Mazursky and Tony Ray, Producers
Best Actor
- ★ Coming Home IMDB — Jon VoightLuke Martin
- Heaven Can Wait IMDB — Warren BeattyJoe Pendleton (alias, Leo Farnsworth, Tom Jarrett)
- The Buddy Holly Story IMDB — Gary BuseyBuddy Holly
- The Deer Hunter IMDB — Robert De NiroMichael
- The Boys from Brazil IMDB — Laurence OlivierEzra Lieberman
Best Supporting Actor
- ★ The Deer Hunter IMDB — Christopher WalkenNick
- Coming Home IMDB — Bruce DernCaptain Bob Hyde
- Comes a Horseman IMDB — Richard FarnsworthDodger
- Midnight Express IMDB — John HurtMax
- Heaven Can Wait IMDB — Jack WardenMax Corkle
Best Actress
- ★ Coming Home IMDB — Jane FondaSally Hyde
- Autumn Sonata IMDB — Ingrid BergmanCharlotte Andergast
- Same Time, Next Year IMDB — Ellen BurstynDoris
- An Unmarried Woman IMDB — Jill ClayburghErica
- Interiors IMDB — Geraldine PageEve
Best Supporting Actress
- ★ California Suite IMDB — Maggie SmithDiana Barrie
- Heaven Can Wait IMDB — Dyan CannonJulia Farnsworth
- Coming Home IMDB — Penelope MilfordViola Munson
- Interiors IMDB — Maureen StapletonPearl
- The Deer Hunter IMDB — Meryl StreepLinda
Art Direction
- ★ Heaven Can Wait IMDB — Art Direction: Paul Sylbert, Edwin O'Donovan; Set Decoration: George Gaines
- The Brink's Job IMDB — Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis, Angelo Graham; Set Decoration: George R. Nelson, Bruce Kay
- California Suite IMDB — Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Marvin March
- Interiors IMDB — Art Direction: Mel Bourne; Set Decoration: Daniel Robert
- The Wiz IMDB — Art Direction: Tony Walton, Philip Rosenberg; Set Decoration: Edward Stewart, Robert Drumheller
Cinematography
Costume Design
Best Director
- ★ The Deer Hunter IMDB — Michael Cimino
- Coming Home IMDB — Hal Ashby
- Heaven Can Wait IMDB — Warren Beatty, Buck Henry
- Interiors IMDB — Woody Allen
- Midnight Express IMDB — Alan Parker
Documentary Feature
- ★ Scared Straight! IMDB — Arnold Shapiro, Producer
- The Lovers' Wind IMDB — Albert Lamorisse, Producer
- Mysterious Castles of Clay IMDB — Alan Root, Producer
- Raoni IMDB — Jean-Pierre Dutilleux, Barry Williams and Michel Gast, Producers
- With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade IMDB — Anne Bohlen, Lyn Goldfarb and Lorraine Gray, Producers
Documentary Short Subject
- ★ The Flight of the Gossamer Condor IMDB — Jacqueline Phillips Shedd and Ben Shedd, Producers
- The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey IMDB — Jerry Aronson, Producer
- An Encounter with Faces IMDB — K.K. Kapil, Producer
- Goodnight Miss Ann IMDB — August Cinquegrana, Producer
- Squires of San Quentin IMDB — J. Gary Mitchell, Producer
Film Editing
International Feature Film
- ★ Get Out Your Handkerchiefs IMDB — France
- The Glass Cell IMDB — German Federal Republic
- Hungarians IMDB — Hungary
- Viva Italia! IMDB — Italy
- White Bim Black Ear IMDB — Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Original Score
Original Song
- ★ Thank God It's Friday IMDB — Music and Lyrics by Paul JabaraLast Dance
- Grease IMDB — Music and Lyrics by John FarrarHopelessly Devoted To You
- Same Time, Next Year IMDB — Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn BergmanThe Last Time I Felt Like This
- Foul Play IMDB — Music by Charles Fox; Lyrics by Norman GimbelReady To Take A Chance Again
- The Magic of Lassie IMDB — Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. ShermanWhen You're Loved
Music (Original Song Score or Adaptation Score)
Animated Short Film
- ★ Special Delivery IMDB — Eunice Macaulay and John Weldon, Producers
- Oh My Darling IMDB — Nico Crama, Producer
- Rip Van Winkle IMDB — Will Vinton, Producer
Live Action Short Film
- ★ Teenage Father IMDB — Taylor Hackford, Producer
- A Different Approach IMDB — Jim Belcher and Fern Field, Producers
- Mandy's Grandmother IMDB — Andrew Sugerman, Producer
- Strange Fruit IMDB — Seth Pinsker, Producer
Sound Mixing
- ★ The Deer Hunter IMDB — Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin, Darin Knight
- The Buddy Holly Story IMDB — Tex Rudloff, Joel Fein, Curly Thirlwell, Willie Burton
- Days of Heaven IMDB — John K. Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass, Jr., John T. Reitz, Barry Thomas
- Hooper IMDB — Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Don MacDougall, Jack Solomon
- Superman IMDB — Gordon K. McCallum, Graham Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Roy Charman
Special Achievement Award (Visual Effects)
Adapted Screenplay
- ★ Midnight Express IMDB — Oliver Stone
- Bloodbrothers IMDB — Walter Newman
- California Suite IMDB — Neil Simon
- Heaven Can Wait IMDB — Elaine May, Warren Beatty
- Same Time, Next Year IMDB — Bernard Slade
Original Screenplay
- ★ Coming Home IMDB — Story by Nancy Dowd; Screenplay by Waldo Salt, Robert C. Jones
- Autumn Sonata IMDB — Ingmar Bergman
- The Deer Hunter IMDB — Story by Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker; Screenplay by Deric Washburn
- Interiors IMDB — Woody Allen
- An Unmarried Woman IMDB — Paul Mazursky
Nominated films and other recorded entries
48 films represented in the 1978 archive selection.
- A Different Approach
- An Encounter with Faces
- An Unmarried Woman
- Autumn Sonata
- Bloodbrothers
- California Suite
- Caravans
- Comes a Horseman
- Coming Home
- Days of Heaven
- Death on the Nile
- Foul Play
- Get Out Your Handkerchiefs
- Goodnight Miss Ann
- Grease
- Heaven Can Wait
- Hooper
- Hungarians
- Interiors
- Mandy's Grandmother
- Midnight Express
- Mysterious Castles of Clay
- Oh My Darling
- Pretty Baby
- Raoni
- Rip Van Winkle
- Same Time, Next Year
- Scared Straight!
- Special Delivery
- Squires of San Quentin
- Strange Fruit
- Superman
- Teenage Father
- Thank God It's Friday
- The Boys from Brazil
- The Brink's Job
- The Buddy Holly Story
- The Deer Hunter
- The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey
- The Flight of the Gossamer Condor
- The Glass Cell
- The Lovers' Wind
- The Magic of Lassie
- The Swarm
- The Wiz
- Viva Italia!
- White Bim Black Ear
- With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade
About these award records
This independent archive groups film-linked award records by film, credited name, category and eligibility year. The film year can differ from the year the ceremony took place. Ceremony numbers are shown where supplied by the records.
Each distinct performance, song or award credit remains a separate record, even when it belongs to the same film. Shared credits stay together. A person's page covers the name shown, without combining aliases or shared credits into a complete career total.
Totals can include honorary, special and historical awards alongside competitive nominations. Awards without a linked film are outside these page totals. Source notes and uncertain records are retained; category comparisons omit groups with unresolved notes, ties or conflicting identities.
For the official record, search the Academy Awards Database (opens in a new tab). Award Went To is an independent exploration tool and is not affiliated with the Academy.