1987 Film Year: Oscar Winners & Nominees
The AwardWentTo archive contains 101 Academy Award records for the 1987 film year, covering 55 films and including 23 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 Last EmperorJeremy Thomas, Producer
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 Last Emperor
9 wins from 9 award records
- Moonstruck
3 wins from 6 award records
- The Untouchables
1 win from 4 award records
- RoboCop
1 win from 3 award records
- Babette's Feast
1 win from 1 award record
- Dirty Dancing
1 win from 1 award record
Category winners
Select a category to explore its history, or jump to this year's full records.
- ★ Wall Street — Gordon Gekko
- ★ The Untouchables — Jim Malone
- ★ Moonstruck — Loretta Castorini
- ★ Moonstruck — Rose Castorini
- ★ Dirty Dancing — (I've Had) The Time Of My Life
- ★ RoboCop
Nominations and award records by category
Showing 101 of 101 archive records. Gold stars mark winning records.
Best Picture
- ★ The Last Emperor IMDB — Jeremy Thomas, Producer
- Broadcast News IMDB — James L. Brooks, Producer
- Fatal Attraction IMDB — Stanley R. Jaffe and Sherry Lansing, Producers
- Hope and Glory IMDB — John Boorman, Producer
- Moonstruck IMDB — Patrick Palmer and Norman Jewison, Producers
Best Actor
- ★ Wall Street IMDB — Michael DouglasGordon Gekko
- Broadcast News IMDB — William HurtTom Grunick
- Dark Eyes IMDB — Marcello MastroianniRomano
- Ironweed IMDB — Jack NicholsonFrancis Phelan
- Good Morning, Vietnam IMDB — Robin WilliamsAdrian Cronauer
Best Supporting Actor
- ★ The Untouchables IMDB — Sean ConneryJim Malone
- Broadcast News IMDB — Albert BrooksAaron Altman
- Street Smart IMDB — Morgan FreemanFast Black
- Moonstruck IMDB — Vincent GardeniaCosmo Castorini
- Cry Freedom IMDB — Denzel WashingtonSteve Biko
Best Actress
- ★ Moonstruck IMDB — CherLoretta Castorini
- Fatal Attraction IMDB — Glenn CloseAlex Forrest
- Broadcast News IMDB — Holly HunterJane Craig
- Anna IMDB — Sally KirklandAnna
- Ironweed IMDB — Meryl StreepHelen
Best Supporting Actress
- ★ Moonstruck IMDB — Olympia DukakisRose Castorini
- Gaby - A True Story IMDB — Norma AleandroFlorencia
- Fatal Attraction IMDB — Anne ArcherBeth Gallagher
- Throw Momma from the Train IMDB — Anne RamseyMomma
- The Whales of August IMDB — Ann SothernTisha Doughty
Art Direction
- ★ The Last Emperor IMDB — Art Direction: Ferdinando Scarfiotti; Set Decoration: Bruno Cesari, Osvaldo Desideri
- Empire of the Sun IMDB — Art Direction: Norman Reynolds; Set Decoration: Harry Cordwell
- Hope and Glory IMDB — Art Direction: Anthony Pratt; Set Decoration: Joan Woollard
- Radio Days IMDB — Art Direction: Santo Loquasto; Set Decoration: Carol Joffe, Les Bloom, George DeTitta, Jr.
- The Untouchables IMDB — Art Direction: Patrizia Von Brandenstein, William A. Elliott; Set Decoration: Hal Gausman
Cinematography
Costume Design
- ★ The Last Emperor IMDB — James Acheson
- The Dead IMDB — Dorothy Jeakins
- Empire of the Sun IMDB — Bob Ringwood
- Maurice IMDB — Jenny Beavan, John Bright
- The Untouchables IMDB — Marilyn Vance-Straker
Best Director
Documentary Feature
- ★ The Ten-Year Lunch: The Wit and Legend of the Algonquin Round Table IMDB — Aviva Slesin, Producer
- Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years/Bridge to Freedom 1965 IMDB — Callie Crossley and James A. DeVinney, Producers
- Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima IMDB — John Junkerman and John W. Dower, Producers
- Radio Bikini IMDB — Robert Stone, Producer
- A Stitch for Time IMDB — Barbara Herbich and Cyril Christo, Producers
Documentary Short Subject
- ★ Young at Heart IMDB — Sue Marx and Pamela Conn, Producers
- Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller IMDB — Deborah Dickson, Producer
- In the Wee Wee Hours... IMDB — Dr. Frank Daniel and Izak Ben-Meir, Producers
- Language Says It All IMDB — Megan Williams, Producer
- Silver into Gold IMDB — Lynn Mueller, Producer
Film Editing
- ★ The Last Emperor IMDB — Gabriella Cristiani
- Broadcast News IMDB — Richard Marks
- Empire of the Sun IMDB — Michael Kahn
- Fatal Attraction IMDB — Michael Kahn, Peter E. Berger
- RoboCop IMDB — Frank J. Urioste
International Feature Film
- ★ Babette's Feast IMDB — Denmark
- Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children) IMDB — France
- Course Completed IMDB — Spain
- The Family IMDB — Italy
- Pathfinder IMDB — Norway
Makeup and Hairstyling
Original Score
- ★ The Last Emperor IMDB — Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, Cong Su
- Cry Freedom IMDB — George Fenton, Jonas Gwangwa
- Empire of the Sun IMDB — John Williams
- The Untouchables IMDB — Ennio Morricone
- The Witches of Eastwick IMDB — John Williams
Original Song
- ★ Dirty Dancing IMDB — Music by Franke Previte, John DeNicola and Donald Markowitz; Lyric by Franke Previte(I've Had) The Time Of My Life
- Cry Freedom IMDB — Music and Lyric by George Fenton and Jonas GwangwaCry Freedom
- Mannequin IMDB — Music and Lyric by Albert Hammond and Diane WarrenNothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
- Beverly Hills Cop II IMDB — Music by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey; Lyric by Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey and Bob SegerShakedown
- The Princess Bride IMDB — Music and Lyric by Willy DeVilleStorybook Love
Animated Short Film
- ★ The Man Who Planted Trees IMDB — Frédéric Back, Producer
- George and Rosemary IMDB — Eunice Macaulay, Producer
- Your Face IMDB — Bill Plympton, Producer
Live Action Short Film
- ★ Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall IMDB — Jonathan Sanger and Jana Sue Memel, Producers
- Making Waves IMDB — Ann Wingate, Producer
- Shoeshine IMDB — Robert A. Katz, Producer
Sound Mixing
- ★ The Last Emperor IMDB — Bill Rowe, Ivan Sharrock
- Empire of the Sun IMDB — Robert Knudson, Don Digirolamo, John Boyd, Tony Dawe
- Lethal Weapon IMDB — Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, Bill Nelson
- RoboCop IMDB — Michael J. Kohut, Carlos de Larios, Aaron Rochin, Robert Wald
- The Witches of Eastwick IMDB — Wayne Artman, Tom Beckert, Tom Dahl, Art Rochester
Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing)
Visual Effects
- ★ Innerspace IMDB — Dennis Muren, William George, Harley Jessup, Kenneth Smith
- Predator IMDB — Joel Hynek, Robert M. Greenberg, Richard Greenberg, Stan Winston
Adapted Screenplay
- ★ The Last Emperor IMDB — Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci
- The Dead IMDB — Tony Huston
- Fatal Attraction IMDB — James Dearden
- Full Metal Jacket IMDB — Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford
- My Life as a Dog IMDB — Lasse Hallström, Reidar Jönsson, Brasse Brännström, Per Berglund
Original Screenplay
Nominated films and other recorded entries
55 films represented in the 1987 archive selection.
- A Stitch for Time
- Anna
- Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children)
- Babette's Feast
- Beverly Hills Cop II
- Broadcast News
- Course Completed
- Cry Freedom
- Dark Eyes
- Dirty Dancing
- Empire of the Sun
- Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years/Bridge to Freedom 1965
- Fatal Attraction
- Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller
- Full Metal Jacket
- Gaby - A True Story
- George and Rosemary
- Good Morning, Vietnam
- Happy New Year
- Harry and the Hendersons
- Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima
- Hope and Glory
- In the Wee Wee Hours...
- Innerspace
- Ironweed
- Language Says It All
- Lethal Weapon
- Making Waves
- Mannequin
- Matewan
- Maurice
- Moonstruck
- My Life as a Dog
- Pathfinder
- Predator
- Radio Bikini
- Radio Days
- Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall
- RoboCop
- Shoeshine
- Silver into Gold
- Street Smart
- The Dead
- The Family
- The Last Emperor
- The Man Who Planted Trees
- The Princess Bride
- The Ten-Year Lunch: The Wit and Legend of the Algonquin Round Table
- The Untouchables
- The Whales of August
- The Witches of Eastwick
- Throw Momma from the Train
- Wall Street
- Young at Heart
- Your Face
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.