The 61st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1988 and took place on March 29, 1989, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Allan Carr and directed by Jeff Margolis. Ten days earlier, in a ceremony held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Angie Dickinson.

Rain Man won four awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Who Framed Roger Rabbit with four awards, Dangerous Liaisons with three, and The Accused, The Accidental Tourist, A Fish Called Wanda, The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, Beetlejuice, Bird, Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, The Milagro Beanfield War, Mississippi Burning, Pelle the Conqueror, Tin Toy, Working Girl, and You Don't Have to Die with one award each.

The telecast drew in over 42 million viewers in the United States, making it the most-viewed ceremony up to that point, until it was surpassed by the 70th Academy Awards in 1998, which garnered a viewership of over 57 million. The ceremony featured changes such as the introduction of the phrase "And the Oscar goes to..." and the absence of a traditional host. The ceremony's opening number, featuring Snow White and Rob Lowe, received heavy criticism. Allan Carr faced significant backlash, leading the Academy to form a committee to address the criticisms and evaluate the ceremony's production.

Winners and nominees The nominees for the 61st Academy Awards were announced on February 15, 1989, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Richard Kahn, president of the Academy, and actress Anne Archer. Rain Man led all nominees, with eight; Dangerous Liaisons and Mississippi Burning tied for second with seven each.

The winners were announced at the award ceremony on March 29, 1989. Best Actress winner Jodie Foster became the eighth person in history to win the aforementioned category for a film with a single nomination. The last person to achieve this feat was Sophia Loren when she won for Two Women in 1961. Best Actor winner Dustin Hoffman was the fifth person to win the aforementioned category twice. Sigourney Weaver became the fifth performer to receive two acting nominations in the same year but did not win in either category. John Lasseter and William Reeves won Best Animated Short Film for Tin Toy, which was Pixar's first Oscar ever and the first CGI film to win an Oscar.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Rain Man – Mark Johnson, producer The Accidental Tourist – Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Okun, and Michael Grillo, producers Dangerous Liaisons – Norma Heyman and Hank Moonjean, producers Mississippi Burning – Frederick Zollo and Robert F. Colesberry, producers Working Girl – Douglas Wick, producer | valign="top" |

Barry Levinson – Rain Man Charles Crichton – A Fish Called Wanda Martin Scorsese – The Last Temptation of Christ Alan Parker – Mississippi Burning Mike Nichols – Working GirlDustin Hoffman – Rain Man as Raymond Babbitt Gene Hackman – Mississippi Burning as Agent Rupert Anderson Tom Hanks – Big as Josh Baskin Edward James Olmos – Stand and Deliver as Jaime Escalante Max von Sydow – Pelle the Conqueror as LassefarJodie Foster – The Accused as Sarah Tobias Glenn Close – Dangerous Liaisons as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil Melanie Griffith – Working Girl as Tess McGill Meryl Streep – A Cry in the Dark as Lindy Chamberlain Sigourney Weaver – Gorillas in the Mist as Dian FosseyKevin Kline – A Fish Called Wanda as Otto West Alec Guinness – Little Dorrit as William Dorrit Martin Landau – Tucker: The Man and His Dream as Abe Karatz River Phoenix – Running on Empty as Danny Pope Dean Stockwell – Married to the Mob as Tony "The Tiger" RussoGeena Davis – The Accidental Tourist as Muriel Pritchett Joan Cusack – Working Girl as Cynthia Frances McDormand – Mississippi Burning as Mrs. Pell Michelle Pfeiffer – Dangerous Liaisons as Madame Marie de Tourvel Sigourney Weaver – Working Girl as Katharine ParkerRain Man – Screenplay by Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow; Story by Barry Morrow Big – Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg Bull Durham – Ron Shelton A Fish Called Wanda – Screenplay by John Cleese; Story by John Cleese and Charles Crichton Running on Empty – Naomi FonerDangerous Liaisons – Christopher Hampton based on the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton and the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos The Accidental Tourist – Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan based on the novel by Anne Tyler Gorillas in the Mist – Screenplay by Anna Hamilton Phelan; Story by Anna Hamilton Phelan and Tab Murphy based on articles by Harold T.P. Hayes and Alex Shoumatoff Little Dorrit – Christine Edzard based on the novel by Charles Dickens The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Jean-Claude Carrière and Philip Kaufman based on the novel by Milan KunderaPelle the Conqueror (Denmark) in Danish – Bille August Hanussen (Hungary) in Hungarian – István Szabó The Music Teacher (Belgium) in French – Gérard Corbiau Salaam Bombay! (India) in Hindi – Mira Nair Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Spain) in Spanish – Pedro AlmodóvarHôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie – Marcel Ophuls The Cry of Reason: Beyers Naude - An Afrikaner Speaks Out – Robert Bilheimer and Ronald Mix Let's Get Lost – Bruce Weber and Nan Bush Promises to Keep – Ginny Durrin Who Killed Vincent Chin? – Renee Tajima and Christine ChoyYou Don't Have to Die – William Guttentag and Malcolm Clarke The Children's Storefront – Karen Goodman Family Gathering – Lise Yasui and Ann Tegnell Gang Cops – Thomas B. Fleming and Daniel J. Marks Portrait of Imogen – Nancy Hale and Meg PartridgeThe Appointments of Dennis Jennings – Dean Parisot and Steven Wright Cadillac Dreams – Matia Karrell and Abbee Goldstein Gullah Tales – George deGolian and Gary MossTin Toy – John Lasseter and William Reeves The Cat Came Back – Cordell Barker Technological Threat – Bill Kroyer and Brian JenningsThe Milagro Beanfield War – Dave Grusin The Accidental Tourist – John Williams Dangerous Liaisons – George Fenton Gorillas in the Mist – Maurice Jarre Rain Man – Hans Zimmer"Let the River Run" from Working Girl – Music and Lyrics by Carly Simon "Calling You" from Bagdad Cafe – Music and Lyrics by Bob Telson "Two Hearts" from Buster – Music by Lamont Dozier; Lyrics by Phil CollinsBird – Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, and Willie D. Burton Die Hard – Don Bassman, Kevin F. Cleary, Richard Overton, and Al Overton Jr. Gorillas in the Mist – Andy Nelson, Brian Saunders, and Peter Handford Mississippi Burning – Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Rick Kline, and Danny Michael Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Robert Knudson, John Boyd, Don Digirolamo, and Tony DaweWho Framed Roger Rabbit – Charles L. Campbell and Louis Edemann Die Hard – Stephen Hunter Flick and Richard Shorr Willow – Ben Burtt and Richard HymnsDangerous Liaisons – Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Gérard James Beaches – Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Garrett Lewis Rain Man – Art Direction: Ida Random; Set Decoration: Linda DeScenna Tucker: The Man and His Dream – Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis; Set Decoration: Armin Ganz Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Art Direction: Elliot Scott; Set Decoration: Peter HowittMississippi Burning – Peter Biziou Rain Man – John Seale Tequila Sunrise – Conrad Hall The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Sven Nykvist Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Dean CundeyBeetlejuice – Ve Neill, Steve La Porte, and Robert Short Coming to America – Rick Baker Scrooged – Thomas R. Burman and Bari Dreiband-BurmanDangerous Liaisons – James Acheson Coming to America – Deborah Nadoolman Landis A Handful of Dust – Jane Robinson Sunset – Patricia Norris Tucker: The Man and His Dream – Milena CanoneroWho Framed Roger Rabbit – Arthur Schmidt Die Hard – Frank J. Urioste and John F. Link Gorillas in the Mist – Stuart Baird Mississippi Burning – Gerry Hambling Rain Man – Stu Linder Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones, and George Gibbs Die Hard – Richard Edlund, Al DiSarro, Brent Boates, and Thaine Morris Willow – Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Phil Tippett, and Chris Evans

Special Achievement Award To Richard Williams for the animation direction of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Honorary Awards To the National Film Board of Canada in recognition of its 50th anniversary and its dedicated commitment to originate artistic, creative and technological activity and excellence in every area of film making. To Eastman Kodak Company in recognition of the company's fundamental contributions to the art of motion pictures during the first century of film history.

Films with multiple nominations and wins

The following 17 films received multiple nominations: Nominations Film 8 Rain Man 7 Dangerous Liaisons Mississippi Burning 6 Who Framed Roger Rabbit Working Girl 5 Gorillas in the Mist 4 The Accidental Tourist Die Hard 3 A Fish Called Wanda Tucker: The Man and His Dream 2 Big Coming to America Little Dorrit Pelle the Conqueror Running on Empty The Unbearable Lightness of Being Willow

The following three films received multiple awards: Awards Film 4 Rain Man 3 Dangerous Liaisons Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Presenters and performers The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers:

Presenters