Starting in 1995, major awards collectively from the four most prestigious American film major guilds' associations:
Writers Guild of America Awards (WGA) - (both Adapted and Original) Producers Guild of America Awards (PGA) Directors Guild of America Awards (DGA) Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) - (Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture only)
Similar to the film critics' awards, these four guilds' awards in a single (or more than once) film/s secure its wins significantly increase its chances to the eventual winner of the Academy Awards, often seen as a strong indicator of future award success.
As of 2025, American Beauty, No Country for Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, Argo and Everything Everywhere All at Once are the only five films to have won all four guilds' awards and ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture at their respective annual years.
Winners YearWGAPGADGASAGBest Picture winnerTotal1995Sense and Sensibility (Adapted) Braveheart (Original)Apollo 13BraveheartApollo 13 (3)1996Sling Blade (Adapted) Fargo (Original)The English PatientThe BirdcageThe English PatientThe English Patient (2)1997L.A. Confidential (Adapted) As Good As It Gets (Original)TitanicThe Full MontyTitanicTitanic (2)1998Out of Sight (Adapted) Shakespeare in Love (Original)Saving Private RyanShakespeare in LoveSaving Private Ryan / Shakespeare in Love (2)1999Election (Adapted) American Beauty (Original)American BeautyAmerican Beauty (4)2000Traffic (Adapted) You Can Count on Me (Original)GladiatorCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonTrafficGladiatorTraffic (2)2001A Beautiful Mind (Adapted) Gosford Park (Original)Moulin Rouge!A Beautiful MindGosford ParkA Beautiful MindA Beautiful Mind (3)2002The Hours (Adapted) Bowling for Columbine (Original)ChicagoChicago (3)2003American Splendor (Adapted) Lost in Translation (Original)The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (3)2004Sideways (Adapted) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Original)The AviatorMillion Dollar BabySidewaysMillion Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby / Sideways (2)2005Brokeback Mountain (Adapted) Crash (Original)Brokeback MountainCrashBrokeback Mountain (3)2006The Departed (Adapted) Little Miss Sunshine (Original)Little Miss SunshineThe DepartedLittle Miss SunshineThe DepartedLittle Miss Sunshine (3)2007No Country for Old Men (Adapted) Juno (Original)No Country for Old MenNo Country for Old Men (4)2008Slumdog Millionaire (Adapted) Milk (Original)Slumdog MillionaireSlumdog Millionaire (4)2009Up in the Air (Adapted) The Hurt Locker (Original)The Hurt LockerInglourious BasterdsThe Hurt LockerThe Hurt Locker (3)2010The Social Network (Adapted) Inception (Original)The King's SpeechThe King's Speech (3)2011The Descendants (Adapted) Midnight in Paris (Original)The ArtistThe HelpThe ArtistThe Artist (2)2012Argo (Adapted) Zero Dark Thirty (Original)ArgoArgo (4)2013Captain Philips (Adapted) Her (Original)12 Years a Slave GravityGravityAmerican Hustle12 Years a SlaveGravity (2)2014The Imitation Game (Adapted) The Grand Budapest Hotel (Original)BirdmanBirdman (3)2015The Big Short (Adapted) Spotlight (Original)The Big ShortThe RevenantSpotlightThe Big Short / Spotlight (2)2016Arrival (Adapted) Moonlight (Original)La La LandHidden FiguresMoonlightLa La Land (2)2017Call Me by Your Name (Adapted) Get Out (Original)The Shape of WaterThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, MissouriThe Shape of WaterThe Shape of Water (2)2018Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Adapted) Eighth Grade (Original)Green BookRomaBlack PantherGreen BookFive films each received one award2019Jojo Rabbit (Adapted) Parasite (Original)1917Parasite1917 / Parasite (2)2020Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Adapted) Promising Young Woman (Original)NomadlandThe Trial of the Chicago 7NomadlandNomadland (2)2021CODA (Adapted) Don't Look Up (Original)CODAThe Power of the DogCODACODA (3)2022Women Talking (Adapted) Everything Everywhere All at Once (Original)Everything Everywhere All at OnceEverything Everywhere All at Once (4)2023American Fiction (Adapted) The Holdovers (Original)OppenheimerOppenheimer (3)2024Nickel Boys (Adapted) Anora (Original)AnoraConclaveAnoraAnora (3)
Milestones
Three awards All five films have won three awards (PGA, DGA, SAG) and also Best Picture but failed to win the Writers Guild of America Awards for categories. These included Chicago, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The King's Speech, Birdman, and Oppenheimer; The Return of the King, The King's Speech and Birdman instead winning the Academy Award for writing categories. Apollo 13 is the only film to win all three but failed both to win Best Picture and WGA.
PGA and DGA Since 1990, both PGA and DGA are extremely attached each other can have a high possibility of chances to the eventual winner of Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Directing. With the exception of first four films (1990–1994), only twenty-three films have won two out of four guilds' awards with the remaining fifteen also win both Best Picture and Directing; each five films have won overall with the most consecutive years (2007–2011). The remaining eight films failed to win Best Picture or Directing: exceptional films did not win Best Picture including Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Brokeback Mountain, Gravity, La La Land and 1917; exceptional films did not win Best Directing including Apollo 13, Chicago, Argo, and 1917; only Apollo 13 and 1917 are the only films failed to win Academy Awards.
See also
Big Five (Academy Awards)
References