1978 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

49 films were recognised at the 1978 Academy Awards, across 24 categories. 12 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Star Wars, with 7 awards, ahead of Annie Hall with 4. The categories below run from Music (Original Score), Actor in a Leading Role and Actor in a Supporting Role to the smaller prizes, and in every one the winner is listed first, followed by the other nominees.

Each title links to the film's full award history at all four awards, and the links at the bottom step to the previous and next ceremony.

Last updated August 12, 2026

Music (Original Score)

Star Wars(1977)
John Williams
Winner
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
John Williams
Julia(1977)
Georges Delerue
The Message (Mohammad - Messenger of God)(1976)
Maurice Jarre
The Message (Mohammad - Messenger of God)(1976)
Mohammad - Messenger of God
The Spy Who Loved Me(1977)
Marvin Hamlisch

Actor in a Leading Role

The Goodbye Girl(1977)
Richard Dreyfuss
Winner
A Special Day(1977)
Marcello Mastroianni
Annie Hall(1977)
Woody Allen
Equus(1977)
Richard Burton
Saturday Night Fever(1977)
John Travolta

Actor in a Supporting Role

Julia(1977)
Jason Robards
Winner
Equus(1977)
Peter Firth
Julia(1977)
Maximilian Schell
Star Wars(1977)
Alec Guinness
The Turning Point(1977)
Mikhail Baryshnikov

Actress in a Leading Role

Annie Hall(1977)
Diane Keaton
Winner
Julia(1977)
Jane Fonda
The Goodbye Girl(1977)
Marsha Mason
The Turning Point(1977)
Anne Bancroft
The Turning Point(1977)
Shirley MacLaine

Actress in a Supporting Role

Julia(1977)
Vanessa Redgrave
Winner
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Melinda Dillon
Looking for Mr. Goodbar(1977)
Tuesday Weld
The Goodbye Girl(1977)
Quinn Cummings
The Turning Point(1977)
Leslie Browne

Art Direction

Star Wars(1977)
Art Direction: John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley; Set Decoration: Roger Christian
Winner
Airport '77(1977)
Art Direction: George C. Webb; Set Decoration: Mickey S. Michaels
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Art Direction: Joe Alves, Dan Lomino; Set Decoration: Phil Abramson
The Spy Who Loved Me(1977)
Art Direction: Ken Adam, Peter Lamont; Set Decoration: Hugh Scaife
The Turning Point(1977)
Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Marvin March

Best Picture

Annie Hall(1977)
Charles H. Joffe, Producer
Winner
Julia(1977)
Richard Roth, Producer
Star Wars(1977)
Gary Kurtz, Producer
The Goodbye Girl(1977)
Ray Stark, Producer
The Turning Point(1977)
Herbert Ross and Arthur Laurents, Producers

Cinematography

Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Vilmos Zsigmond
Winner
Islands in the Stream(1977)
Fred J. Koenekamp
Julia(1977)
Douglas Slocombe
Looking for Mr. Goodbar(1977)
William A. Fraker
The Turning Point(1977)
Robert Surtees

Costume Design

Star Wars(1977)
John Mollo
Winner
A Little Night Music(1977)
Florence Klotz
Airport '77(1977)
Edith Head, Burton Miller
Julia(1977)
Anthea Sylbert
The Other Side of Midnight(1977)
Irene Sharaff

Directing

Annie Hall(1977)
Woody Allen
Winner
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Steven Spielberg
Julia(1977)
Fred Zinnemann
Star Wars(1977)
George Lucas
The Turning Point(1977)
Herbert Ross

Documentary (Feature)

Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?(1977)
John Korty, Dan McCann and Warren L. Lockhart, Producers
Winner
High Grass Circus(1976)
Bill Brind, Torben Schioler and Tony Ianzelo, Producers
Homage to Chagall: The Colours of Love(1977)
Harry Rasky, Producer
The Children of Theatre Street(1977)
Robert Dornhelm and Earle Mack, Producers
Union Maids(1976)
James Klein, Julia Reichert and Miles Mogulescu, Producers

Documentary (Short Subject)

Gravity Is My Enemy(1977)
John Joseph and Jan Stussy, Producers
Winner
Agueda Martinez: Our People, Our Country(1977)
Moctesuma Esparza, Producer
First Edition(1977)
Helen Whitney and DeWitt L. Sage, Jr., Producers
Of Time, Tombs and Treasures(1977)
James R. Messenger and Paul N. Raimondi, Producers
The Shetland Experience(1977)
Douglas Gordon, Producer

Film Editing

Star Wars(1977)
Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, Richard Chew
Winner
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Michael Kahn
Julia(1977)
Walter Murch
Smokey and the Bandit(1977)
Walter Hannemann, Angelo Ross
The Turning Point(1977)
William Reynolds

International Feature Film

Madame Rosa(1977)
France
Winner
A Special Day(1977)
Italy
Iphigenia(1977)
Greece
Operation Thunderbolt(1977)
Israel
That Obscure Object of Desire(1977)
Spain

Music (Original Song)

You Light Up My Life(1977)
You Light Up My Life in "You Light Up My Life" Music and Lyrics by Joseph Brooks
Winner
Pete's Dragon(1977)
Candle On The Water in "Pete's Dragon" Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
The Rescuers(1977)
Someone's Waiting For You in "The Rescuers" Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins
The Slipper and the Rose(1976)
The Slipper And The Rose Waltz (He Danced With Me/She Danced With Me) in "The Slipper and the Rose--The Story of Cinderella" Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
The Spy Who Loved Me(1977)
Nobody Does It Better in "The Spy Who Loved Me" Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager

Short Film (Animated)

The Sand Castle(1977)
Co Hoedeman, Producer
Winner
A Doonesbury Special (The Doonesbury Special)(1977)
John Hubley, Faith Hubley and Garry Trudeau, Producers
A Doonesbury Special (The Doonesbury Special)(1977)
The Doonesbury Special
Jimmy the C(1977)
James Picker, Robert Grossman and Craig Whitaker, Producers
The Bead Game(1977)
Ishu Patel, Producer

Short Film (Live Action)

I'll Find a Way(1977)
Beverly Shaffer and Yuki Yoshida, Producers
Winner
Floating Free(1978)
Jerry Butts, Producer
Notes on the Popular Arts(1978)
Saul Bass, Producer
Spaceborne(1977)
Philip Dauber, Producer
The Absent-Minded Waiter(1977)
William E. McEuen, Producer

Sound

Star Wars(1977)
Don MacDougall, Ray West, Bob Minkler, Derek Ball
Winner
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Don MacDougall, Gene S. Cantamessa
Sorcerer(1977)
Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Richard Tyler, Jean-Louis Ducarme
The Deep(1977)
Walter Goss, Dick Alexander, Tom Beckert, Robin Gregory
The Turning Point(1977)
Theodore Soderberg, Paul Wells, Douglas O. Williams, Jerry Jost

Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen--based on factual material or on story material not previously published or produced)

Annie Hall(1977)
Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Winner
Star Wars(1977)
George Lucas
The Goodbye Girl(1977)
Neil Simon
The Late Show(1977)
Robert Benton
The Turning Point(1977)
Arthur Laurents

Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium)

Julia(1977)
Alvin Sargent
Winner
Equus(1977)
Peter Shaffer
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden(1977)
Gavin Lambert, Lewis John Carlino
Oh, God!(1977)
Larry Gelbart
That Obscure Object of Desire(1977)
Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière

Music (Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score)

A Little Night Music(1977)
Adaptation Score by Jonathan Tunick
Winner
Pete's Dragon(1977)
Song Score by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn; Adaptation Score by Irwin Kostal
The Slipper and the Rose(1976)
Song Score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman; Adaptation Score by Angela Morley

Visual Effects

Star Wars(1977)
John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, Robert Blalack
Winner
Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Roy Arbogast, Douglas Trumbull, Matthew Yuricich, Gregory Jein, Richard Yuricich

Special Achievement Award

Star Wars(1977)
Special Award
Winner

Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)
Frank E. Warner
Winner