1987 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

51 films were recognised at the 1987 Academy Awards, across 23 categories. 16 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Platoon, with 4 awards, ahead of Hannah and Her Sisters with 3. The categories below run from Actor in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role and Actress in a Leading 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

Actor in a Leading Role

The Color of Money(1986)
Paul Newman
Winner
'Round Midnight(1986)
Dexter Gordon
Children of a Lesser God(1986)
William Hurt
Mona Lisa(1986)
Bob Hoskins
Salvador(1986)
James Woods

Actor in a Supporting Role

Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Michael Caine
Winner
A Room with a View(1986)
Denholm Elliott
Hoosiers(1986)
Dennis Hopper
Platoon(1986)
Tom Berenger
Platoon(1986)
Willem Dafoe

Actress in a Leading Role

Children of a Lesser God(1986)
Marlee Matlin
Winner
Aliens(1986)
Sigourney Weaver
Crimes of the Heart(1986)
Sissy Spacek
Peggy Sue Got Married(1986)
Kathleen Turner
The Morning After(1986)
Jane Fonda

Actress in a Supporting Role

Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Dianne Wiest
Winner
A Room with a View(1986)
Maggie Smith
Children of a Lesser God(1986)
Piper Laurie
Crimes of the Heart(1986)
Tess Harper
The Color of Money(1986)
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Art Direction

A Room with a View(1986)
Art Direction: Gianni Quaranta, Brian Ackland-Snow; Set Decoration: Brian Savegar, Elio Altamura
Winner
Aliens(1986)
Art Direction: Peter Lamont; Set Decoration: Crispian Sallis
Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Art Direction: Stuart Wurtzel; Set Decoration: Carol Joffe
The Color of Money(1986)
Art Direction: Boris Leven; Set Decoration: Karen A. O'Hara
The Mission(1986)
Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Jack Stephens

Best Picture

Platoon(1986)
Arnold Kopelson, Producer
Winner
A Room with a View(1986)
Ismail Merchant, Producer
Children of a Lesser God(1986)
Burt Sugarman and Patrick Palmer, Producers
Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Robert Greenhut, Producer
The Mission(1986)
Fernando Ghia and David Puttnam, Producers

Cinematography

The Mission(1986)
Chris Menges
Winner
A Room with a View(1986)
Tony Pierce-Roberts
Peggy Sue Got Married(1986)
Jordan Cronenweth
Platoon(1986)
Robert Richardson
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home(1986)
Don Peterman

Costume Design

A Room with a View(1986)
Jenny Beavan, John Bright
Winner
Otello(1986)
Anna Anni, Maurizio Millenotti
Peggy Sue Got Married(1986)
Theadora Van Runkle
Pirates(1986)
Anthony Powell
The Mission(1986)
Enrico Sabbatini

Directing

Platoon(1986)
Oliver Stone
Winner
A Room with a View(1986)
James Ivory
Blue Velvet(1986)
David Lynch
Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Woody Allen
The Mission(1986)
Roland Joffé

Documentary (Feature)

Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got(1985)
Brigitte Berman, Producer
Winner
Down and Out in America(1985)
Joseph Feury and Milton Justice, Producers
Winner
Chile: Hasta Cuando?(1986)
David Bradbury, Producer
Isaac in America: A Journey with Isaac Bashevis Singer(1986)
Kirk Simon and Amram Nowak, Producers
Witness to Apartheid(1986)
Sharon I. Sopher, Producer

Documentary (Short Subject)

Women - For America, For the World(1986)
Vivienne Verdon-Roe, Producer
Winner
Debonair Dancers(1986)
Alison Nigh-Strelich, Producer
Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse(1986)
Thomas L. Neff and Madeline Bell, Producers
Sam(1986)
Aaron D. Weisblatt, Producer
The Masters of Disaster(1986)
Sonya Friedman, Producer

Film Editing

Platoon(1986)
Claire Simpson
Winner
Aliens(1986)
Ray Lovejoy
Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Susan E. Morse
The Mission(1986)
Jim Clark
Top Gun(1986)
Billy Weber, Chris Lebenzon

International Feature Film

The Assault(1986)
The Netherlands
Winner
'38 - Vienna Before the Fall(1986)
Austria
Betty Blue(1986)
France
My Sweet Little Village(1985)
Czechoslovakia
The Decline of the American Empire(1986)
Canada

Music (Original Score)

'Round Midnight(1986)
Herbie Hancock
Winner
Aliens(1986)
James Horner
Hoosiers(1986)
Jerry Goldsmith
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home(1986)
Leonard Rosenman
The Mission(1986)
Ennio Morricone

Music (Original Song)

Top Gun(1986)
Take My Breath Away in "Top Gun" Music by Giorgio Moroder; Lyric by Tom Whitlock
Winner
An American Tail(1986)
Somewhere Out There in "An American Tail" Music by James Horner and Barry Mann; Lyric by Cynthia Weil
Little Shop of Horrors(1986)
Mean Green Mother From Outer Space in "Little Shop of Horrors" Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Howard Ashman
That's Life!(1986)
Life In A Looking Glass in "That's Life" Music by Henry Mancini; Lyric by Leslie Bricusse
The Karate Kid Part II(1986)
Glory Of Love in "The Karate Kid Part II" Music by Peter Cetera and David Foster; Lyric by Peter Cetera and Diane Nini

Sound

Platoon(1986)
John K. Wilkinson, Richard Rogers, Charles "Bud" Grenzbach, Simon Kaye
Winner
Aliens(1986)
Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter, Roy Charman
Heartbreak Ridge(1986)
Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, William Nelson
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home(1986)
Terry Porter, Dave Hudson, Mel Metcalfe, Gene S. Cantamessa
Top Gun(1986)
Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O'Connell, Rick Kline, William B. Kaplan

Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)

Hannah and Her Sisters(1986)
Woody Allen
Winner
Crocodile Dundee(1986)
Screenplay by Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, John Cornell; Story by Paul Hogan
My Beautiful Laundrette(1985)
Hanif Kureishi
Platoon(1986)
Oliver Stone
Salvador(1986)
Oliver Stone, Richard Boyle

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

A Room with a View(1986)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Winner
Children of a Lesser God(1986)
Hesper Anderson, Mark Medoff
Crimes of the Heart(1986)
Beth Henley
Stand by Me(1986)
Raynold Gideon, Bruce A. Evans
The Color of Money(1986)
Richard Price

Makeup

The Fly(1986)
Chris Walas, Stephan Dupuis
Winner
Legend(1985)
Rob Bottin, Peter Robb-King
The Clan of the Cave Bear(1986)
"The Clan of the Cave Bear" Michael G. Westmore, Michèle Burke

Short Film (Animated)

A Greek Tragedy(1985)
Linda Van Tulden and Willem Thijssen, Producers
Winner
Luxo Jr.(1986)
John Lasseter and William Reeves, Producers
The Frog, the Dog, and the Devil(1986)
Bob Stenhouse, Producer

Sound Effects Editing

Aliens(1986)
Don Sharpe
Winner
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home(1986)
Mark Mangini
Top Gun(1986)
Cecelia Hall, George Watters II

Visual Effects

Aliens(1986)
Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, Suzanne Benson
Winner
Little Shop of Horrors(1986)
Lyle Conway, Bran Ferren, Martin Gutteridge
Poltergeist II: The Other Side(1986)
Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Garry Waller, William Neil

Short Film (Live Action)

Precious Images(1986)
Chuck Workman, Producer
Winner
Love Struck(1986)
Fredda Weiss, Producer