1989 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

53 films were recognised at the 1989 Academy Awards, across 24 categories. 16 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Rain Man, with 4 awards, ahead of Who Framed Roger Rabbit with 4. 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

Rain Man(1988)
Dustin Hoffman
Winner
Big(1988)
Tom Hanks
Mississippi Burning(1988)
Gene Hackman
Pelle the Conqueror(1987)
Max von Sydow
Stand and Deliver(1988)
Edward James Olmos

Actor in a Supporting Role

A Fish Called Wanda(1988)
Kevin Kline
Winner
Little Dorrit(1987)
Alec Guinness
Married to the Mob(1988)
Dean Stockwell
Running on Empty(1988)
River Phoenix
Tucker: The Man and His Dream(1988)
Martin Landau

Actress in a Leading Role

The Accused(1988)
Jodie Foster
Winner
Dangerous Liaisons(1988)
Glenn Close
Evil Angels(1988)
Meryl Streep
Gorillas in the Mist(1988)
Sigourney Weaver
Working Girl(1988)
Melanie Griffith

Actress in a Supporting Role

The Accidental Tourist(1988)
Geena Davis
Winner
Dangerous Liaisons(1988)
Michelle Pfeiffer
Mississippi Burning(1988)
Frances McDormand
Working Girl(1988)
Joan Cusack
Working Girl(1988)
Sigourney Weaver

Art Direction

Dangerous Liaisons(1988)
Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Gerard James
Winner
Beaches(1988)
Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Garrett Lewis
Rain Man(1988)
Art Direction: Ida Random; Set Decoration: Linda DeScenna
Tucker: The Man and His Dream(1988)
Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis; Set Decoration: Armin Ganz
Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Art Direction: Elliot Scott; Set Decoration: Peter Howitt

Best Picture

Rain Man(1988)
Mark Johnson, Producer
Winner
Dangerous Liaisons(1988)
Norma Heyman and Hank Moonjean, Producers
Mississippi Burning(1988)
Frederick Zollo and Robert F. Colesberry, Producers
The Accidental Tourist(1988)
Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Okun and Michael Grillo, Producers
Working Girl(1988)
Douglas Wick, Producer

Cinematography

Mississippi Burning(1988)
Peter Biziou
Winner
Rain Man(1988)
John Seale
Tequila Sunrise(1988)
Conrad L. Hall
The Unbearable Lightness of Being(1988)
Sven Nykvist
Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Dean Cundey

Costume Design

Dangerous Liaisons(1988)
James Acheson
Winner
A Handful of Dust(1988)
Jane Robinson
Coming to America(1988)
Deborah Nadoolman
Sunset(1988)
Patricia Norris
Tucker: The Man and His Dream(1988)
Milena Canonero

Directing

Rain Man(1988)
Barry Levinson
Winner
A Fish Called Wanda(1988)
Charles Crichton
Mississippi Burning(1988)
Alan Parker
The Last Temptation of Christ(1988)
Martin Scorsese
Working Girl(1988)
Mike Nichols

Documentary (Feature)

Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie(1988)
Marcel Ophuls, Producer
Winner
Let's Get Lost(1988)
Bruce Weber and Nan Bush, Producers
Promises to Keep(1988)
Ginny Durrin, Producer
The Cry of Reason: Beyers Naude – An Afrikaner Speaks Out(1988)
Robert Bilheimer and Ronald Mix, Producers
Who Killed Vincent Chin?(1987)
Renee Tajima and Christine Choy, Producers

Documentary (Short Subject)

You Don't Have to Die(1988)
William Guttentag and Malcolm Clarke, Producers
Winner
A Family Gathering(1988)
Lise Yasui and Ann Tegnell, Producers
Gang Cops(1987)
Thomas B. Fleming and Daniel J. Marks, Producers
Portrait of Imogen(1988)
Nancy Hale and Meg Partridge, Producers
The Children's Storefront(1988)
Karen Goodman, Producer

Film Editing

Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Arthur Schmidt
Winner
Die Hard(1988)
Frank J. Urioste, John F. Link
Gorillas in the Mist(1988)
Stuart Baird
Mississippi Burning(1988)
Gerry Hambling
Rain Man(1988)
Stu Linder

International Feature Film

Pelle the Conqueror(1987)
Denmark
Winner
Hanussen(1988)
Hungary
Salaam Bombay!(1988)
India
The Music Teacher(1988)
Belgium
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown(1988)
Spain

Music (Original Score)

The Milagro Beanfield War(1988)
Dave Grusin
Winner
Dangerous Liaisons(1988)
George Fenton
Gorillas in the Mist(1988)
Maurice Jarre
Rain Man(1988)
Hans Zimmer
The Accidental Tourist(1988)
John Williams

Sound

Bird(1988)
Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, Willie D. Burton
Winner
Die Hard(1988)
Don Bassman, Kevin F. Cleary, Richard Overton, Al Overton
Gorillas in the Mist(1988)
Andy Nelson, Brian Saunders, Peter Handford
Mississippi Burning(1988)
Robert Litt, Elliot Tyson, Rick Kline, Danny Michael
Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Robert Knudson, John Boyd, Don Digirolamo, Tony Dawe

Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)

Rain Man(1988)
Screenplay by Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow; Story by Barry Morrow
Winner
A Fish Called Wanda(1988)
Screenplay by John Cleese; Story by John Cleese, Charles Crichton
Big(1988)
Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg
Bull Durham(1988)
Ron Shelton
Running on Empty(1988)
Naomi Foner

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

Dangerous Liaisons(1988)
Christopher Hampton
Winner
Gorillas in the Mist(1988)
Screenplay by Anna Hamilton Phelan; Story by Anna Hamilton Phelan, Tab Murphy
Little Dorrit(1987)
Christine Edzard
The Accidental Tourist(1988)
Frank Galati, Lawrence Kasdan
The Unbearable Lightness of Being(1988)
"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" Jean-Claude Carrière, Philip Kaufman

Makeup

Beetlejuice(1988)
Ve Neill, Steve La Porte, Robert Short
Winner
Coming to America(1988)
Rick Baker
Scrooged(1988)
Tom Burman, Bari Dreiband-Burman

Music (Original Song)

Working Girl(1988)
Let The River Run in "Working Girl" Music and Lyric by Carly Simon
Winner
Bagdad Cafe(1987)
Calling You in "Bagdad Cafe" Music and Lyric by Bob Telson
Buster(1988)
Two Hearts in "Buster" Music by Lamont Dozier; Lyric by Phil Collins

Short Film (Animated)

Tin Toy(1988)
John Lasseter, William Reeves
Winner
Technological Threat(1988)
Bill Kroyer, Brian Jennings
The Cat Came Back(1988)
Cordell Barker

Short Film (Live Action)

The Appointments of Dennis Jennings(1988)
Dean Parisot, Steven Wright
Winner
Cadillac Dreams(1988)
Matia Karrell, Abbee Goldstein
Gullah Tales(1988)
George deGolian, Gary Moss

Sound Effects Editing

Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Charles L. Campbell, Louis L. Edemann
Winner
Die Hard(1988)
Stephen H. Flick, Richard Shorr
Willow(1988)
Ben Burtt, Richard Hymns

Visual Effects

Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones, George Gibbs
Winner
Die Hard(1988)
Richard Edlund, Al DiSarro, Brent Boates, Thaine Morris
Willow(1988)
Dennis Muren, Michael McAlister, Phil Tippett, Chris Evans

Special Achievement Award

Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)
Special Award
Winner