2003 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

52 films were recognised at the 2003 Academy Awards, across 24 categories. 15 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Chicago, with 6 awards, ahead of The Pianist with 3. The categories below run from Short Film (Live Action), 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

Short Film (Live Action)

This Charming Man(2002)
Martin Strange-Hansen, Mie Andreasen
Winner
Gridlock (Fait D'Hiver)(2001)
Fait D'Hiver
Gridlock (Fait D'Hiver)(2001)
Fait d'Hiver
I'll Wait for the Next One... (I'll Wait for the Next One... (J'Attendrai Le Suivant...))(2002)
Philippe Orreindy, Thomas Gaudin
Inja(2002)
Steven Pasvolsky, Joe Weatherstone
Johnny Flynton(2002)
Lexi Alexander, Alexander Buono

Actor in a Leading Role

The Pianist(2002)
Adrien Brody
Winner
About Schmidt(2002)
Jack Nicholson
Adaptation.(2002)
Nicolas Cage
Gangs of New York(2002)
Daniel Day-Lewis
The Quiet American(2002)
Michael Caine

Actor in a Supporting Role

Adaptation.(2002)
Chris Cooper
Winner
Catch Me If You Can(2002)
Christopher Walken
Chicago(2002)
John C. Reilly
Road to Perdition(2002)
Paul Newman
The Hours(2002)
Ed Harris

Actress in a Leading Role

The Hours(2002)
Nicole Kidman
Winner
Chicago(2002)
Renée Zellweger
Far from Heaven(2002)
Julianne Moore
Frida(2002)
Salma Hayek
Unfaithful(2002)
Diane Lane

Actress in a Supporting Role

Chicago(2002)
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Winner
About Schmidt(2002)
Kathy Bates
Adaptation.(2002)
Meryl Streep
Chicago(2002)
Queen Latifah
The Hours(2002)
Julianne Moore

Animated Feature Film

Spirited Away(2001)
Hayao Miyazaki
Winner
Ice Age(2002)
Chris Wedge
Lilo & Stitch(2002)
Chris Sanders
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron(2002)
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Treasure Planet(2002)
Ron Clements

Art Direction

Chicago(2002)
Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
Winner
Frida(2002)
Art Direction: Felipe Fernandez del Paso; Set Decoration: Hania Robledo
Gangs of New York(2002)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Road to Perdition(2002)
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002)
Art Direction: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Dan Hennah and Alan Lee

Best Picture

Chicago(2002)
Martin Richards, Producer
Winner
Gangs of New York(2002)
Alberto Grimaldi and Harvey Weinstein, Producers
The Hours(2002)
Scott Rudin and Robert Fox, Producers
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002)
Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson, Producers
The Pianist(2002)
Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde, Producers

Cinematography

Road to Perdition(2002)
Conrad L. Hall
Winner
Chicago(2002)
Dion Beebe
Far from Heaven(2002)
Edward Lachman
Gangs of New York(2002)
Michael Ballhaus
The Pianist(2002)
Pawel Edelman

Costume Design

Chicago(2002)
Colleen Atwood
Winner
Frida(2002)
Julie Weiss
Gangs of New York(2002)
Sandy Powell
The Hours(2002)
Ann Roth
The Pianist(2002)
Anna Sheppard

Directing

The Pianist(2002)
Roman Polanski
Winner
Chicago(2002)
Rob Marshall
Gangs of New York(2002)
Martin Scorsese
Talk to Her(2002)
Pedro Almodóvar
The Hours(2002)
Stephen Daldry

Documentary (Feature)

Bowling for Columbine(2002)
Michael Moore, Michael Donovan
Winner
Daughter from Danang(2002)
Gail Dolgin, Vicente Franco
Prisoner of Paradise(2003)
Malcolm Clarke, Stuart Sender
Spellbound(2002)
Jeffrey Blitz, Sean Welch
Winged Migration(2001)
Jacques Perrin

Film Editing

Chicago(2002)
Martin Walsh
Winner
Gangs of New York(2002)
Thelma Schoonmaker
The Hours(2002)
Peter Boyle
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002)
Michael Horton
The Pianist(2002)
Hervé de Luze

International Feature Film

Nowhere in Africa(2001)
Germany
Winner
Hero(2002)
People's Republic of China
The Crime of Padre Amaro(2002)
Mexico
The Man Without a Past(2002)
Finland
Zus & Zo(2002)
The Netherlands

Music (Original Score)

Frida(2002)
Elliot Goldenthal
Winner
Catch Me If You Can(2002)
John Williams
Far from Heaven(2002)
Elmer Bernstein
Road to Perdition(2002)
Thomas Newman
The Hours(2002)
Philip Glass

Music (Original Song)

8 Mile(2002)
Lose Yourself in "8 Mile" Music by Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto; Lyric by Eminem
Winner
Chicago(2002)
I Move On in "Chicago" Music by John Kander; Lyric by Fred Ebb
Frida(2002)
Burn It Blue in "Frida" Music by Elliot Goldenthal; Lyric by Julie Taymor
Gangs of New York(2002)
The Hands That Built America in "Gangs of New York" Music and Lyric by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen
The Wild Thornberrys Movie(2002)
Father And Daughter in "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" Music and Lyric by Paul Simon

Short Film (Animated)

The ChubbChubbs!(2002)
Eric Armstrong
Winner
Das Rad(2001)
Chris Stenner, Heidi Wittlinger
Mike's New Car(2002)
Pete Docter, Roger Gould
Mount Head(2002)
Koji Yamamura
The Cathedral(2002)
Tomek Baginski

Sound

Chicago(2002)
Michael Minkler, Dominick Tavella, David Lee
Winner
Gangs of New York(2002)
Tom Fleischman, Eugene Gearty, Ivan Sharrock
Road to Perdition(2002)
Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, John Patrick Pritchett
Spider-Man(2002)
Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Ed Novick
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002)
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The Pianist(2002)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
Winner
About a Boy(2002)
Screenplay by Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, & Paul Weitz
Adaptation.(2002)
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman
Chicago(2002)
Screenplay by Bill Condon
The Hours(2002)
Screenplay by David Hare

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Talk to Her(2002)
Written by Pedro Almodóvar
Winner
Far from Heaven(2002)
Written by Todd Haynes
Gangs of New York(2002)
Screenplay by Jay Cocks and Steve Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan; Story by Jay Cocks
My Big Fat Greek Wedding(2002)
Written by Nia Vardalos
Y Tu Mamá También(2001)
Written by Carlos Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón

Documentary (Short Subject)

Twin Towers(2003)
Winner
Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks(2002)
Robert Hudson, Bobby Houston
The Collector of Bedford Street(2002)
Alice Elliott
Why Can't We Be a Family Again?(2002)
Roger Weisberg, Murray Nossel

Sound Editing

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002)
Ethan Van der Ryn, Michael Hopkins
Winner
Minority Report(2002)
Richard Hymns, Gary Rydstrom
Road to Perdition(2002)
Scott A. Hecker

Visual Effects

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002)
Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke
Winner
Spider-Man(2002)
John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones(2002)
Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, Ben Snow

Makeup

Frida(2002)
John Jackson, Beatrice De Alba
Winner
The Time Machine(2002)
John M. Elliott, Jr., Barbara Lorenz