2004 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

49 films were recognised at the 2004 Academy Awards, across 24 categories. 12 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, with 11 awards, ahead of Mystic River with 2. 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)

Two Soldiers(2003)
Aaron Schneider and Andrew J. Sacks
Winner
(A)Torsion(2003)
Stefan Arsenijevic
(A)Torsion(2003)
(A) Torzija
Most (Most (The Bridge))(2003)
Bobby Garabedian and William Zabka
Most (Most (The Bridge))(2003)
Most
Squash(2002)
Lionel Bailliu
The Red Jacket(2002)
Florian Baxmeyer

Actor in a Leading Role

Mystic River(2003)
Sean Penn
Winner
Cold Mountain(2003)
Jude Law
House of Sand and Fog(2003)
Ben Kingsley
Lost in Translation(2003)
Bill Murray
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl(2003)
Johnny Depp

Actor in a Supporting Role

Mystic River(2003)
Tim Robbins
Winner
21 Grams(2003)
Benicio Del Toro
In America(2003)
Djimon Hounsou
The Cooler(2003)
Alec Baldwin
The Last Samurai(2003)
Ken Watanabe

Actress in a Leading Role

Monster(2003)
Charlize Theron
Winner
21 Grams(2003)
Naomi Watts
In America(2003)
Samantha Morton
Something's Gotta Give(2003)
Diane Keaton
Whale Rider(2003)
Keisha Castle-Hughes

Actress in a Supporting Role

Cold Mountain(2003)
Renée Zellweger
Winner
House of Sand and Fog(2003)
Shohreh Aghdashloo
Mystic River(2003)
Marcia Gay Harden
Pieces of April(2003)
Patricia Clarkson
Thirteen(2003)
Holly Hunter

Art Direction

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Art Direction: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Dan Hennah and Alan Lee
Winner
Girl with a Pearl Earring(2003)
Art Direction: Ben Van Os; Set Decoration: Cecile Heideman
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003)
Art Direction: William Sandell; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Seabiscuit(2003)
Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Leslie Pope
The Last Samurai(2003)
Art Direction: Lilly Kilvert; Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau

Best Picture

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Producers
Winner
Lost in Translation(2003)
Ross Katz and Sofia Coppola, Producers
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003)
Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., Peter Weir and Duncan Henderson, Producers
Mystic River(2003)
Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt and Clint Eastwood, Producers
Seabiscuit(2003)
Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Gary Ross, Producers

Cinematography

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003)
Russell Boyd
Winner
City of God(2002)
Cesar Charlone
Cold Mountain(2003)
John Seale
Girl with a Pearl Earring(2003)
Eduardo Serra
Seabiscuit(2003)
John Schwartzman

Costume Design

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor
Winner
Girl with a Pearl Earring(2003)
Dien van Straalen
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003)
Wendy Stites
Seabiscuit(2003)
Judianna Makovsky
The Last Samurai(2003)
Ngila Dickson

Directing

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Peter Jackson
Winner
City of God(2002)
Fernando Meirelles
Lost in Translation(2003)
Sofia Coppola
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003)
Peter Weir
Mystic River(2003)
Clint Eastwood

Documentary (Feature)

The Fog of War(2003)
Errol Morris and Michael Williams
Winner
Balseros(2002)
Carlos Bosch and Josep Maria Domenech
Capturing the Friedmans(2003)
Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling
My Architect: A Son's Journey(2003)
Nathaniel Kahn and Susan R. Behr
The Weather Underground(2002)
Sam Green and Bill Siegel

Film Editing

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Jamie Selkirk
Winner
City of God(2002)
Daniel Rezende
Cold Mountain(2003)
Walter Murch
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003)
Lee Smith
Seabiscuit(2003)
William Goldenberg

International Feature Film

The Barbarian Invasions(2003)
Canada
Winner
Evil(2003)
The Twilight Samurai(2002)
Japan
Twin Sisters(2002)
The Netherlands
Zelary(2003)
Czech Republic

Music (Original Score)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Howard Shore
Winner
Big Fish(2003)
Danny Elfman
Cold Mountain(2003)
Gabriel Yared
Finding Nemo(2003)
Thomas Newman
House of Sand and Fog(2003)
James Horner

Music (Original Song)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Into The West in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" Music and Lyric by Fran Walsh and Howard Shore and Annie Lennox
Winner
A Mighty Wind(2003)
A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow in "A Mighty Wind" Music and Lyric by Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole
Cold Mountain(2003)
Scarlet Tide in "Cold Mountain" Music and Lyric by T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello
Cold Mountain(2003)
You Will Be My Ain True Love in "Cold Mountain" Music and Lyric by Sting
The Triplets of Belleville(2003)
Belleville Rendez-vous in "The Triplets of Belleville"

Short Film (Animated)

Harvie Krumpet(2003)
Adam Elliot
Winner
Boundin'(2003)
Bud Luckey
Destino(2003)
Dominique Monfery and Roy Edward Disney
Gone Nutty(2004)
Carlos Saldanha and John C. Donkin
Nibbles(2003)
Chris Hinton

Sound Mixing

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek
Winner
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World(2003)
Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill and Arthur Rochester
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl(2003)
Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David Campbell and Lee Orloff
Seabiscuit(2003)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Tod A. Maitland
The Last Samurai(2003)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Jeff Wexler

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)
Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, & Peter Jackson
Winner
American Splendor(2003)
Written by Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman
City of God(2002)
Screenplay by Braulio Mantovani
Mystic River(2003)
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland
Seabiscuit(2003)
Written for the Screen by Gary Ross

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Lost in Translation(2003)
Written by Sofia Coppola
Winner
Dirty Pretty Things(2002)
Written by Steven Knight
Finding Nemo(2003)
Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds; Original Story by Andrew Stanton
In America(2003)
Written by Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, & Kirsten Sheridan
The Barbarian Invasions(2003)
Written by Denys Arcand