# 86th Academy Awards
The 86th Academy Awards was a ceremony presented by the [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences) on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the [Dolby Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-theatre) at the Hollywood & Highland Center, honoring movies released in 2013.[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://www.edgepedia.org/ellen-degeneres) hosted for the second time, following the 79th Academy Awards in 2007.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) *12 Years a Slave* won Best Picture, *Gravity* won seven Academy Awards, and *Dallas Buyers Club* took both leading acting prizes for its two male stars.[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) • [10](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/03/02/284890952/its-oscar-night-and-were-live-tweeting-it)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | Sunday, March 2, 2014, Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center, honoring movies released in 2013[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) |
| Host | Ellen DeGeneres, her second time after the 79th Academy Awards in 2007[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) |
| Best Picture | *12 Years a Slave*, directed by Steve McQueen, who became the first black filmmaker to direct a Best Picture-winning film[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) |
| Acting winners | Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto for *Dallas Buyers Club*; Cate Blanchett for *Blue Jasmine*; Lupita Nyong'o for *12 Years a Slave*[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) |
| Leading film by wins | *Gravity*: Directing, Cinematography, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/03/oscars-2014-winners-list) |
| Directing milestone | Alfonso Cuarón became the first Latino winner for Directing, for *Gravity*[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) |
| Best Picture field | Nine nominees, the third consecutive ceremony with a nine-film slate[4](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/87th_noms_sidebars.pdf) |
| Telecast reception | 59% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics citing the record-setting selfie, impromptu pizza, and a ceremony free of glaring gaffes[5](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/oscar-ceremonies-ranked-best-and-worst-academy-awards/) |
## Major winners
**Best Picture went to *12 Years a Slave***, which also won Actress in a Supporting Role for Lupita Nyong'o and Adapted Screenplay for John Ridley.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) The acting winners were [Matthew McConaughey](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-mcconaughey) for *Dallas Buyers Club*, Cate Blanchett for *Blue Jasmine*, Jared Leto for *Dallas Buyers Club*, and Nyong'o; the other lead-actor nominees were [Christian Bale](https://www.edgepedia.org/christian-bale) (*American Hustle*), Bruce Dern (*Nebraska*), [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonardo-dicaprio) (*The Wolf of Wall Street*), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (*12 Years a Slave*).[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) Receiving her award, Nyong'o told the audience that "no matter where you're from, your dreams are valid."[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/highlights-of-the-86th-annual-academy-awards)
**[Alfonso Cuarón](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfonso-cuaron)'s *Gravity* dominated the craft categories.** Cuarón won Directing and, with it, became the first Latino winner in that category; he also won Film Editing for the same film.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) *Gravity* additionally took Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, for six awards in total.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/03/oscars-2014-winners-list) The only other multiple-winning individuals were Catherine Martin, who won both Production Design and Costume Design for *The Great Gatsby* and became the first woman to receive multiple awards on two occasions.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments)
**Animated and documentary categories produced their own milestones.** *Frozen* won Animated Feature Film, the first [Walt Disney Animation Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-animation-studios) film to win the category, and its song "Let It Go," by [Kristen Anderson-Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-anderson-lopez) and [Robert Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-lopez), won Original Song.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) *20 Feet from Stardom* won Documentary Feature.[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014) Unusually, the ceremony featured two acceptance speeches with singing: the Lopezes for "Let It Go" and Darlene Love, who joined Morgan Neville, Janet Friesen, and Caitrin Rogers for the documentary award.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments)
## The rest of the winners list
The remaining competitive awards went to *The Great Beauty* (Italy) for Foreign Language Film, *Helium* for Live Action Short Film, *Mr Hublot* for Animated Short Film, *The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life* for Documentary Short Subject, and *Dallas Buyers Club* for Makeup and Hairstyling (Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews).[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/03/oscars-2014-winners-list) *The Great Gatsby* joined *Frozen* as the evening's other multi-award-winning film, while Best Picture nominees *Captain Phillips*, *Philomena*, and *The Wolf of Wall Street* went home empty-handed.[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/highlights-of-the-86th-annual-academy-awards)
## Honorary awards
The Board of Governors presented the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to [Angelina Jolie](https://www.edgepedia.org/angelina-jolie), and Honorary Awards to [Angela Lansbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-lansbury), Steve Martin, and costume designer Piero Tosi.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments) Meryl Streep's nomination for *August: Osage County* raised her record-breaking total of acting nominations to 18.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments)
## The telecast
DeGeneres opened the show at 8:30 p.m. Eastern with no pre-produced skit or musical number, instead giving shout-outs to nominees and lighthearted jabs at Hollywood, including a quip to [Liza Minnelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/liza-minnelli) during a segment honoring the 75th anniversary of *The Wizard of Oz*, the film that starred Minnelli's mother, [Judy Garland](https://www.edgepedia.org/judy-garland).[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars-2014-ellen-degeneres-kicks-off-86th-academy-awards/) Heavy rain in [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) in the days before the show forced organizers to scramble to waterproof the red carpet.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars-2014-ellen-degeneres-kicks-off-86th-academy-awards/)
Critics ranked the telecast middling among recent ceremonies. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 59% Tomatometer, with a critics consensus crediting DeGeneres with breaking the internet via a record-setting selfie, impromptu pizza, and a genial warmth that piloted a ceremony free of glaring gaffes, if a little bereft of spontaneity.[5](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/oscar-ceremonies-ranked-best-and-worst-academy-awards/) Roger Ebert's site called it a very unsurprising ceremony, noting that the night before, the Independent Spirit Awards had previewed all four Oscar-winning actors.[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/highlights-of-the-86th-annual-academy-awards) Time had predicted on the morning of the ceremony that five of the six major categories would repeat the Spirit Awards results, with the likely difference being Cuarón rather than *12 Years a Slave*'s Steve McQueen for Best Director; that prediction proved correct.[8](https://time.com/11079/indepedent-films-oscars/)
The 2014 telecast later served as a benchmark in ratings coverage: the 95th Academy Awards in 2023 marked the first time since the 86th Academy Awards in 2014 that the Oscars experienced consecutive years of viewership increase.[9](https://amaroksports.com/uploads/files/202505270609378562.pdf)
## Context in the Best Picture era
For the 84th, 85th, and 86th Academy Awards, there were nine Best Picture nominees, part of the expanded slate the Academy adopted after 2009.[4](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/87th_noms_sidebars.pdf) The Best Picture outcome at the 86th ceremony set two milestones noted by the Academy: with the win, Steve McQueen was the first black director of a Best Picture winner, and Alfonso Cuarón was the first Latino to take the Directing award.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments)
## References
1. [The 86th Academy Awards | 2014, Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014)
2. [The 86th Academy Awards Memorable Moments, Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014/memorable-moments)
3. [Oscars 2014: full list of winners, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/03/oscars-2014-winners-list)
4. [80th Annual Academy Awards sidebar (Best Picture nominee counts), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/87th_noms_sidebars.pdf)
5. [Oscar Ceremonies Ranked: Best and Worst Academy Awards Shows of the Last 25 Years, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/oscar-ceremonies-ranked-best-and-worst-academy-awards/)
6. [Highlights of the 86th Annual Academy Awards, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/highlights-of-the-86th-annual-academy-awards)
7. [Oscars 2014: Ellen DeGeneres kicks off 86th Academy Awards, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars-2014-ellen-degeneres-kicks-off-86th-academy-awards/)
8. [Call It the Independent Oscar Awards, Time](https://time.com/11079/indepedent-films-oscars/)
9. [95th Academy Awards telecast coverage (viewership context), amaroksports.com PDF](https://amaroksports.com/uploads/files/202505270609378562.pdf)
10. ['12 Years A Slave,' 'Gravity' Win Big At The Oscars : The Two-Way : NPR, NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/03/02/284890952/its-oscar-night-and-were-live-tweeting-it)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Awards and screen reference › Academy Awards ceremonies and categories*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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