1931 in film Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Most Nominations: "Cimarron" (RKO Pictures) - 7 Major Awards Most Awards: "Cimarron" - 3 (Best Picture; Best Adaptation and Best Art Direction) "Cimarron" was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would remain the only one to do so for 59 years (until "Dances with Wolves" won in 1991). It received a then-record seven nominations, and was the first film to win more than two awards. The 5th Academy Awards were conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932, at a ceremony held at The Ambassador
Academy Award for Best Picture "The Reader". However, now any number of producers on a film can be nominated for Best Picture, should they be deemed eligible. For the first ceremony, three films were nominated for the award. For the following three years, five films were nominated for the award. This was expanded to eight in 1933, to ten in 1934, and to twelve in 1935, before being dropped back to ten in 1937. In 1945, it was further reduced to five. This number remained until 2009, when the limit was raised to ten and later adjusted in 2011, to vary between five and ten.