Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: The Shape of Water
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
The 90th Academy Awards, commonly called the 2018 Oscars, honoured films released in the preceding year. The Best Picture category is the highest profile award at the ceremony, and questions about its winner are routine in current affairs and film related general knowledge. This question asks which movie received the Best Picture award at that 90th Oscar ceremony.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- The edition is the 90th Academy Awards, corresponding to the 2018 Oscars.
- The category is Best Picture.
- The options list several Oscar nominated films from that season.
- Only one of these films actually received the Best Picture award.
- We assume official Academy Awards winners lists as the reference.
Concept / Approach:
At the 90th Academy Awards, the fantasy romantic drama The Shape of Water directed by Guillermo del Toro won the Best Picture award. Other strong contenders that year included Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Get Out and others, but they won in different categories. Therefore, the approach is to identify The Shape of Water as the Best Picture winner and treat the remaining films as distractors.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that the main narrative of the 2018 Oscars emphasised The Shape of Water as the leading winner, taking home Best Picture and Best Director among other awards.
Step 2: Recognise that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri picked up acting awards but did not win Best Picture.
Step 3: Remember that Get Out received strong attention and won Best Original Screenplay, but again not the Best Picture trophy.
Step 4: Phantom Thread was an acclaimed period drama with nominations but not the winner in this category.
Step 5: Coco is the animated feature that won Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song, not Best Picture.
Step 6: Therefore, among the options, The Shape of Water is the film that correctly matches the Best Picture award at the 90th Academy Awards.
Verification / Alternative check:
A simple verification is to recall the pattern of recent Best Picture winners: Spotlight in 2016, Moonlight in 2017 and The Shape of Water in 2018. This three year sequence is often quoted together in various exam guides. Within that sequence, The Shape of Water is clearly labelled as the Best Picture winner for the 90th Oscars. Since none of the other listed films fit that specific place in the timeline, the answer is confirmed.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A (Phantom Thread) is wrong because although it was nominated for Best Picture, it did not win the title.
Option B (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri) is wrong because it received awards for acting but failed to secure Best Picture.
Option D (Coco) is wrong because it won in the animated and song categories, not in the top category of Best Picture.
Option E (Get Out) is wrong because it won for Best Original Screenplay only and is not listed as Best Picture winner.
Common Pitfalls:
A common pitfall is mixing up nominees and winners, especially when several nominated films become highly discussed. Another mistake is to confuse different years and assume that a critically praised title like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri or Get Out must have won Best Picture. Some students also misremember Coco as Best Picture because it was extremely popular. Keeping a short chronological list of Best Picture winners is the most reliable way to avoid such confusion.
Final Answer:
At the 90th Academy Awards in 2018, the Best Picture award was won by The Shape of Water.
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