Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
American Beauty
1999
· Movie
· 122 min
A
MEANRANK
83/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #228
- IMDb #79
- Google retired #1034
- Rotten Tomatoes #518
- Metacritic #175
- Letterboxd #702
+9 more
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #1328
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience #207
- Metacritic Critics #447
- Metacritic Audience #58
- Criticker #288
- Douban #238
- Kinopoisk #300
- AlloCiné #181
- Trakt #221
Every rating
68–93
out of 100
Mostly agreed
Lowest is Criticker on 68, highest is Rotten Tomatoes viewers on 93.
See the most agreed on films →A suburban father experiences a profound midlife crisis. He becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, quits his job, and starts working out and smoking weed. His personal rebellion sends shockwaves through his dysfunctional family and reveals the dark secrets simmering beneath their perfect facade.
Details
- Director
- Sam Mendes
- Writer
- Alan Ball
- Released
- 15 September 1999
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rated
- R
- Budget
- $15.0M
- Box office
- $356.3M
- Awards
- 31 wins, 30 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (41) →
Awards & nominations
See all 61 →12 major awards won · 31 wins from 61 nominations across 20 ceremonies
| 57th Golden Globe Awards 1999 | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks | Winner |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards 1999 | Best Screenplay | Alan Ball | Winner |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards 1999 | Best Director | Sam Mendes | Winner |
| 72nd Academy Awards 1999 | Best Picture | Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks | Winner |
| 72nd Academy Awards 1999 | Best Director | Sam Mendes | Winner |
| 72nd Academy Awards 1999 | Best Actor | Kevin Spacey | Winner |
| 72nd Academy Awards 1999 | Best Original Screenplay | Alan Ball | Winner |
| 72nd Academy Awards 1999 | Best Cinematography | Conrad Hall | Winner |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Beyond the numbers
All lists →
30 October 2026
Why Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of all time
The case rests on comedy, emotional precision, versatility and sustained achievement, tested against the strongest rival claims.
30 October 2026
Denzel Washington is more than an actor: a global Black cultural icon
How global visibility, artistic freedom and a commanding public presence gave his career a meaning that reaches beyond the films.
29 October 2026
MCU canon explained: the main timeline, other universes and the TV shows
Daredevil counts. Alternate universes are not automatically non-canon. A practical guide to Marvel continuity without treating every cameo as a blanket answer.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — American Beauty
×Full cast — American Beauty
×
61 awards — American Beauty
×
72nd Academy Awards
8 nominations, 5 won
| Best Actor | Kevin Spacey | Winner |
| Best Cinematography | Conrad Hall | Winner |
| Best Director | Sam Mendes | Winner |
| Best Original Screenplay | Alan Ball | Winner |
| Best Picture | Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks | Winner |
| Best Actress | Annette Bening | Nominee |
| Best Film Editing | Tariq Anwar and Christopher Greenbury | Nominee |
| Best Original Score | Thomas Newman | Nominee |
57th Golden Globe Awards
6 nominations, 3 won
| Best Director | Sam Mendes | Winner |
| Best Motion Picture – Drama | Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks | Winner |
| Best Screenplay | Alan Ball | Winner |
| Best Actor – Drama | Kevin Spacey | Nominee |
| Best Actress – Drama | Annette Bening | Nominee |
| Best Original Score | Thomas Newman | Nominee |
Screen Actors Guild Award
4 nominations, 3 won
| Best Actor | Kevin Spacey | Winner |
| Best Actress | Annette Bening | Winner |
| Best Ensemble | Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher | Winner |
| Best Supporting Actor | Chris Cooper | Nominee |
Directors Guild of America
1 nomination, 1 won
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Sam Mendes | Winner |
Art Directors Guild
1 nomination
| Excellence in Production Design Award for Feature Film | Naomi Shohan, David Lazan, Catherine Smith | Nominee |
53rd British Academy Film Awards
14 nominations, 6 won
| Anthony Asquith Award (Best Film Music) | Thomas Newman | Winner |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Kevin Spacey | Winner |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Annette Bening | Winner |
| Best Cinematography | Conrad Hall | Winner |
| Best Editing | Tariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury | Winner |
| Best Film | Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks | Winner |
| Best Make Up/Hair | Tania McComas, Carol A. O'Connell | Nominee |
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Wes Bentley | Nominee |
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | Thora Birch | Nominee |
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | Mena Suvari | Nominee |
| Best Production Design | Naomi Shohan | Nominee |
| Best Screenplay – Original | Alan Ball | Nominee |
| Best Sound | Scott Martin Gershin, Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van Dyke | Nominee |
| David Lean Award | Sam Mendes | Nominee |
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
7 nominations, 4 won
| Best Actor | Kevin Spacey | Winner |
| Best Director | Sam Mendes | Winner |
| Best Picture | Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks | Winner |
| Most Promising Actor | Wes Bentley | Winner |
| Best Actress | Annette Bening | Nominee |
| Best Cinematography | Conrad L. Hall | Nominee |
| Best Screenplay | Alan Ball | Nominee |
National Board of Review
2 nominations, 2 won
| Best Picture | Winner | |
| Breakthrough Performance – Male | Wes Bentley | Winner |
American Comedy Awards
3 nominations, 1 won
| Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) | Annette Bening | Winner |
| Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) | Kevin Spacey | Nominee |
| Funniest Motion Picture | Nominee |
American Society of Cinematographers
1 nomination, 1 won
| Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases | Conrad Hall | Winner |
Australian Film Institute
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Film | Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks | Winner |
BMI Film & TV Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| BMI Film Music | Thomas Newman | Winner |
Bodil Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best American Film | Sam Mendes | Winner |
Brit Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Soundtrack/Cast Recording | Winner |
British Society of Cinematographers
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Cinematography | Conrad Hall | Winner |
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
5 nominations
| Favorite Actor – Drama | Kevin Spacey | Nominee |
| Favorite Actress – Drama | Annette Bening | Nominee |
| Favorite Actress – Newcomer (Internet Only) | Mena Suvari | Nominee |
| Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama | Wes Bentley | Nominee |
| Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama | Thora Birch | Nominee |
American Cinema Editors
1 nomination
| Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic | Tariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury | Nominee |
Awards of the Japanese Academy
1 nomination
| Best Foreign Film | Nominee |
Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics
1 nomination
| Grand Prix | Nominee |
Cinema Audio Society
1 nomination
| Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature Film | Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van Dyke | Nominee |