The Best Picture winner dramatizing the Boston Globe Spotlight team’s investigation of Catholic Church abuse is Spotlight.
Tom McCarthy’s 2015 film follows the Globe’s investigative unit as it uncovers a widespread pattern of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests and institutional efforts to conceal it. The central journalists include Walter Robinson, Michael Rezendes, Sacha Pfeiffer, and Matt Carroll.
The screenplay draws on the team’s reporting, which led to stories published in 2002. That investigation helped expose the scale of the abuse and earned the Boston Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The film also emphasizes methodical reporting, document review, interviews, and legal persistence rather than a single dramatic revelation.
All the President’s Men is a common comparison because it portrays investigative journalism, but it concerns the Washington Post and Watergate. Spotlight won Best Picture at the 88th Academy Awards, along with Best Original Screenplay.