Which sequel became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture?

The Godfather Part II became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Released in 1974, the film won Best Picture at the 47th Academy Awards. It was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and Gray Frederickson, with Coppola also directing and co-writing the screenplay.

The film’s achievement was historically unusual because sequels had rarely been treated as equal artistic successors to their original films. Its win followed The Godfather’s earlier Best Picture victory and made the two films the first pair of films in a series to win the category.

The Godfather Part II is sometimes confused with later sequels that also won Best Picture, such as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Those films came decades later and did not establish this particular first.