67th Academy Awards

Steve Tisch, Best Picture co-winner

Robert Zemeckis, Best Director winner

Tom Hanks, Best Actor winner

Jessica Lange, Best Actress winner

Martin Landau, Best Supporting Actor winner

Dianne Wiest, Best Supporting Actress winner

Quentin Tarantino, Best Original Screenplay co-winner

Roger Avary, Best Original Screenplay co-winner

Peter Capaldi, Best Live Action Short Film co-winner

Hans Zimmer, Best Original Score winner

Elton John, Best Original Song co-winner

Tim Rice, Best Original Song co-winner

Ken Adam, Best Art Direction co-winner

Rick Baker, Best Makeup co-winner

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[15]

• Michelangelo Antonioni[16]

• Quincy Jones[17]

• Clint Eastwood[18]

At the time of the nominations announcement on February 14, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $468 million, with an average of $93.6 million per film.[33] Forrest Gump was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $300 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Pulp Fiction ($76 million), Four Weddings and a Funeral ($52 million), Quiz Show ($21 million) and The Shawshank Redemption ($16 million).[33]

Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 44 nominations went to 14 films on the list. Only Forrest Gump (2nd), The Client (12th), Pulp Fiction (14th), Four Weddings and a Funeral (20th), and Nell (41st) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, or Best Picture. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were The Lion King (1st), True Lies (3rd), Clear and Present Danger (6th), Speed (7th), The Mask (8th), Interview with the Vampire (10th), Maverick (11th), Legends of the Fall (27th) and Little Women (31st).[34]

The show received a negative reception from most media publications. John J. O'Connor of The New York Times wrote, "Instead of keeping things moving smartly, Mr. Letterman stuck with his late-night shtick, too often leaving the show's pacing in shambles." He also added, "Within the show's first half-hour, with no strong hand at the helm, the audience simply sagged. Applause died long before most winners even reached the podium."[35] Television critic John Carman of the San Francisco Chronicle commented, "Last night on ABC, no one got it. Hollywood's big event was wonderfully littered by technical errors, bad taste, low comedy and lower necklines." Moreover, he remarked, "Letterman, the rookie host, was off his game in his opening monologue. Maybe it was the big auditorium. Or a billion people in the television audience."[36] Film critic Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer quipped, "Not only was he not witty or funny, he never knew when to let bad enough alone." He concluded, "As the evening dragged on, it became obvious that Mr. Letterman had no gift for ad-libbing through the few unpredictable opportunities in a 'live' event like the Oscars."[37] People named the ceremony as one of the worst television broadcasts of 1995, summarizing it as follows: "a cranky skeptic visits the high temple of show business, mocks the gold-plated statuary and displays insufficient reverence for the gods. (Tom Hanks assisting with a stupid pet trick?!) We know who the winner wasn't."[38]

Some media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Television critic Joyce Millman of The San Francisco Examiner noted, "In his first stint as host of the Oscar telecast, David Letterman did the impossible—he made something entertaining from what is traditionally the most boring three hours of TV this side of a test pattern."[39] The Buffalo News columnist Alan Pergament praised Letterman's performance as host writing "David Letterman was a box full of chocolates on an Oscar night that was empty of much emotion until the expected Forrest Gump sweep in the final 15 minutes." He also added that despite a lack of surprises amongst the awards, the emotional and unexpected humorous moments provided depth and entertainment throughout the evening.[40] Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel gave an average review of the ceremony but singled out Letterman noting that he "proved Monday night that he's among Oscar's Top 10 Hosts. He's definitely at the top of the list with Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal and Bob Hope."[41]

The American telecast on ABC drew an average of 48.28 million people over its length, which was a 7% increase from the previous year's ceremony.[42][43] An estimated 81 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards.[44] The show also drew higher Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 32.5% of households watching over a 53 share.[43][45] It also drew a higher 18–49 demographic rating with a 21.7 rating among viewers in that demographic.[45] It was the most watched Oscars telecast since the 55th ceremony held in 1983.[46]

In July 1995, the ceremony presentation received six nominations at the 47th Primetime Emmys.[47] Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Jeff Margolis's direction of the telecast.[48][49]