During the 2017 Oscars ceremony, presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty took the stage to present the "Best Picture" nominees. When Beatty opened the envelope to announce the winner, he saw "Emma Stone, La La Land," which was the card announcing her award for "Best Actress" in the film, minutes earlier. Once the error was recognized, it was revealed that "Moonlight" had won the award in that category. "La La Land" producer Jordan Horowitz was praised for handling the situation gracefully and for making things better when he announced that he was proud to hand the award to "Moonlight."

Both films had already received several awards in other categories.