Rank | Program | Network | Rating |
| 1 | Cheers | NBC | 21.3 |
| 2 | 60 Minutes | CBS | 20.6 |
| 3 | A Different World | ABC | 18.1 |
| 4 | The Cosby Show | NBC | 17.5 |
| 5 | The Cosby Show | 17.1 | |
| 6 | Murphy Brown | CBS | 16.9 |
| 7 | Empty Nest | NBC | 16.7 |
| America's Funniest Home Videos | ABC | ||
| 9 | Monday Night Football | 16.6 | |
| 10 | The Golden Girls | NBC | 16.5 |
| Designing Women | CBS | ||
| 12 | Murder, She Wrote | 16.4 | |
| 13 | America's Funniest People | ABC | 16.3 |
| 14 | Full House | 15.9 | |
| 15 | Family Matters | 15.8 |
Rank | Movie | Box Office |
| 1 | Home Alone | $285,761,243 |
| 2 | Ghost | $217,631,306 |
| 3 | Dances with Wolves | $184,208,848 |
| 4 | Pretty Woman | $178,406,268 |
| 5 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $135,265,915 |
| 6 | The Hunt for Red October | $122,012,643 |
| 7 | Total Recall | $119,394,840 |
| 8 | Die Hard 2: Die Harder | $117,540,947 |
| 9 | Dick Tracy | $103,738,726 |
| 10 | Kindergarten Cop | $91,457,688 |
| 11 | Back to the Future Part III | $87,727,583 |
| 12 | Presumed Innocent | $86,303,188 |
| 13 | Days of Thunder | $82,670,733 |
| 14 | Another 48 HRS. | $80,818,974 |
| 15 | Three Men and a Little Lady | $71,609,321 |
| 16 | Bird on a Wire | $70,978,012 |
| 17 | The Godfather Part III | $66,666,062 |
| 18 | Flatliners | $61,489,265 |
| 19 | Misery | $61,276,872 |
| 20 | Edward Scissorhands | $56,362,352 |
Rank | Performer | Album |
| 1 | Madonna | The Immaculate Collection |
| 2 | Carreras Domingo Pavarotti, Orchestra Del Maggio Musical, Fiorentino Orchestra Del Teatro, Dell'Opera Di Roma, Zubin Mehta | In Concert |
| 3 | Luciano Pavarotti | The Essential Pavarotti |
| 4 | Carpenters | Only Yesterday |
| 5 | Elton John | The Very Best Of Elton John |
| 6 | George Michael | Listen Without Prejudice V1 |
| 7 | Sinead O'Connor | I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got |
| 8 | Soul II Soul | Volume II (1990 A New Decade) |
| 9 | Michael Bolton | Soul Provider |
| 10 | New Kids On The Block | Step By Step |
Outstanding Comedy Series | Outstanding Drama Series |
| Murphy Brown, (CBS) | L.A. Law, (NBC) |
| Cheers, (NBC) | China Beach, (ABC) |
| Designing Women, (CBS) | Quantum Leap, (NBC) |
| The Golden Girls, (NBC) | thirtysomething, (ABC) |
| The Wonder Years, (ABC) | Twin Peaks, (ABC) |
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special |
| In Living Color (Fox) | Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration, (ABC) |
| The Arsenio Hall Show, (Syndicated) | The 62nd Annual Academy Awards, (ABC) |
| Late Night with David Letterman, (NBC) | Billy Crystal: Midnight Train to Moscow, (HBO) |
| Saturday Night Live, (NBC) | The 43rd Annual Tony Awards, (CBS) |
| The Tracey Ullman Show, (Fox) | The Best of the Tracey Ullman Show, (Fox) |
Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special | Outstanding Miniseries |
| Caroline?, (CBS) | Drug Wars: The Camarena Story, (NBC) |
| The Incident, (CBS) | Blind Faith, (NBC) |
| The Final Days, (ABC) | Family of Spies, (CBS) |
| A Killing in a Small Town, (CBS) | The Kennedys of Massachusetts, (ABC) |
| Murder in Mississippi, (NBC) | Small Sacrifices, (ABC) |
Picture | Director |
| • Nominees: | • Nominees: |
| – Awakenings | – Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather, Part III |
| – Dances With Wolves | – Kevin Costner for Dances With Wolves |
| – Ghost | – Stephen Frears for The Grifters |
| – The Godfather, Part III | – Barbet Schroeder for Reversal of Fortune |
| – GoodFellas | – Martin Scorsese for GoodFellas |
| • Winner: Dances with Wolves | • Winner: Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves |
Actor | Supporting Actor |
| • Nominees: | • Nominees: |
| – Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves | – Bruce Davison in Longtime Companion |
| – Robert De Niro in Awakenings | – Andy Garcia in The Godfather, Part III |
| – Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac | – Graham Greene in Dances With Wolves |
| – Richard Harris in The Field | – Al Pacino in Dick Tracy |
| – Jeremy Irons in Reversal of Fortune | – Joe Pesci in GoodFellas |
| • Winner: Jeremy Irons for Reversal of Fortune | • Winner: Joe Pesci for Goodfellas |
Actress | Supporting Actress |
| • Nominees: | • Nominees: |
| – Kathy Bates in Misery | – Annette Bening in The Grifters |
| – Anjelica Huston in The Grifters | – Lorraine Bracco in GoodFellas |
| – Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman | – Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost |
| – Meryl Streep in Postcards from the Edge | – Diane Ladd in Wild at Heart |
| – Joanne Woodward in Mr. and Mrs. Bridge | – Mary McDonnell in Dances With Wolves |
| • Winner: Kathy Bates for Misery | • Winner: Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost |
Record of the Year | “Another Day in Paradise,” Phil Collins |
Album of the Year | Back on the Block, Quincy Jones (Qwest/Warner Bros.) |
Song of the Year | “From a Distance,” Julie Gold, songwriter |
Best New Artist | Mariah Carey |
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male | “Oh Pretty Woman,” Roy Orbison |
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | “Vision of Love,” Mariah Carey |
Best Pop Performance - Duo or Group | “All My Life,” Linda Ronstadt with Aaron Neville |
Best Hard Rock Performance | Time's Up, Living Colour |
Best Metal Performance | “Stone Cold Crazy,” Metallica |
Best Alternative Music Performance | I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, Sinead O'Connor |
Best Rhythm and Blues Song | “U Can't Touch This,” Rick James, Alonzo Miller and M.C. Hammer, songwriters |
Best R&BVocal Performance, Male | “Here and Now,” Luther Vandross |
Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female | Compositions, Anita Baker |
Best R&B Performance - Duo or Group | “I'll Be Good to You,” Ray Charles and Chaka Khan |
Best Rap Solo Performance | “U Can't Touch This,” M.C. Hammer |
Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group | “Back on the Block,” Ice T, Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Quincy D. III and Quincy Jones |