LOS ANGELES, March 4 (Xinhua) -- "The Shape of Water," a drama film directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, has won the Oscar for best picture at the 90th Academy Awards here on Sunday.

The film defeated strong competition from "Get Out," "Lady Bird" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" in what was considered the closest Oscar race in recent years.

A mature, yet childlike love story, "The Shape of Water" is based on an idea Del Toro had as a boy when he first saw the 1950's cult creature classic "Creature of the Black Lagoon." It's taken him almost 50 years to bring it to the screen.

"I am an immigrant," del Toro said in his acceptance speech, "The best thing our industry does is to help erase the lines in the sand when the world tries to make them deeper."

"The Shape of Water" has made a big splash since its late release on Dec. 1. Made for only 19 million dollars, the film has grossed 126 million dollars worldwide to date.

Set in Baltimore in 1962, the plot follows a mute custodian at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid-amphibian creature.