15 Films That Won The Most Oscar Awards: When the Oscars like you, they really, really like you. And since the Oscars are often the measurement for a great movie, meaning the more you win, the better you are.
While there are many films that have brought home more than one award at the Oscars throughout its almost 92-year existence, some films have scored more than the rest. Because of this, we thought it was time to look at which films have managed to win the most awards at the Academy Awards.
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At 11 victories apiece, the current three record-holders are “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Titanic” and “Ben-Hur.” But where do other Academy Awards favorites like “West Side Story,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Gone with the Wind” fall on the all-time list? It’s time to journey back through Oscar history and see which films managed to bring home the highest number of shiny gold trophies, from an epic Civil War romance to a giant fantasy finale.
Here is a list of the 15 most awarded films to date.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)
Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron’s army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
Total Oscar Nominations: 11
Wins: 11
Best Picture
Best Director (Peter Jackson),
Best Adapted Screenplay (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson)
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup
Best Score
Best Song (“Into the West”)
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Loses: 0
This film was undefeated
2003 Best Picture Nominees:
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
“Lost in Translation”
“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
“Mystic River”
“Seabiscuit”
‘Titanic’ (1997)
A 17-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Total Oscar Nominations: 14
Wins: 11
Best Picture
Best Director (James Cameron)
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Song (“My Heart Will Go On”)
Best Sound
Best Sound Effects Editing
Best Visual Effects
Losses: 3
Best Actress (Kate Winslet)
Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Stuart)
Best Makeup
1997 Best Picture Nominees:
“As Good as It Gets”
“The Full Monty”
“Good Will Hunting”
“L.A. Confidential”
“Titanic”
‘Ben-Hur’ (1959)
When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
Total Oscar Nominations: 12
Wins: 11
Best Picture
Best Director (William Wyler)
Best Actor (Charlton Heston)
Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith)
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Costume Design, Color
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Sound
Best Special Effects
Losses: 1
Best Adapted Screenplay (Karl Tunberg)
1959 Best Picture Nominees:
“Anatomy of a Murder”
“Ben-Hur”
“The Diary of Anne Frank”
“The Nun’s Story”
“Room at the Top”
‘West Side Story’ (1961)
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Total Oscar Nominations: 11
Wins: 10
Best Picture
Best Director (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins)
Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris)
Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno)
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Costume Design, Color
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Sound
Losses: 1
Best Adapted Screenplay (Ernest Lehman)
1961 Best Picture Nominees:
“Fanny”
“The Guns of Navarone”
“The Hustler”
“Judgment at Nuremberg”
“West Side Story”
‘The English Patient’ (1996)
At the close of WWII, a young nurse tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
Total Oscar Nominations: 12
Wins: 9
Best Picture
Best Director (Anthony Minghella)
Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche)
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Sound
Losses: 3
Best Actor (Ralph Fiennes)
Best Actress (Kristin Scott Thomas)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Anthony Minghella)
1996 Best Picture Nominees:
“The English Patient”
“Fargo”
“Jerry Maguire”
“Secrets & Lies”
“Shine”
‘The Last Emperor’ (1987)
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people.
Total Oscar Nominations: 9
Wins: 9
Best Picture
Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Bernardo Bertolucci and Mark Peploe)
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Sound
Losses: 0
This film was undefeated
1987 Best Picture Nominees:
“Broadcast News”
“Fatal Attraction”
“Hope and Glory”
“The Last Emperor”
“Moonstruck”
‘Gigi’ (1958)
Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship, but it may not stay platonic for long.
Total Oscar Nominations: 9
Wins: 9
Best Picture
Best Director (Vincente Minnelli)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Alan Jay Lerner)
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black and White or Color
Best Costume Design, Black and White or Color
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Original Song (“Gigi”)
Losses: 0
This film was undefeated
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1958 Best Picture Nominees:
“Auntie Mame”
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
“The Defiant Ones”
“Gigi”
“Separate Tables”
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ (2008)
A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.
Total Oscar Nominations: 10
Wins: 8
Best Picture
Best Director (Danny Boyle)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy)
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Song (‘Jai Ho’)
Best Sound Mixing
Losses: 2
Best Song (“O…Saya”)
Best Sound Editing
2008 Best Picture Nominees:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
‘Amadeus’ (1984)
The incredible true story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told by his peer and secret rival, Antonio Salieri, now confined to an insane asylum.
Total Oscar Nominations: 11
Wins: 8
Best Picture
Best Director (Milos Forman)
Best Actor (F. Murray Abraham)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Peter Shaffer)
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Sound
Best Makeup
Losses: 3
Best Actor (Tom Hulce)
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
1984 Best Picture Nominees:
“Amadeus”
“The Killing Fields”
“A Passage to India”
“Places in the Heart”
“A Soldier’s Story”
‘Gandhi’ (1982)
Gandhi’s character is fully explained as a man of nonviolence. Through his patience, he is able to drive the British out of the subcontinent. And the stubborn nature of Jinnah and his commitment towards Pakistan is portrayed.
Total Oscar Nominations: 11
Wins: 8
Best Picture
Best Director (Richard Attenborough)
Best Actor (Ben Kingsley)
Best Original Screenplay (John Briley)
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Losses: 3
Best Score
Best Sound
Best Makeup
1982 Best Picture Nominees:
“E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”
“Gandhi”
“Missing”
“Tootsie”
“The Verdict”
‘Cabaret’ (1972)
A Berlin-era club entertainer romances two different men while the Nazis are rising to power all around them. “Cabaret” holds the distinction of winning the most Academy Awards without taking home the Best Picture prize.
Total Oscar Nominations: 10
Wins: 8
Best Director (Bob Fosse)
Best Actress (Liza Minnelli)
Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey)
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Film Editing
Best Score
Best Sound
Losses: 2
Best Picture
Best Adapted Screenplay
1972 Best Picture Nominees:
“Cabaret”
“Deliverance”
“The Godfather”
“The Emigrants”
“Sounder”
‘My Fair Lady’ (1964)
A misogynistic and snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.
Total Oscar Nominations: 12
Wins: 8
Best Picture
Best Director (George Cukor)
Best Actor (Rex Harrison)
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Costume Design, Color
Best Score
Best Sound
Losses: 4
Best Supporting Actor (Stanley Holloway)
Best Supporting Actress (Gladys Cooper)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Alan Jay Lerner)
Best Film Editing
1964 Best Picture Nominees:
“Becket”
“Dr. Strangelove or; How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”
“Mary Poppins”
“My Fair Lady”
“Zorba the Greek”
‘On the Waterfront’ (1954)
An ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses.
Total Oscar Nominations: 12
Wins: 8
Best Picture
Best Director (Elia Kazan)
Best Actor (Marlon Brando)
Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint)
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (Budd Schulberg)
Best Cinematography, Black and White
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black and White
Best Film Editing
Losses: 4
Best Supporting Actor (Lee J. Cobb)
Best Supporting Actor (Karl Malden)
Best Supporting Actor (Rod Steiger)
Best Score
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1954 Best Picture Nominees:
“The Caine Mutiny”
“The Country Girl”
“On the Waterfront”
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”
“Three Coins in a Fountain”
‘From Here to Eternity’ (1953)
In Hawaii in 1941, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit’s team, while his captain’s wife and second-in-command are falling in love.
Total Oscar Nominations: 13
Wins: 8
Best Picture
Best Director (Fred Zinnemann)
Best Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra)
Best Supporting Actress (Donna Reed)
Best Writing, Screenplay (Daniel Taradash)
Best Cinematography, Black and White
Best Film Editing
Best Sound
Losses: 5
Best Actor (Montgomery Clift)
Best Actor (Burt Lancaster)
Best Actress (Deborah Kerr)
Best Costume Design, Black and White
Best Score
1953 Best Picture Nominees:
“From Here to Eternity”
“Julius Caesar”
“The Robe”
“Roman Holiday”
“Shane”
‘Gone with the Wind’ (1939)
A manipulative Southern belle carries on a turbulent affair with a blockade runner during the American Civil War.
Total Oscar Nominations: 13
Wins: 8
Best Picture
Best Director (Victor Fleming)
Best Actress (Vivien Leigh)
Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel)
Best Writing, Screenplay (Sidney Howard)
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Art Direction
Best Film Editing
*Honorary Oscar: William Cameron Menzies, for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood.
*Technical Achievement Award: R.D. Musgrave, for pioneering in the use of of coordinated equipment.
Losses: 5
Best Actor (Clark Gable)
Best Supporting Actress (Olivia de Havilland)
Best Score
Best Sound
Best Special Effects
1939 Best Picture Nominees:
“Dark Victory”
“Gone with the Wind”
“Goodbye, Mr. Chips”
“Love Affair”
“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”
“Ninotchka”
“Of Mice and Men”
“Stagecoach”
“The Wizard of Oz”
“Wuthering Heights”
