The Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars) are a long and proud tradition in Hollywood. People worldwide tune in to see which movies and actors will take home the coveted golden trophies.
In this article, I share some of the different ways movies have won multiple Oscars. And I give you a list of movies that won the most Oscars to add to your must-see list.
Roll out the red carpet! Drum roll, please! Here are the top 38 films with most Oscars.
The Top 38 Oscar-Winning Films.
All the movies on this list have won at least 6 Oscars and are ordered from the most Oscars won to the least. I also included the genre, nominations, wins, and the year each movie won.
Year | Movie | Genre | Nominations | Wins |
2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Epic Fantasy Adventure | 11 | 11 |
1997 | Titanic | Historical Drama | 14 | 11 |
2003 | Ben-Hur | Religious Drama | 12 | 11 |
1961 | West Side Story | Musical Romance | 11 | 10 |
1996 | English Patient | War Drama | 12 | 9 |
1987 | The Last Emperor | Historical Drama | 9 | 9 |
1958 | Gigi | Romantic Comedy | 9 | 9 |
2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | Drama | 10 | 8 |
1984 | Amadeus | Biographical Drama | 11 | 8 |
1982 | Gandhi | Bigraphical Drama | 11 | 8 |
1972 | Cabaret | Musical Drama | 10 | 8 |
1964 | My Fair Lady | Musical Comedy | 12 | 8 |
1954 | On the Waterfront | Crime Drama | 12 | 8 |
1953 | From Here to Eternity | Romantic War Drama | 13 | 8 |
1939 | Gone with the Wind | Romance | 13 | 8 |
2013 | Gravity | Sci-F- Thriller | 10 | 7 |
1998 | Shakespeare in Love | Romantic Comedy | 13 | 7 |
1993 | Schindler’s List | Historical War Drama | 12 | 7 |
1990 | Dances with Wolves | Western/ War Drama | 12 | 7 |
1985 | Out of Africa | Romance | 11 | 7 |
1973 | The Sting | Crime Action Drama | 10 | 7 |
1970 | Patton | Biographical War Drama | 10 | 7 |
1962 | Lawrence of Arabia | Historical War Drama | 10 | 7 |
1957 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | War Drama | 8 | 7 |
1946 | The Best Years of Our Lives | War Drama | 8 | 7 |
1944 | Going My Way | Musical Comedy | 10 | 7 |
2016 | La La Land | Musical Romance | 14 | 6 |
2015 | Mad Max: Fury Road | Post Apocalyptic Fantasy | 10 | 6 |
2009 | The Hurt Locker | War Action Drama | 9 | 6 |
2002 | Chicago | Musical Crime | 13 | 6 |
1994 | Forrest Gump | Drama/Romance | 13 | 6 |
1977 | Star Wars | Space Opera | 10 | 6 |
1974 | The Godfather, Part II | Crime Drama | 11 | 6 |
1966 | A Man for All Seasons | Historical Drama | 8 | 6 |
1951 | An American in Paris | Musical Romance | 8 | 6 |
1951 | A Place in the Sun | Drama | 9 | 6 |
1950 | All About Eve | Drama | 14 | 6 |
1942 | Mrs. Miniver | Romantic War Drama | 12 | 6 |
Which film has won the most Oscars?
3 Movies have a tie for the most Oscars won. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), “Titanic” (1997), and “Ben-Hur” (1959). All won 11 Oscars, with only “The Lord of the Rings” winning everything it was nominated for. Let`s watch the trailers of these amazing movies.
“The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” won all the Oscars it was nominated for including, Best picture, best director, best-adapted screenplay, best art direction, best costume design, best film editing, best makeup, best score, best song, best sound mixing, and best visual effects.
When “Titanic” won its 11 Oscars, it was nominated for 14. It won Oscars for best cinematography, best art direction, best picture, best director, best costume design, best film editing, best score, best song, best sound, best sound editing, and best visual effects. The three Oscars that the movie “Titanic” lost were best actress, best-supporting actress, and best make-up.
The first movie to take home 11 Oscars was “Ben Hur,” nominated for 12 Oscars. The Oscars it won included best actor, picture, director, cinematography, art direction, best-supporting actor, costume design, film editing, score, score, sound, and special effects. However, it lost the Oscar for adapted screenplay, won by “The Defiant Ones.”
What movies have won 7 Oscars?
There have been 11 films that have won exactly 7 Oscars, including “Gravity” (2013), “Shakespeare in Love” (1998), “Schindler’s List” (1993), “Dances with Wolves” (1990), “Out of Africa” (1985), “The Sting” (1973), “Patton” (1970), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), and “Going my Way” (1944).
“Gravity” (2013) is the only movie that won 7 Oscars but did not win the best picture, which was won by “Argo” George Clooney actually had to give the role up for the lead of “Argo” because of scheduling conflicts with filming the movie “Gravity.”
Interestingly enough, George Clooney’s prediction company, Smoke House Pictures, produced the movie “Argo,” so he still had ties to both films.
Has any movie won all four acting Oscars?
Out of the 15 movies nominated for all four acting Academy Awards, not a single film has ever won all four acting Oscars at the Academy Awards.
The two movies that came closest, winning 3 out of 4 of the acting Oscars, include “Network” (1976) and “A Street Car Named Desire” (1951).
In 1976, “Network” actually had two actors nominated for the best actor category. Both Peter Finch and William Holden were nominated for best actor, but Peter Finch walked away with the Oscar.
“Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) had two actors nominated in the best supporting actor category, Gene Hackman and Micheal J Pollard, neither of which one. Instead, the best supporting actor in 1967 was Walter Matthau for his work in “The Fortune Cookie.”
Another movie to have multiple actors nominated for an acting category was “From Here to Eternity” (1953) Both Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster were nominated for best actor, but neither actor took home the Oscar. Instead, Gary Cooper took home the Oscar for his work in “High Noon.”
In this list, the earliest movie to have multiple actors nominated for the same category is “Mrs. Miniver” (1942). Both Teresa Write and May Whitty were nominated for best-supporting actress, with Teresa Wright taking the award home.
All the Movies Nominated for all four acting Oscars include:
Year | Film | Genre | Acting Oscars Won |
2013 | American Hustle | Dark Comedy (Crime film) | 0 |
2012 | Silver Linings Playbook | Romantic Comedy | 1 |
1981 | Reds | Historical Drama | 1 |
1978 | Coming Home | Romantic War Drama | 2 |
1976 | Network | Dark Comedy | 3 |
1967 | Bonnie and Clyde | True Crime Drama | 1 |
1967 | Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner | Romantic Comedy | 1 |
1966 | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Drama | 2 |
1953 | From Here to Eternity | Romantic War Drama | 2 |
1951 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Gothic Drama | 3 |
1950 | Sunset Boulevard | Dark Comedy (Musical) | 0 |
1948 | Johnny Belinda | American Drama | 1 |
1943 | For Whom the Bell Tolls | War Film | 1 |
1942 | Mrs. Miniver | Romantic War Drama | 2 |
1936 | My Man Godfrey | Comedy | 0 |
Which films have won the Big 5 Oscars.
Out of the 43 movies to be nominated for the Big 5 Oscars, only three movies have ever won all 5: “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991), “One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest” (1975), and “It Happened One Night” (1934).
The Big 5 Oscars include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. The best screenplay can be the best original or adapted screenplay.
The best original screenplay has to be a script that isn’t based on any previously published material.
In contrast, the best-adapted screenplay can be previously published works, usually books and plays.
Eight movies out of the 43 nominated for the “Big Five” didn’t win any Big 5 Oscars.
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Final Thought
With nine decades of annual Academy Awards, there have been so few to win multiple Oscars over the years.
I hope this article has helped you learn about these multi-award-winning films and how they have claimed those awards.
Did you find any movies to add to your must-see list?
Share this blog post if you enjoyed it. I would really appreciate it!
Lots of great films and a few I have not seen. Will have to look for a few of these now.
The list of the movies include some of the ones I have really enjoyed. I like watching the whole trilogy of Lord of The Rings, so knowing Return of the King is one of movies with the most oscar wins gets me smiling.
I am so surprised at how many good films I didn’t know! It’s an amazing post and I will add a few movies to my watch list! You have done a good job by making this post! Thank you for that!
I’ve seen some of these, but I’m bookmarking this post so I can watch the rest. I love really good movies.
Thank you for all the research you did putting this list together. I’ve seen most of the contemporary movies but I am most interested in some of the older ones you list.
The Oscar season is upon us! This was a great trip down memory lane to look back at all the past incredible films that took home so many victories. A lot of these were some of my favourite movies, as well!
I’ve seen some of these, but I know there are some I haven’t seen yet! I need to make note of those so I can check them out! I love good movies
These are great movies and they all deserve the Oscar. I miss watching The Lord of the Rings now.
Oscar is around the corner and I am looking forward to seeing which movie is to be celebrated this year, I have to say Titanic is still one of my all time favourite.
When I was younger, I used to watch the Oscars every year and made it a point to watch every movie. Nowadays, however, the movies they pick are obviously motivated by things other than quality, so I’ve lost interest.
I have not seen many of these, surprisingly. Definitely a great list to get some inspiration for what to watch!
Big shoutout for compiling this list! While I’m familiar with most of the recent flicks, I’m particularly intrigued by some of the classics you’ve included.
What a comprehensive rundown of Oscar-winning films! Your article provides a captivating journey through the most decorated movies in Academy Awards history. I appreciated how you highlighted not only the number of Oscars won by each film but also delved into the specifics of their wins and nominations.
The inclusion of fun facts and anecdotes, like George Clooney’s involvement in both “Gravity” and “Argo,” added a delightful layer of insight to the discussion. And the exploration of films that came close to sweeping all four acting categories was particularly intriguing.
Your breakdown of the Big 5 Oscars and the rarity of films achieving this feat offered a fascinating glimpse into Hollywood history.
Overall, your article serves as a fantastic resource for cinephiles looking to explore the crème de la crème of Oscar-winning cinema. It’s both informative and engaging, leaving readers with a newfound appreciation for these multi-award-winning masterpieces. Great job!
This is very nice movie recommendation especially now that I am looking for a movie that is worth to watch.
I had no idea All About Eve was nominated for so many Oscars! I love so many of these movies.
There are so many great movies on this list! One of my personal favorites was La La Land. I had no idea it won so many Oscars.
I’m not surprised Lord of the Rings Was the One on Top. It’s my all time favorite movie(s). What a masterpieces in film making the trilogy and Hobbit movies are – I so enjoy them.
Thank you for sharing this. Now we will know what to watch.
Wow! There are some names that I don’t know. Bookmarked to browse through the list later. I am someone who watches The Lord of The Rings every year during Christmas. Can’t wait to watch some great ones from the list.