The 2024 Oscars have come and gone, and you may be wondering: which film has won the most Oscars in cinema history?
In all, there are 24 categories that animate the Oscars, the prestigious ceremony which closes the awards season to reward the best works of cinema of the year. There is no rule limiting the number of nominations, which allows certain productions to get away with more than a single statuette.
Some are doing even better than others, and breaking real records. The 96th Academy Awards essentially rewarded two big winners: Poor Creatures by Yorgos Lanthimos, but above all Oppenheimer, given the big favorite, who exploded the counters without too many surprises.
But Christopher Nolan’s feature film is not the first to win so many awards. Which film has won the most Oscars in cinema history?
Which film holds the record for the number of Oscars?
In reality, these are three films that are facing each other for the record number of Oscars. Titanic by James Cameron is thus tied with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by Peter Jackson and Ben-Hur by William Wyler.
The three feature films each won 11 awards, a feat that no other Hollywood film has managed to repeat so far – not even Oppenheimer, although nominated in 13 categories.
Ben-Hur, released in 1959 and presented by moviegoers as one of the greatest classics of the peplum genre, won in the categories of best film, direction, actors (leading and supporting role), photography, artistic direction, costumes, sound mixing, editing, original music and visual effects.
Titanic is not to be outdone: the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in a love story that stands the test of time – but not waterproof – was also a hit in its time. We can thus count the Oscars for best film, direction, photography, artistic direction, costumes, sound mixing, sound editing, editing, visual effects, original music and best original song.
Finally, and because never two without three, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King has added its two cents to form a trio of big winners. Peter Jackson’s film, the last in an award-winning trilogy and never equaled in the world of fantasy, won the jackpot: Oscars for best film , direction, adapted screenplay, original music, original song, sets, costumes, visual effects, editing, makeup and sound mixing.
If Oppenheimer did not manage to rise to the same level as these three winners, Christopher Nolan’s film still fought well: in addition to exploding the box office figures, it brought home numerous statuettes to his team and crushed the competition.
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