List of Academy Award records


This list of Academy Award records is current as of the 98th Academy Awards, which will take place in March 2026.

Most awards or nominations

  • Most awards won by a single film: 11
  • * Three films have won 11 Academy Awards:
  • ** Ben-Hur : nominated in 12 of the 15 possible categories
  • ** Titanic : nominated in 14 of the 17 possible categories
  • ** The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King : nominated in 11 of the 17 possible categories
  • Most nominations received by a single film: 16
  • * Sinners : out of 17 possible categories
  • Most nominations received by a single film without winning an award: 11
  • * Two films have received 11 nominations and won no awards:
  • **The Turning Point : from 14 possible categories
  • **The Color Purple : from 17 possible categories
  • Largest sweep : 11
  • * The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won in every category for which it was nominated: Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Makeup, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.
  • Most total awards won by a person: 22
  • * Walt Disney
  • * Dennis Muren holds the record for the most awards by a living person: 9
  • Most total nominations received and awards won by a woman: 35 & 8
  • * Edith Head, all for Best Costume Design
  • * Meryl Streep holds the record for the most nominations for a living woman: 21
  • Most total nominations for a person: 59
  • * Walt Disney
  • * John Williams holds the record for the most nominations by a living person: 54
  • Most nominations and awards for a person in a single year: 6 & 4
  • * In 1954, Walt Disney received 6 nominations and won 4 awards, both records. He won Best Documentary, Features for The Living Desert; Best Documentary, Short Subjects for The Alaskan Eskimo; Best Short Subject, Cartoons for Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom; and Best Short Subject, Two-reel for Bear Country. He had two additional nominations in Best Short Subject, Cartoons for Rugged Bear; and Best Short Subject, Two-reel for Ben and Me.
  • * In 2025, Sean Baker won 4 awards from 4 nominations. He won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing, all for Anora.
  • Most competitive awards won by a person who is still living: 8
  • * Composer Alan Menken has won 8 competitive awards
  • * Milena Canonero, Colleen Atwood, and Frances McDormand have all won 4 competitive awards, making them the most awarded living women
  • * Of note: Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren has won 9 Academy Awards: six competitive awards, two "Special Achievement" awards, and one "Technical Achievement" award
  • Most competitive awards won for Acting: 4
  • *Katharine Hepburn, all for Best Actress
  • Most competitive awards won for Directing: 4
  • *John Ford
  • Most competitive awards won for Writing: 3
  • *Woody Allen, all for Best Original Screenplay
  • *Charles Brackett, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
  • *Paddy Chayefsky, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
  • *Francis Ford Coppola, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
  • *Billy Wilder, for both Best Adapted and Original Screenplay
  • Most competitive awards won for Film Editing: 3
  • *Ralph Dawson
  • *Michael Kahn
  • *Daniel Mandell
  • *Thelma Schoonmaker
  • Most competitive awards won for Cinematography: 4
  • *Joseph Ruttenberg
  • *Leon Shamroy
  • Most competitive awards won for Film Music Composition and Songwriting: 9
  • *Alfred Newman, all for Best Original Score
  • *Of note:
  • **Alan Menken has won eight awards in musical categories
  • **John Williams has won five awards and holds the record for the most nominations by a living person at 54.
  • **Sammy Cahn won four awards, all for Best Original Song
  • **Johnny Mercer won four awards, all for Best Original Song
  • **Jimmy Van Heusen won four awards, all for Best Original Song
  • Most competitive awards won for Art Direction: 11
  • *Cedric Gibbons, who designed the Oscar statuette, received 38 nominations
  • Most competitive awards won for Costume Design: 8
  • *Edith Head has received 35 nominations in total and holds the records for the most nominations and awards for a woman
  • Most competitive awards won for Makeup: 7
  • *Rick Baker, who has received 11 nominations in total
  • Most competitive awards won for Visual Effects: 8
  • *Dennis Muren, who has received 15 nominations in total
  • Most competitive awards won for Special Effects : 3
  • *A. Arnold Gillespie, who received 12 nominations in total
  • Most awards won for Animated Feature Film: 3
  • * Pete Docter, who has received 4 nominations in total
  • Most nominations received for Animated Feature Film: 4
  • * Pete Docter, winning 3
  • * Hayao Miyazaki, winning 2
  • * Chris Sanders, winning 0
  • * Byron Howard, winning 2
  • Most awards won by a country for Best International Feature Film: 14
  • *Italy, which has received 33 nominations in total
  • Most nominations received by a country for Best International Feature Film: 43
  • *France, which has won the award 12 times
  • Most nominations received by a country for Best International Feature Film without an award: 10
  • *Israel
  • Most awards won by a non-English language film: 4
  • * Four non-English language films have won four Academy Awards:
  • **Fanny and Alexander won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design
  • **Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score
  • **Parasite won Best International Feature Film, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay
  • **All Quiet on the Western Front won Best International Feature Film, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score
  • Most nominations received by a non-English language film: 13
  • *One non-English language film has been nominated for thirteen Academy Awards:
  • **Emilia Pérez : Best International Feature Film, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song

    Awards for acting and directing debuts

These people won Academy Awards for their debut performances in film:
These people won Academy Awards for their directing debuts:
Three films have received the Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay.
  • It Happened One Night
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
  • ''The Silence of the Lambs''

    Most consecutive awards in each category

  • Any awards
  • * Walt Disney received record 10 awards in the eight consecutive years from 1931/32 through 1939. Eight are for Short Subject, and two were Special Awards: one for the creation of Mickey Mouse, and one recognizing the innovation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
  • Best Picture
  • * David O. Selznick produced two consecutive Best Picture winners Gone with the Wind in 1939 and Rebecca in 1940
  • Best Director
  • * Three directors have won two consecutive awards :
  • ** John Ford – The Grapes of Wrath and How Green Was My Valley
  • ** Joseph L. Mankiewicz – A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve
  • ** Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman or and The Revenant
  • Best Actor
  • * Two actors have won two consecutive awards:
  • ** Spencer Tracy – Captains Courageous and Boys Town
  • ** Tom Hanks – Philadelphia and Forrest Gump
  • Best Actress
  • * Two actresses have won two consecutive awards:
  • ** Luise Rainer – The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth
  • ** Katharine Hepburn – Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and The Lion in Winter
  • Best Supporting Actor
  • * Jason Robards won two consecutive awards for All the President's Men in 1976 and Julia in 1977
  • Best Supporting Actress
  • * No consecutive winner for Best Supporting Actress
  • Best Adapted Screenplay
  • * Two screenwriters have won two consecutive awards:
  • ** Joseph L. Mankiewicz – A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve
  • ** Robert Bolt – Doctor Zhivago and A Man for All Seasons
  • Best Original Screenplay
  • * No consecutive winner for Best Original Screenplay
  • Best Art Direction
  • *Thomas Little won four consecutive awards for Best Art Direction. He won Best Art Direction, Black and White, for the films How Green Was My Valley in 1941, This Above All in 1942, and The Song of Bernadette in 1943, and then he won an Oscar the next year in 1944 for Best Art Direction, Color for the film Wilson
  • Best Cinematography
  • * Emmanuel Lubezki won three consecutive awards for Gravity in 2013, Birdman or in 2014 and The Revenant in 2015
  • Best Costume Design
  • * Of Edith Head's eight awards won for Best Costume Design, three were won in consecutive years: in 1949 for The Heiress, in 1950 for All About Eve, and in 1951 for A Place in the Sun for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; in 1950 she also won for Samson and Delilah for Best Costume Design, Color
  • Best Film Editing
  • * Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter won for The Social Network in 2010, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011
  • Best Original Score
  • * Roger Edens won three consecutive awards for composing the scores for Easter Parade, On the Town, and Annie Get Your Gun
  • * Alfred Newman won two consecutive awards in Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for With a Song in My Heart, and Call Me Madam.
  • * André Previn won two consecutive awards on two occasions; first in Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for Gigi and Porgy and Bess, then in Best Scoring of Music-Adaptation and Treatment for Irma La Douce and My Fair Lady
  • * Alan Menken won two consecutive awards for composing the scores for Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin
  • * Gustavo Santaolalla won two consecutive awards for composing the scores for Brokeback Mountain and Babel
  • Best Original Song
  • * Three composers have won two consecutive awards for best original song, but under different award names:
  • ** Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer shared the awards in Best Music for "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961, and "Days of Wine and Roses" from Days of Wine and Roses in 1962
  • ** Alan Menken won twice consecutively in Best Music for "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast in 1991, and "A Whole New World" from Aladdin in 1992
  • Best Sound Mixing
  • * Thomas Moulton won three consecutive awards for The Snake Pit in 1948, Twelve O'Clock High in 1949, and All About Eve in 1950
  • Best Visual Effects
  • * Glen Robinson won four consecutive non-competitive wins Earthquake in 1974, The Hindenburg in 1975, and both King Kong and Logan's Run in 1976
  • * Of Dennis Muren's eight Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, three of them were consecutive wins ; E.T. The Extra Terrestrial in 1982, Return of the Jedi in 1983, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984.
  • * Jim Rygiel and Randall William Cook won three consecutive visual effects Oscars for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • Best Documentary
  • * Walt Disney won two consecutive awards for The Living Desert in 1953 and The Vanishing Prairie in 1954
  • Best Short Subject
  • * Of Walt Disney's many awards for Best Animated Short, eight of these wins were in consecutive years, for Flowers and Trees in 1931/32, Three Little Pigs in 1932/33, The Tortoise and the Hare in 1934, Three Orphan Kittens in 1935, The Country Cousin in 1936, The Old Mill in 1937, Ferdinand the Bull in 1938, and The Ugly Duckling in 1939
  • Best Short Subject
  • * Of Walt Disney's multiple awards for Best Live Action Short, four of his wins were in consecutive years, in 1950 for In Beaver Valley, in 1951 for Nature's Half Acre, in 1952 for Water Birds, and in 1953 for ''Bear Country''