Hollywood films with most Oscar wins

With Oscar fever running high, everyone is chalking up their movies to catch up on. The year 2017 found more diversity in the films contesting in the Best Picture category than ever before. Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ garnered the most nominations for this year’s Oscars. Will it score a perfect 13 or lose out on some is yet to be seen. Here’s looking at Hollywood films with most Oscar wins.

‘Ben-Hur’ is a 1959 remake of the 1925 silent film with the same title. The American epic historical drama film, directed by William Wyler, starred Charlton Heston as the title character. ‘Ben-Hur’ was adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel ‘Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ’. ‘Ben-Hur’ had the largest budget ($15.18 million), as well as the largest sets built, of any film produced at the time. It won a record 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Best Cinematography – Colour.

Written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron, ‘Titanic’ needs no introduction. The 1997 film was a fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage. Upon its release on December 19, 1997, ‘Titanic’ achieved critical and commercial success. Nominated for 14 Academy Awards, it tied ‘All About Eve’ (1950) for the most Oscar nominations, and won 11, including the awards for Best Picture and Best Director, tying ‘Ben-Hur’ (1959) for the most Oscars won by a single film.

As of January 2018, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ is the 17th highest-grossing film of all time and also won all 11 Academy Awards for which it was nominated, therefore holding the record for highest Oscar sweep. The wins included the awards for Best Picture, the first and only time a fantasy film has done so; it was also the second sequel to win a Best Picture Oscar (following ‘The Godfather Part II’) and Best Director. The film jointly holds the record for the largest number of Academy Awards won with ‘Ben-Hur’ (1959) and ‘Titanic’ (1997).

‘West Side Story’ was an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was inspired by William Shakespeare's play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. It starred Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10, including Best Picture (as well as a special award for Robbins), becoming the record holder for the most wins for a movie musical. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for the National Film Registry in 1997.

‘Gigi’ won a record-breaking nine Academy Awards (at the 1959 Oscars ceremony); however, this record only lasted for one year, as ‘Ben-Hur’ broke this record the following year with 11 Oscars. In tribute to the domination of ‘Gigi’ at the Oscars, the MGM switchboard answered calls the following day with "M-Gigi-M". ‘Gigi’, eventually along with 1987's ‘The Last Emperor’, held the record as the films with the most Academy Award wins in every category in which it was nominated, until 2003's ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ broke the record at the 2004 Oscars ceremony with 11 Oscar nominations and 11 Oscar wins.

The autobiography of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, formed the basis of the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987. Puyi's life is depicted from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Communist Party of China. At the 60th Academy Awards, the film won all nine Oscars for which it was nominated.

‘English Patient’ was released to critical acclaim, and received 12 nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, eventually winning nine, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Juliette Binoche. Ralph Fiennes, playing the titular character, and Kristin Scott Thomas were Oscar-nominated for their performances. The film also won five BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globes. The British Film Institute ranked ‘The English Patient’ the 55th greatest British film of the 20th century.

Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, from her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, to her marriage to Rhett Butler. At the 12th Academy Awards, it received ten Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honourary) from thirteen nominations, including wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, becoming the first African American to win an Academy Award). It set records for the total number of wins and nominations at the time.