Which film has won the most Oscars ever? Academy Award winner records
Find out who's had the most nominations and wins for acting, directing, screenwriting and more.
The Oscars 2026 are upon us, as the who's who of Hollywood descend on the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles — hoping either to claim a golden statuette or deliver what might be the finest performance of their career: the gracious-in-defeat face.
This year, Ryan Coogler's Sinners leads the charge with an impressive – and well-deserved – 16 nominations – including in almost every major category, making it the most nominated film in Academy Awards history.
But will the vampire horror sweep the board and officially become the most successful film in Oscars history?
Elsewhere, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another and Chloé Zhao's Hamnet are also in the running for a truly memorable night, having picked up 13 and eight nods respectively, while Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value and Frankenstein have nine nominations apiece.
Read more:
- Every best picture Oscar winner of 21st century ranked – from Crash to Moonlight
- Oscar nominations 2026: Full list of nominees as Sinners smashes record with 16 nods
As the glitzy ceremony rolls around once again, we're taking a look at some of the biggest Oscar records, from the most-decorated film of all time to the actors who have won more than anybody else.
There's even a chance that we could see more records broken tonight, with both Sinners and One Battle After Another in the running to make Oscars history.
If you're interested to find out more about the impressive Oscar records spanning the history of the nearly 100-year-old event, read on to find out about the films and people with the most Academy Awards.
Which film has won the most Oscars of all time?
Three films hold the record of winning the most Academy Awards, having garnered 11 Oscars each: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Out of these, Titanic received the most nods with a total of 14 nominations.
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But it's entirely possible that Sinners – with its whopping 16 nominations – could equal or better that record.
The film is up for the best picture trophy, while Coogler has been nominated for best director — and would become the first Black winner in the category if successful.
Three of its stars (Michael B Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo) are also all in the running across the various acting categories.
Other nominations for Sinners include best original screenplay, original score, original song, costume design, cinematography, editing, production design, makeup and hairstyling, sound, visual effects and casting.
Then there's One Battle After Another, which has received 13 nominations. As well as being in the running for best picture, PTA has been nominated for best director and Leonardo DiCaprio for best actor.
Teyana Taylor has been nominated for best supporting actress, while co-stars Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are also competing in the best supporting actor category.
The film is also up for best adapted screenplay, original score, cinematography, editing, production design, sound and casting.
Who has won the most Oscars of all time?
The person who has triumphed more times at the Oscars than anyone else in history is Walt Disney.
America’s most iconic filmmaker racked up a whopping 26 Oscars, four of which were honorary awards, and he also holds the record for the most nominations on record – 59.
Who has won the most Oscars for acting?
Actress Katharine Hepburn holds the record for the most Oscars for acting, having won four Academy Awards across her career and earned a total of 12 nominations.
Hepburn won Oscars in the best actress category for her performances in the films Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981).
Actors Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis and Walter Brennan, meanwhile, are the three men with the most Oscars for acting, having each won three times.
While some of Brennan and Nicholson’s awards were for best supporting actor, all three of Day-Lewis’s victories were for best leading actor, and he holds the record in that category.
If Sean Penn wins best supporting actor for One Battle After Another, he will become one of just seven actors to have won three acting Oscars.
Who is the most nominated actor at the Oscars?
The person with the most nominations for acting is Meryl Streep, who has received 21 nods over the course of her career.
She has won three times for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011).
Streep has also been nominated for The Deer Hunter, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Silkwood, Out of Africa, Ironweed, A Cry in the Dark, Postcards from the Edge, The Bridges of Madison County, One True Thing, Music of the Heart, Adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt, Julie & Julia, August: Osage County, Into the Woods, Florence Foster Jenkins, and The Post.
But it's worth noting that Emma Stone, with her best actress nomination for Bugonia, has surpassed Meryl Streep as the youngest woman to earn seven Oscar nominations.
Who has won the most Oscars for directing?
John Ford won none of his four Oscars for his famous Westerns. Instead, he holds the Best Director record for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941) and The Quiet Man (1952).
Although Ford has won the most Oscars of any director, William Wyler holds the record for the most nominations in this discipline earning 12, three of which won him some silverware. Ford was nominated for five overall, boasting an enviable conversion rate.
Which British person has won the most Oscars?
Film composer John Barry has won more Oscars than any other Brit.
He has garnered five Academy Awards in total, two for Born Free (1966), and one each for Lion in Winter (1968), Out of Africa (1985) and Dances with Wolves (1990).
Who has won the most Oscars for screenwriting?
Five people have been awarded three screenwriting Oscars: Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, and Paddy Chayefsky.
But it is Allen who has won the most Academy Awards in the Best Original Screenplay category, for his films Annie Hall (1977), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and Midnight in Paris (2011).
Which British actor has won the most Oscars?
That would be Daniel Day Lewis with his three wins for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln.
The actor was also nominated for Oscars for his turns in In the Name of the Father, Gangs of New York and Phantom Thread.
The Academy Awards will air on Sunday 15 March 2026.
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Authors
Lewis is the News and Trends Editor at Radio Times and leads our approach to news, reactive content, and serving audience demands and interests. An obsessive fan of television and film, Lewis is a Nicole Kidman fanatic with a side of passion for science-fiction, art-house cinema and the latest HBO drama. Lewis has a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Film Studies. After working in advertising, Lewis worked at The Mirror for three years in community management and SEO, showbiz, film and television reporting.
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
