The Academy Awards aren’t just glitzy gowns and acceptance speeches; they’re Hollywood’s ultimate scoreboard. For nearly 100 years, the Oscars have crowned legends, fueled rivalries, and broken records that still stand decades later. So who holds the biggest bragging rights? From epic movie sweeps to individual icons who set the bar sky-high, here are 10 Oscar records that continue to define Tinseltown.
10. Most Wins by a Film
Just three movies can claim to have thoroughly dominated Oscar night: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). All took home 11 golden statues. Moreover, Return of the King was 11-for-11, sweeping all the categories it was nominated for. That’s maximum awards supremacy.
9. Most Nominations for a Film
Reaching double digits is challenging, but a few made 14 nods each: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). More recently, Emilia Pérez (2025) received 13, tying the highest number of nominations for a non-English language film ever. And yes, Titanic remains the only film that shows up on both the nominations and wins leaderboard.
8. Most Wins by an Individual
Surprisingly, the all-time winner isn’t an actor or a director. It’s Walt Disney, with 26 Oscars (22 competitive, 4 honorary). From animated shorts to innovative technical feats, Disney basically cornered the market in his prime. The next closest? Optical designer Iain Neil with 13, and art director Cedric Gibbons with 11.
7. Most Wins by an Actor
Katharine Hepburn is the reigning queen with four Best Actress awards in her six-decade career. Daniel Day-Lewis is the man’s leader, with three Best Actor awards. Jack Nicholson and Walter Brennan join them in the three-winner club, along with Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman, and Meryl Streep. Hepburn, though, is still unbeaten at the top.
6. Most Nominations for an Actor
Meryl Streep’s record here is unlikely ever to be beaten. With 21 acting nominations, she’s the Academy’s uncontested favorite. Jack Nicholson and Katharine Hepburn trail far behind on 12 each. Despite “only” having three wins, her sheer consistency over decades is unparalleled.
5. Most Wins by a Director
John Ford continues to hold the record with four Best Director Oscars, courtesy of such classics as The Grapes of Wrath and The Quiet Man. Infamously, Ford wasn’t present to receive his first three awards, having on one occasion confessed to being out fishing, at war, or just plain drunk. William Wyler and Frank Capra have three apiece.
4. Most Wins by a Composer
For music, Alfred Newman is still the Oscars’ maestro with nine victories. John Williams has the most nominations in total (54!), but just five trophies. Alan Menken, for some of Disney’s biggest successes, is close behind with eight.
3. Most Wins by a Costume Designer
Edith Head is more than a Hollywood icon; she’s the most awarded woman in Oscar history with eight costume design wins. Her designs for movies like All About Eve, Roman Holiday, and The Sting were so iconic that Pixar actually based The Incredibles’ Edna Mode on her.
2. Most Wins by a Visual Effects Artist
Dennis Muren has practically built the modern blockbuster. With eight Oscars to his name, his work on Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and countless others redefined what’s possible on screen. If you’ve gasped at groundbreaking VFX, chances are Muren had a hand in it.
1. Most Wins in a Single Night
This is a rare record that belongs to two monikers: Walt Disney and Bong Joon-ho,o and now, director Sean Baker. Baker won four Oscars in one evening for Anora (2025), equalling Disney’s 1954 take and Bong’s Parasite sweep. With directing, editing, producing, and writing, Baker made his movie the night’s biggest victor.
The Oscars are not behind the times. Over recent years, the Academy has come under pressure to become more diverse in response to the #OscarsSoWhite backlash. Since then, nominees of color have increased, and new representation guidelines for Best Picture have been implemented. Naturally, not all of the “records” are ones to be desired, such as the infamous Will Smith slap, which the Academy still can’t seem to move beyond.
From sweeping epics to solo legends, these Academy milestones demonstrate why the ceremony continues to matter after almost a century. They’re the numbers everyone in Hollywood hopes to join, and why the Oscars are the industry’s ultimate bragging rights.