‘Oppenheimer’ is competing with history as much as its challengers at the Oscars

Ray Richmond
·3 min read

As the expectation of an “Oppenheimer” steamroller at the Academy Awards this coming Sunday rises seemingly by the day, it’s worth looking at some of the Oscar juggernauts of the past and guessing where the film will fall in terms of number of victories. It’s possible the movie could even score a double-digit total, and if it does, that would elevate it into some very rarified air.

While it could conceivably win as many as 13 statuettes based on its 13 nominations, “Oppenheimer” is obviously highly unlikely to sweep every category. It probably won’t, for instance, take home the trophies for costume design or for makeup and hairstyling. When you think of the Father of the Atomic Bomb, after all, you don’t necessarily envision what a sharp dresser he was or how perfectly coiffed. I’m also predicting the film will lose at least one other of the crafts categories – perhaps production design – and one of the acting categories. But it nonetheless stands a realistic chance of winning 10. (I’m actually forecasting 9.)

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Let’s say the film does cart off 10 Oscars. That would put it in the top five Academy Award winners of all time. Three movies are tied at the top with 11 triumphs: “Ben-Hur” (1960), “Titanic” (1998) and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004). One previous film won 10: “West Side Story” in 1962. If “Oppenheimer” were to win 9, that would tie it with “Gigi” (1959), “The Last Emperor” (1988) and “The English Patient” (1997). In other words, if it emerges with at least 9, that would make it the winningest film at the Oscars in nearly three decades. It would also tie it with “Last Emperor” as the most-honored biopic at the ceremony ever.

And were it to earn 9, that would also vault “Oppenheimer” over such eight-time victors as “Gone with the Wind” (1940), “From Here to Eternity” (1954), “On the Waterfront” (1955), “My Fair Lady” (1965), “Cabaret” (1973), “Gandhi” (1983), “Amadeus” (1985) and “Slumdog Millionaire” (2009). Not such shabby company to have eclipsed.

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Even if “Oppenheimer” emerges with a mere 7 statuettes, it would still join some pretty exclusive members of that club: “Going My Way” (1945), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1947), “All About Eve” (1951), “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1958), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1963),  “The Sting” (1974), “Shakespeare in Love” (1999), “Schindler’s List” (1994), “Patton” (1971), “Out of Africa” (1986),  “Dances with Wolves” (1991), “Gravity” (2014) and last year’s film academy sensation, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2023).

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