Here’s how ‘Oppenheimer’ could tie the Oscar record for most wins

Jacob Sarkisian
·5 min read
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“Oppenheimer” is the most nominated film at this year’s Oscars with 13 nominations. That’s one shy of the all-time record of 14 nominations (garnered by “All About Eve” in 1951, “Titanic” in 1998, and “La La Land” in 2017) so it missed out on Oscars history in the nomination phase.

However, Universal’s movie could match Academy Awards history in the awards phase by equalling the record of 11 Oscar wins overall. So far, three films have won 11 Academy Awards. They were “Ben-Hur” in 1960, “Titanic” in 1998, and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2004. Here’s the breakdown of what awards they won.

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“Ben-Hur”

  • Best Picture — Sam Zimbalist

  • Best Director — William Wyler

  • Best Actor — Charlton Heston

  • Best Supporting Actor — Hugh Griffith

  • Best Film Editing

  • Best Cinematography (Color)

  • Best Music (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

  • Best Costume Design (Color)

  • Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Color)

  • Best Sound Recording

  • Best Visual Effects

*”Ben-Hur” was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Karl Tunberg but lost to “Room at the Top” (Neil Paterson).

“Titanic”

  • Best Picture — James Cameron and Jon Landau

  • Best Director — James Cameron

  • Best Film Editing

  • Best Cinematography

  • Best Original Dramatic Score

  • Best Original Song — “My Heart Will Go On”

  • Best Costume Design

  • Best Art Direction

  • Best Sound

  • Best Sound Effects Editing

  • Best Visual Effects

*”Titanic” was also nominated for Best Actress for Kate Winslet (losing to Helen Hunt for “As Good as It Gets”), Best Supporting Actress for Gloria Stuart (losing to Kim Basinger for “L.A. Confidential”), and Best Makeup (losing to “Men in Black”).

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”

  • Best Picture — Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, and Fran Walsh

  • Best Director — Peter Jackson

  • Best Adapted Screenplay — Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens

  • Best Film Editing

  • Best Original Score

  • Best Original Song — “Into the West”

  • Best Costume Design

  • Best Art Direction

  • Best Makeup

  • Best Sound Mixing

  • Best Visual Effects

*”The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won all 11 of the Oscars it was nominated for. This is the biggest clean sweep in Oscars history.

So, how about “Oppenheimer,” then? Currently, we are predicting that Christopher Nolan‘s movie will win eight of its 13 races. However, if Oscar voters love the film as much as we expect them to, there’s no reason a couple more categories couldn’t swing the way of the Oppenhomies. Here’s a breakdown of the lucky 13 “Oppenheimer” nominations and the status of each category.

  • Best Picture — Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven — WIN

  • Best Director — Christopher Nolan — WIN

  • Best Actor — Cillian Murphy — WIN

  • Best Supporting Actor — Robert Downey Jr. — WIN

  • Best Supporting Actress — Emily Blunt

  • Best Adapted Screenplay — Christopher Nolan — POTENTIAL

  • Best Film Editing — WIN

  • Best Cinematography — WIN

  • Best Original Score — WIN

  • Best Costume Design

  • Best Production Design — POTENTIAL

  • Best Makeup and Hairstyling — POTENTIAL

  • Best Sound — WIN

While eight wins would put it in the top tier of all-time champs, it is a way off the 11. We think there are a few categories it could potentially compete in. Currently, we are predicting “American Fiction” (Cord Jefferson) to win Best Adapted Screenplay after it prevailed at both Critics Choice Awards and BAFTAs. However, Nolan has been near the top of our Oscars odds chart for the whole season in this category. He could snag this award if voters really take to “Oppenheimer.” Beware of dark horse “Barbie” (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach), though. That film could win this category, too.

It could also sneak in a win for Best Production Design as the film marvelously recreates Los Alamos in WWII, building an entire town in the desert as they did in real life. “Barbie” is predicted to win this category while “Poor Things” is hot on its tail. “Oppenheimer” could take advantage if those two films split the vote. The same could theoretically happen in Best Costume Design, where “Barbie” and “Poor Things” are again the top two but it looks like that might be a slightly easier win for “Barbie.”

“Oppenheimer” could also snag a victory in Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The “Maestro” maestri are tipped to win for their transformative work while “Poor Things” could also take home the gong. However, “Oppenheimer” is a feasible winner as it has the hallmarks of a typical winner in this category. They de-age and age Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer while they physically transform Downey Jr. into Lewis Strauss and Oldman into President Harry S. Truman. The only category we think “Oppenheimer” has zero chance of winning is Best Supporting Actress. “The Holdovers” star Da’Vine Joy Randolph has swept every single precursor award and she has this award in the bag.

So, “Oppenheimer” looks almost guaranteed to win eight Academy Awards, while it has the potential to reach double figures. We’ll find out on Sunday if voters love it enough to place it on the same level as the trio of “Ben-Hur,” “Titanic,” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

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