Most Oscar® Wins, Year by Year

[updated 5.01.2011]

BP=Best Picture winner if not the leader, which has happened 12 times.
32 times the leader has failed to win 5 total, including this year.

Most Wins
11: Return of the King (Peter Jackson) won 11/11 nominations
11: Titanic (James Cameron)
11: Ben-Hur (William Wyler) [photo above]
10: West Side Story
9: Gigi, The English Patient, and The Last Emperor 
8: Slumdog Millionaire, Amadeus, Gandhi, Cabaret, My Fair Lady, From Here to Eternity, On the Waterfront
7: Shakespeare in Love, Schindler's List, Dances With Wolves, Out of Africa, Patton, The Sting, Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, Going My Way, Best Years of Our Lives

Cabaret won the most (8) without winning Picture (The Godfather won).

Gone With the Wind's then record of 8 was matched twice in 15 yrs, by From Here to Eternity then On the Waterfront a year later, then was broken 3 times in a 4 year span (Gigi 9, Ben-Hur 11, West Side Story 10).

The total was matched 7 more times, recently by Slumdog Millionaire, and beaten 7 times as well.

Hardest to believe: The Sting (and Going My Way) won as many (7) as The Best Years of Our Lives, Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge On the River Kwai, Patton, Dances With Wolves, Schindler's List, and Shakespeare in Love. These are all among my favorite 100, except for, of course..

Leading Oscar® Winners by Year

10: Inception and BP: The King's Speech (4)
09: The Hurt Locker (6)
08: Slumdog Millionaire (8)
07: No Country for Old Men (4)
06: The Departed (4)
05: Brokeback Mtn, Crash, Memoirs of a Geisha, King Kong (3 each)
04: The Aviator (5) BP:Million Dollar Baby (4)
03: Return of the King (11 for 11)
02: Chicago (6)
01: Beautiful Mind; Fellowship of the Ring (4 each)
00: Gladiator (5)

99: American Beauty (5)
98: Shakespeare in Love (7)
97: Titanic (11 of 14)
96: The English Patient (9)
95: Braveheart (5)
94: Forrest Gump (6)
93: Schindler's List (7)
92: Unforgiven (4)
91: The Silence of the Lambs (5)
90: Dances With Wolves (7)
89: Driving Miss Daisy (4)
88: Rain Man (4)
87: The Last Emperor (9 of 9)
86: Platoon (4)
85: Out of Africa (7)
84: Amadeus (8)
83: Terms of Endearment (5)
82: Gandhi (8)
81: Chariots of Fire; Raiders of the Lost Ark (4 each)
80: Ordinary People (4)

79: Kramer vs Kramer (5)
78: The Deer Hunter (5)
77: Star Wars (6) bp:Annie Hall (4)
76: All the President's Men; Network (4 each) BP: Rocky (3)
75: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (5)
74: The Godfather Part II (6)
73: The Sting (7)
72: Cabaret (8) bp:Godfather (3)
71: The French Connection (5)
70: Patton (7)
69: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (4) BP:Midnight Cowboy (3)
68: Oliver! (5)
67: In the Heat of the Night (5)
66: A Man for All Seasons (6)
65: Doctor Zhivago; The Sound of Music (5 ea.)
64: My Fair Lady (8)
63: Tom Jones; Cleopatra (4 each)
62: Lawrence of Arabia (7)
61: West Side Story (10 of 11)
60: The Apartment (5)
59: Ben-Hur (11 of 12)
58: Gigi (9 of 9)
57: The Bridge on the River Kwai (7 of 8)
56: Around the World in 80 Days; The King and I (5 each)
55: Marty (4)
54: On the Waterfront (8)
53: From Here to Eternity (8)
52: High Noon (4) BP:Greatest Show (2)
51: A Place in the Sun; American in Paris (6 each)
50: All About Eve (6)

49: The Heiress (4) BP:All the King's Men (3)
48: Hamlet (4)
47: Gentleman's Agreement; Miracle on 34th St (3)
46: Best Years of Our Lives (7 of 8)
45: Lost Weekend (4)
44: Going My Way (7)
43: Song of Bernadette (4) BP:Casablanca (3)
42: Mrs. Miniver (6)
41: How Green Was My Valley (5)
40: Thief of Baghdad (3) BP:Rebecca (2)
39: Gone With the Wind (8 of 13)
38: Adventures of Robin Hood (3) BP:You Can't Take it With You (2)
37: The Life of Emile Zola (3)
36: Anthony Adverse (4) BP:Great Ziegfeld (3)
35: The Informer (4)
34: It Happened One Night (5 of 5)
33: Cavalcade (3)
32: The Champ; Bad Girl (2) BP:Grand Hotel (1)
31: Cimarron (3)
30: All Quiet on the Western Front; The Big House (2)
29: Broadway Melody* (1-bp) 7 tied with 1
28: Seventh Heaven; Sunrise (3) BP:Wings (2)