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While the number of Academy Awards wins or nominations doesn't determine a movie's quality, it's still a good indicator for audiences who are looking for something interesting to watch. Some movies can only dream of getting nominated, while others manage to score many nominations. However, getting nominated multiple times still isn't the real victory.
That only happens when the movie wins as many Oscars as possible. Throughout the history of cinema, there have been multiple movies that won an astonishing number of Oscars. Some titles might be less familiar to modern moviegoers, but that doesn't make the winning movies any less good.
7 Gigi (1958)
While Gigi isn't as well-known as other movies from this era today, it once was a huge hit. It focuses on a girl named Gigi who's growing up with her grandma. It's at her place where she meets a rich boy named Gaston, who eventually falls in love with her.
The movie doesn't have an overly complex story, but comes across as a feel-good piece, and as a musical, its music scenes work today just as well as they did when it first released. The movie scored 9 Academy Awards and proved yet again that musicals could be a strong contender for a lot of Oscars.
6 The Last Emperor (1987)
Some of the best movies that swept the Oscars are inspired by real events. The Last Emperor focuses on the rule of the last emperor of China. The movie is visually beautiful, almost three hours long but never boring, has an excellent cast, and even provides the audience with some fascinating information about early 20th century's history.
Considering its overall quality, it's no surprise it won impressive 9 Oscars. It won all the nominations it got, unlike other movies that also got many Academy Awards.
5 The English Patient (1996)
Movies that wind up as Oscar darlings often belong to the historical drama genre, and many work with strong love stories that don't have happy endings. Such is the case with The English Patient. During World War II, a young nurse is taking care of a burned man who begins telling her the story of his past, including the intricate love affair he once led.
Even though leading actor Ralph Fiennes didn't win any of the film's nine Oscars, he still gave an unforgettable performance. Other strong aspects of this movie, other than its touching story, include the beautiful picture and the music.
4 West Side Story (1961)
With the recently released remake, it's the perfect time to come back to the original West Side Story (1961). Not only is it an undeniable classic with catchy music, but also the musical that won the most Academy Awards ever. West Side Story scored ten Oscars, including the awards for Best Picture and Best Director.
At its heart, the movie offers a seemingly simple story about the enmity between two New York City gangs and the love story that forms a bond between them. However, West Side Story is much more complex than it might initially suggest. It's already clear that its remake won't repeat its predecessor's success.
3 Ben Hur (1959)
Though other movies have since won the same number of Oscars, Ben Hur was the first movie that won the record-breaking eleven Oscars. The 212-minute-long historical piece takes the audience back into early days of Christianity, and stars Charlton Heston as a man who ends up imprisoned and mistreated when he fights for the rights of Jewish people.
The movie immediately draws the audience in and keeps them captivated, despite lasting for three and a half hours. It helps that it's visually beautiful and inspired by real historical events. Other portrayals of the same story have been made since, but none of them came close to director William Wyler's most successful picture.
2 Titanic (1997)
After the victory of Ben Hur, it took almost 40 years before another movie managed to win eleven Academy Awards. To this day, Titanic is one of the greatest hits of all time. Director James Cameron build a captivating love story set during an actual tragedy.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet both became famous thanks to Titanic, and have gone on to portray many captivating characters since. Once again, the movie lasts over three hours but doesn't bore the audience for a second. The stakes are always high, especially once the unfortunate ship starts sinking.
1 The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003)
The third time's the charm, the saying goes, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King proved it when it won eleven Oscars for the third time in history. The third movie in The Lord of the Rings series brings the story to a close, and finally shows the fates of the beloved heroes and villains.
Written by J. R. R. Tolkien, the book series is one of the staples of fantasy literature, and the same is true for the Peter Jackson trilogy when it comes to fantasy film. No other movie from the same universe has managed to repeat this success, including the subsequent Hobbit trilogy, once again directed by Peter Jackson.