The current record for the film with the most Oscar nominations is held by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land, all of which got a whopping 14 nods. In second place, there’s a 12-way tie at 13 nominations apiece. This list ranks all of those movies, from duds like last year’s Emilia Pérez to bona fide classics like The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
The titles below span a wide range of genres and moods (and, indeed, cinematic quality). That said, the best of these 13-time Oscar nominees are undeniable bangers and more than worthy of the copious nominations they received. They include everything from historical epics and musicals to biopics and sci-fi romance, proving that the Academy is a lot more versatile than many believe.
12
‘Emilia Pérez’ (2024)
“Sometimes, to become who you truly are, you have to bury who you used to be.” Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez is the newest member of the 13-nomination club, as well as far and away the weakest. A Spanish-language musical crime drama about a cartel leader who undergoes gender transition (yes, really), it blends melodrama, satire, and social commentary into a bold but awkward fusion. The movie is part telenovela, part musical, part political fable.
The script is decidedly shaky, though the talented cast (including Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez) does elevate it a little. Audiard’s daring tone shifts and elaborate choreography were divisive to say the least, winning over some cult fans but alienating most mainstream viewers and critics. All these contradictions mean that Emilia Pérez is a strange beast, a movie that was feted with Oscar nods (including Best Picture) but only holds a 5.4 out of 10 on IMDb.
11
‘From Here to Eternity’ (1953)
“I never knew it could be like this. Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.” Things improve dramatically with From Here to Eternity. It’s a definitive postwar romance and one of Hollywood’s most iconic dramas, one that charmed critics on release. It swept through the 1954 Oscars with eight wins from thirteen nominations. Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Deborah Kerr lead the cast, all turning in impressively realistic performances. Through them, the movie captures the emotional volatility of soldiers stationed in Hawaii in the months leading up to Pearl Harbor.
In addition to the main trio, Frank Sinatra also shines in a supporting role that helped revive his career. The movie as a whole is solid, including adult drama and striking imagery (most notably, the famous beachside kiss). Beneath its Hollywood gloss lies an undercurrent of repression and longing: sex, honor, and disillusionment colliding under military rigidity.
10
‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (2008)
“Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.” Something of a misunderstood gem, The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonwas both adored and dismissed upon release. Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, it follows a man (Brad Pitt) who ages backward, born old and growing younger through time. It’s not a perfect film, but its best moments are breathtaking, full of warmth and food for thought. Fundamentally, it’s a meditation on love, mortality, and the relentless passage of time, anchored by Pitt’s soulful performance. Opposite him, Cate Blanchett is luminously melancholy (her specialty).
The visual effects (particularly the ageing) were ahead of their time and still hold up now. Alexandre Desplat’s score is fantastic too, deeply nostalgic in a way that gets under your skin. All these strengths make Benjamin ButtonFincher‘s most sentimental and human film. It’s a cinematic poem about the fleeting nature of connection and the quiet miracle of having existed at all.
9
‘Chicago’ (2002)
“I’m a star… and the audience loves me!” When Chicago arrived, the movie musical was all but dead. Rob Marshall‘s film resurrected it with razzle-dazzle, cynicism, and killer choreography. Based on the stage musical by Kander and Ebb, it turned a Jazz Age tale of murder and media manipulation into a glittering critique of fame itself. It helped that it had major talents at the helm. Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones are electric opposites; one naive and desperate, the other lethal and self-possessed. Meanwhile, Richard Gere’s slick lawyer sings his way through the corruption circus, and John C. Reilly is great as the naive Amos.
The editing and staging blur the line between fantasy and performance (though the cast and crew make it all look so easy). Winning six of its thirteen nominations, including Best Picture, Chicago made musicals cool again, setting the tone for later movies like La La Land. It’s glossy, wicked, and gleefully amoral, a ton of fun from beginning to end.
8
‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ (1966)
“Truth and illusion, George; you don’t know the difference.” Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a sustained emotional detonation, a drama held together by phenomenal acting. It traps four characters in a single night of booze-soaked psychological warfare, peeling back the illusions of marriage, academia, and the American Dream. George Segal and Sandy Dennis are terrific, while Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (then married in real life) weaponize their chemistry into something volcanic. Indeed, the entire credited cast received Oscar nods.
Shot in stark black and white, the movie is as visually bruising as it is emotional. It’s not an easy watch, but that’s the point. It’s truth, stripped bare and howling. The film’s 13 nominations (and five wins) were a testament to its raw power: Taylor and Dennis both took home Oscars, while director Mike Nichols was announced as one of the medium’s most important new voices.
7
‘Mary Poppins’ (1964)
“Practically perfect in every way.” On the opposite end of the cinematic spectrum is Mary Poppins, possibly Disney’s most magical live-action creation ever. It’s a movie that transcends nostalgia to achieve true cinematic wonder. In her Oscar-winning debut, Julie Andrews brings warmth and wit to the iconic nanny who turns a dysfunctional London family’s life upside down. On the aesthetic side, the blend of live-action and animation remains enchanting today., while the music is pure sunshine in sonic form. Songs like “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” became famous the world over.
Yet beneath the whimsy lies genuine emotional resonance. At its core, it’s a story about reconnecting with imagination and family in a world obsessed with work and order. Mary Poppins is the rare family film that speaks to adults and children alike: playful yet profound, silly yet wise. Not for nothing, it walked away with five Oscars, including a much-deserved Best Actress statue for Andrews.
6
‘Forrest Gump’ (1994)
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Forrest Gump is one of those iconic movies that feels decidedly larger than life, in ways both good and bad. For some, it’s sentimental Americana; for others, a profound chronicle of innocence surviving chaos. Either way, Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of Winston Groom’s novel struck a cultural nerve. Tom Hanks’ performance, all sincerity and quiet dignity, anchors a sprawling portrait of 20th-century America seen through one man’s uncomprehending eyes. The digital effects were groundbreaking for the time, and emotional directness captured millions of imaginations.
Critics may argue it simplifies history, but that’s part of its strange, elegiac charm. Forrest Gumpis a fable about purity in a cynical age. Its Best Picture win over both The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction has become pretty infamous, but Hanks’ performance is undeniably committed and charismatic, doing most of the heavy lifting.
5
‘Shakespeare in Love’ (1998)
“It will all turn out well.” An even more controversial Best Picture winner than Forrest Gump, Shakespeare in Love is notorious for defeating Saving Private Ryan at the awards ceremony. Nevertheless, while not on the level of Spielberg’s classic, Shakespeare in Love has aged better than its backlash suggests. The movie reimagines the Bard as a struggling writer who finds inspiration through forbidden love. Joseph Fiennes is charmingly insecure as Shakespeare, while a committed Gwyneth Paltrow earned gold for her performance as Viola.
The film’s appeal lies in its meta-textual wit: it’s a story about how art is born from passion and chaos. Tom Stoppard’s script is razor-sharp, balancing farce and heartbreak with Shakespearean rhythm. Most of all, it pays loving tribute to the playwright’s work, and spotting all the references is a fun game. Overall, Shakespeare in Love is romantic, literate, and exuberantly theatrical. Not perfect, but certainly enjoyable.
4
‘Gone With the Wind’ (1939)
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Still one of the most famous movies ever made (despite some increased criticism in recent decades), Gone With the Wind remains a towering contradiction: breathtaking in craft, troubling in ideology. On release, Victor Fleming’s Civil War epic redefined what cinema could be in scale and scope. Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara is one of film’s most indelible characters; vain, ambitious, and unbreakable. Opposite her, Clark Gable’s Rhett Butler gave us the definitive rogue hero.
The film’s 13 nominations and 8 wins, not to mention its colossal box office haul, made it a juggernaut of Hollywood’s Golden Age and a defining effort for its generation. Yet, modern reappraisals grapple with its romanticized vision of the antebellum South. Its artistry is undeniable; its mythology, dangerous. To watch Gone With the Wind now is to see both the brilliance and the blindness of early American filmmaking. For all its flaws, it remains essential viewing.
3
‘The Shape of Water’ (2017)
“When he looks at me, he does not know how I am incomplete. He sees me as I am.” A love story between a woman and an amphibian god shouldn’t have worked, yet Guillermo del Toro turned that unlikely premise into pure poetry. Set during the Cold War, The Shape of Water follows Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute janitor who falls in love with a captive creature (Doug Jones) in a government lab.
Their intertwined tale is both a monster movie and a fairy tale for adults, balancing political allegory with lush romanticism, a film about outsiders finding each other in a world built on fear. The production design and score are sumptuous (as expected from del Toro), and the tone, part noir, part fable, feels timeless. With 13 nominations and 4 wins, including Best Picture and Best Director, The Shape of Water cemented del Toro as a modern mythmaker. Strange, sensual, and entirely sincere.
