Earning more than one Academy Award during a career is a surprising rarity for actors. Katharine Hepburn holds the record of four Oscars, while the rare feat of winning three rests with Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Walter Brennan, Meryl Streep, Ingrid Bergman, and Frances McDormand. For filmmakers themselves, it is a bit of a different metric, as the ones behind the camera push all aspects of the production. A win for a film is often attributed, in part, to their work.
Steven Spielberg’s work has been monumental in defining the modern face of cinema, and the success of his films at the Academy Awards reflects this unparalleled career over five decades, starting when Jaws became his first film to win an Oscar. Fifty years of excellence seem challenging to beat, yet one director’s films won more Oscars within four decades: William Wyler. Let’s compare the impressive records of the two cinema titans.
Steven Speilberg’s Impressive Oscar Record

Steven Spielberg’s films have won 33 Oscars collectively, from 1975 with Jaws to 2021 with West Side Story. Jaws made history as being one of the first horror films (though this genre classification is often contended) to be recognized at the Academy Awards. The awards it won, while none of the ‘big ones,’ included Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound. Two years later, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, blending genre elements like Jaws did, would win Best Cinematography. Spielberg was also up for an Oscar for Best Director but would lose out to Woody Allen for Annie Hall.

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Spielberg would be nominated twice for Best Director, for both Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T., before finding success and the most Oscar wins of his career, at seven, with 1993’s Schindler’s List. At the 66th Oscars, Schindler’s List won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. The only other work of his that came close to matching the success of Schindler’s List is Saving Private Ryan, which came out in 1998. Speilberg would again take Best Director among the five Oscars Saving Private Ryan won. These two films would mark his only wins for Best Director out of his eight nominations.

Title of Film

Year Released

Number of Academy Awards

Jaws

1975

3

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1977

1

Raiders of the Lost Ark

1981

4

E.T.

1982

4

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

1984

1

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

1989

1

Jurassic Park

1993

3

Schindler’s List

1993

7

Saving Private Ryan

1998

5

Lincoln

2012

2

Bridge of Spies

2015

1

West Side Story

2021

1

William Wyler would come to define the Golden Age of cinema, with his films winning 39 Oscars, beating Spielberg by six. Wyler would also set a record for the most nominated director throughout his career, with 12, winning for Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Ben-Hur (1959). All the films that Wyler won for Best Director also picked up Best Picture that year. However, like Speilberg, the early Oscar wins for Wyler’s films were in other categories, including Walter Brennan winning Best Supporting Actor in Come and Get It (1936) and Best Art Direction for Bosworth (1936).
Mrs. Miniver would be Wyler’s first dominant showing at the Oscars, earning the film six awards. He would break that record in 1946 with his movie The Best Years of Our Lives, winning seven. However, Ben Hur (1959) was his greatest success, setting a record at the Oscars with 11 wins; it was later tied by Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). William Wyler passed on July 24, 1981, leaving a rich cinematic legacy behind.

Title of Film

Year Released

Number of Academy Awards

Come and Get It

1936

1

Dodsworth

1936

1

Jezebel

1938

2

Wuthering Heights

1939

1

The Westerner

1940

1

Mrs. Miniver

1942

6

The Best Years of Our Lives

1946

7

The Heiress

1949

4

Roman Holiday

1953

3

The Big Country

1958

1

Ben-Hur

1959

11

Funny Girl

1968

1

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Where to Watch the Best Films of William Wyler & Steven Spielberg

The best way to experience a master of the screen is to watch their work. Here are the films by Spielberg and Wyler, which won more than three Oscars, and where you can stream/rent them:
Steven Spielberg

Jaws (1975) – Rent or Buy on Any Digital Platform

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Disney +

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – Rent or Buy on Any Digital Platform

Schindler’s List (1993) – Netflix

Jurassic Park (1993) – Starz

Saving Private Ryan (1998) – Paramount+, MGM+, AMC+

William Wyler

Mrs. Miniver (1942) – Indieflix, Max

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Peacock, Prime Video

The Heiress (1949) – Watch TCM, Hulu

Roman Holiday (1953) – Paramount+, MGM+

Ben-Hur (1959) – Free on Tubi, Rent or Buy on Any Digital Platform