Directors with the most Oscar nominations (11 photos)

A couple of days ago, the American Film Academy announced the Oscar nominees. Oppenheimer received the most nominations, followed by the fantastic black comedy from Yorgos Lanthimos and the western crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon from Martin Scorsese. And the award ceremony will take place on March 10, so for now we’re placing bets and waiting. And while we wait, we suggest remembering the directors, the directors who have the most Oscar nominations.

Joel Coen - 3 nominations (1 win)





Nominated for films:

• Fargo (1996)

• No Country for Old Men (victory, 2007)

• Iron Grit (2010)

The Coen brothers are seen as a writing duo, but Joel directed the first film, Fargo, without his brother, so Ethan only has two directing nominations.

Roman Polanski - 3 nominations (1 win)



Nominated for films:

• Chinatown (1974)

• Tess (1979)

• Pianist (victory, 2002)

Oliver Stone - 3 nominations (2 wins)





Nominated for films:

• Platoon (victory, 1986)

• Born on the Fourth of July (victory, 1989)

• John F. Kennedy. Shots fired in Dallas (1991)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - 3 nominations (2 wins)



Nominated for films:

• Babylon (2006)

• Birdman (win, 2014)

• Survivor (win, 2015)

Iñárritu won the Oscar for directing two years in a row, which is an astounding achievement.

Ang Lee - 3 nominations (2 wins)



Nominated for films:

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

• Brokeback Mountain (victory, 2005)

• Life of Pi (win, 2012)

An important point should be noted here. We did not take all active directors with three nominations, but only those who have at least one victory. Here's who also has three nominations, but no wins yet: Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, James Ivory and David O. Russell.

Just in case, let’s clarify that the Oscar nomination for “Oppenheimer” was only the second for Christopher Nolan (a complete shock for fans).

Francis Ford Coppola - 4 nominations (1 win)



Nominated for films:

• The Godfather (1972)

• The Godfather Part II (win, 1974)

• Apocalypse Now (1979)

• The Godfather 3 (1990)

Clint Eastwood - 4 nominations (2 wins)



Nominated for films:

• Unforgiven (victory, 1992)

• Mystic River (2003)

• Million Dollar Baby (win, 2004)

• Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Peter Weir - 4 nominations (0 wins)



Nominated for films:

• Witness (1986)

• Dead Poets Society (1989)

• The Truman Show (1998)

• Master of the Seas: At the End of the Earth (2003)

In 2023, the director received an honorary Oscar for his special contribution to cinema, so the director of such powerful films was not left without a statuette.

Woody Allen - 7 nominations (1 win)



Nominated for films:

• Annie Hall (win, 1977)

• Interiors (1978)

• Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

• Hannah and her sisters (1986)

• Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

• Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

• Midnight in Paris (2011)

Steven Spielberg - 9 nominations (2 wins)



Nominated for films:

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

• Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

• Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

• Schindler's List (win, 1994)

• Saving Private Ryan (win, 1998)

• Munich (2005)

• Lincoln (2011)

• West Side Story (2021)

• The Fabelmans (2022)

Martin Scorsese - 10 nominations (1 win)



Nominated for films:

• Raging Bull (1981)

• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

• Goodfellas (1990)

• Gangs of New York (2002)

• The Aviator (2004)

• Renegades (victory, 2006)

• Timekeeper (2011)

• The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

• The Irishman (2019)

• Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)