Key figures from the chart
- The chart covers 34 feature films directed by Steven Spielberg, from Duel (1971) to The Fabelmans (2022).
- Together they received 145 Oscar nominations and 33 wins, plus 2 Special Achievement Awards.
- Schindler’s List (1993) won the most, 7 Oscars from 12 nominations. Lincoln (2012) also had 12 nominations but won 2.
- The Color Purple (1985) received 11 nominations and won none. Jurassic Park (1993) won all 3 of its nominations.
- Six films received no nominations, including Duel, Always, The Terminal and The BFG.
All figures are from the graphic, which does not name its creator or data source.
Every film on the chart
Title: Films by Steven Spielberg and their performance at the Academy Awards. Each film is a row with a bar of squares on a scale from 0 to 12: a yellow square with a dot for each Oscar win, a grey square with an X for each nomination that did not win, and a yellow square with a white star for a Special Achievement Oscar. Nominations below include wins. Film titles are as printed.
| Film (as printed) | Year | Oscar nominations | Oscar wins | Special Achievement Oscar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel | 1971 | 0 | 0 | |
| The Sugarland Express | 1974 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jaws | 1975 | 4 | 3 | |
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind | 1977 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 1941 | 1979 | 3 | 0 | |
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | 1982 | 9 | 4 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | 1984 | 2 | 1 | |
| The Color Purple | 1985 | 11 | 0 | |
| Empire of the Sun | 1987 | 6 | 0 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 1989 | 3 | 1 | |
| Always | 1989 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hook | 1991 | 5 | 0 | |
| Jurassic Park | 1993 | 3 | 3 | |
| Schindler’s List | 1993 | 12 | 7 | |
| The Lost World: Jurassic Park | 1997 | 1 | 0 | |
| Amistad | 1997 | 4 | 0 | |
| Saving Private Ryan | 1998 | 11 | 5 | |
| A.I. Artificial Intelligence | 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| Minority Report | 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| Catch Me If You Can | 2002 | 2 | 0 | |
| The Terminal | 2004 | 0 | 0 | |
| War of the Worlds | 2005 | 3 | 0 | |
| Munich | 2005 | 5 | 0 | |
| IJ & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | 2008 | 0 | 0 | |
| The Adventures of Tintin | 2011 | 1 | 0 | |
| War Horse | 2011 | 6 | 0 | |
| Lincoln | 2012 | 12 | 2 | |
| Bridge of Spies | 2015 | 6 | 1 | |
| The BFG | 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| The Post | 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ready Player One | 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| West Side Story | 2021 | 7 | 1 | |
| The Fablemans | 2022 | 7 | 0 |
Footer legend: Oscar nomination, Oscar win, Special Achievement Oscar. Totals printed on the chart: Feature films 34. Oscar nominations 145. Oscar wins 33 +2 Special Achievement Awards. Our check of the rows gives the same totals.
Spielberg’s own Oscars
The chart counts awards won by the films, including those for actors, music, sound and effects. Spielberg himself has won three Academy Awards and has been nominated nine times for Best Director, which makes him the third most nominated director after William Wyler (12) and Martin Scorsese (10) [1]. He won Best Director for Schindler’s List and for Saving Private Ryan [2]. He also holds the record for the most Best Picture nominations, fourteen, and received the Academy’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1987 [1].
Among the acting categories, the actors who won Oscars in Spielberg’s films were Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln, Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies and Ariana DeBose for West Side Story [1].
The films with the most nominations
Schindler’s List won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture [3]. Lincoln received twelve nominations at the 85th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won Best Production Design and Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis [4]. The Color Purple was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won none, tying the record for the most nominations without a win [5]. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial received nine nominations and won four: Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound and Best Sound Editing [6].
Notes on this infographic
- “The Fablemans” is a misspelling. The 2022 film is The Fabelmans; it received seven nominations at the 95th Academy Awards and won none [7], which matches the chart.
- The two Special Achievement Oscars are shown on the rows for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Wikipedia counts five Academy Awards for Raiders [8], which matches the chart’s four wins plus one Special Achievement Award.
- “IJ & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is the chart’s shortening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- Data date: the chart ends with The Fabelmans (2022). Duel is listed as a feature, although it was first made for television; Wikipedia’s filmography lists the extended theatrical version [2]. The early feature Firelight (1964) is not on the chart.
Questions about Steven Spielberg at the Academy Awards
How many Oscars has Steven Spielberg won?
Three Academy Awards, including Best Director for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, plus the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1987 [1][2]. The films he directed won 33 Oscars and 2 Special Achievement Awards between them, according to the chart.
What was Steven Spielberg’s first movie?
Duel (1971), first made for television, is the first feature on the chart. Wikipedia lists The Sugarland Express (1974) as his theatrical directing debut and Firelight (1964) as an earlier, partially lost feature [2].
What awards did Schindler’s List win?
Seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, along with seven BAFTAs and three Golden Globes [3]. The chart shows 7 wins from 12 nominations.
Sources
- Wikipedia, List of awards and nominations received by Steven Spielberg.
- Wikipedia, Steven Spielberg filmography.
- Wikipedia, Schindler’s List.
- Wikipedia, Lincoln (film).
- Wikipedia, The Color Purple (1985 film).
- Wikipedia, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
- Wikipedia, The Fabelmans.
- Wikipedia, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
