Films That Received The Most Acting Nominations - 4 or more

[MovieWes]

A recent film with four or five strong contenders was The Departed - DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Wahlberg and maybe Vera Farmiga, yet only Wahlberg made the cut despite the film's strong support and eventual best picture win so it's not as though there isn't the occasional film that merits having that many acting nods.

It's still rather amazing to me that The Departed was only nominated for five Academy Awards. It's such a technically proficient piece of Hollywood filmmaking and it only received below the line nominations for Thelma Schoonmaker. No Sound Mixing. No Cinematography. No nomination for Howard Shore's outstanding score. No DiCaprio. No Nicholson. Not a spark of conversation for Matt Damon...

Don't forget that DiCaprio got a nomination for Blood Diamond that year instead. You could probably count that one as a nomination for both films.

[Penelope]

I was well aware that Chicago was the only film since early 1980s to get four acting nominations, but I has not realized, until now, how common this was up until the 1970s. Obviously the voters are now spreading the wealth amongst more movies. I wonder if there's some specific reason for this.

More slots in supporting categories being reserved for lead performances?

Amen.

[Mike Kelly]

You can add the following films to the 4 acting nominations category:

The Song of Bernadette (1943)
I Remember Mama (1948)
The Defiant Ones (1958)

Only 3 of 26 films to receive 4 acting nominations failed to win a Best Picture nomination. Going in reverse:
Othello (1963)
I Remember Mama (1948)
My Man Godfrey (1936). This was perhaps the most egregious omission since that year there were 10 films nominated for Best Picture. It also happens to be my favorite of the so-called screwball comedies.

Also of these 26 films, there were 8 that were shut out of any wins for their nominees (My Man Godfrey, I Remember Mama, Sunset Boulevard, The Defiant Ones, The Hustler, Othello, Rocky, The Turning Point). Interestingly, the three films that didn't receive a Best Picture nomination also had their nominated casts go zero for four.

[Eric]

I was well aware that Chicago was the only film since early 1980s to get four acting nominations, but I has not realized, until now, how common this was up until the 1970s. Obviously the voters are now spreading the wealth amongst more movies. I wonder if there's some specific reason for this.

More slots in supporting categories being reserved for lead performances?

[FilmFan720]

Not a spark of conversation for Matt Damon...

And he gave the best performance in the film!

[Sabin]

A recent film with four or five strong contenders was The Departed - DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Wahlberg and maybe Vera Farmiga, yet only Wahlberg made the cut despite the film's strong support and eventual best picture win so it's not as though there isn't the occasional film that merits having that many acting nods.

It's still rather amazing to me that The Departed was only nominated for five Academy Awards. It's such a technically proficient piece of Hollywood filmmaking and it only received below the line nominations for Thelma Schoonmaker. No Sound Mixing. No Cinematography. No nomination for Howard Shore's outstanding score. No DiCaprio. No Nicholson. Not a spark of conversation for Matt Damon...

[flipp525]

We'll see if Doubt can pull off four this year.

I think it should. Looking at the core cast of the film (Streep, Hoffman, Adams, & Davis), there's really not one I could conceivably leave off. Although, interestingly enough, I think Adams actually has the most screentime.

Hoffman is surprisingly good in this, by the way. However, by no means, is it a supporting performance.



Edited By flipp525 on 1229849440

[Big Magilla]

Interesting question.

A recent film with four or five strong contenders was The Departed - DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Wahlberg and maybe Vera Farmiga, yet only Wahlberg made the cut despite the film's strong support and eventual best picture win so it's not as though there isn't the occasional film that merits having that many acting nods.

We'll see if Doubt can pull off four this year.

[Heksagon]

I was well aware that Chicago was the only film since early 1980s to get four acting nominations, but I has not realized, until now, how common this was up until the 1970s. Obviously the voters are now spreading the wealth amongst more movies. I wonder if there's some specific reason for this. Is the competition for acting nominations tougher nowadays? Or is it that because of the screeners voters see more movies nowadays?

[FilmFan720]

So, here is our final list?

5
Mrs. Miniver (Walter Pidgeon, Greer Garson, Henry Travers, May Whitty, Teresa Wright)
All About Eve (Anne Baxter, Bette Davis, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter)
From Here to Eternity (Montgomery Clift, Burt Lanchester, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed)
On The Waterfront (Marlon Brando, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint)
Peyton Place (Lana Turner, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, Hope Lange, Diane Varsi)
Tom Jones (Albert Finney, Hugh Griffith, Diane Cilento, Edith Evans, Joyce Redman)
Bonnie and Clyde (Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard, Estelle Parsons)
The Godfather Part II (Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Michael Gazzo, Lee Strasberg, Talia Shire)
Network (Peter Finch, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Ned Beatty, Beatrice Straight)

4
My Man Godfrey (William Powell, Carole Lombard, Mischa Auer, Alice Brady)
Gone with the Wind (Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Hattie McDaniel, Olivia de Havilland)
For Whom the Bells Tolls (Garry Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Katina Paxinou)
Gentleman's Agreement (Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere)
Johnny Belinda (Lew Ayers, Jane Wyman, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead)
Sunset Boulevard (William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson)
A Streetcar Named Desire (Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden, Kim Hunter)
Judgment at Nuremberg (Maximilian Schell, Spencer Tracy, Montgomery Clift, Judy Garland)
The Hustler (Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott)
Othello (Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay, Joyce Redman, Maggie Smith)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal, Sandy Dennis)
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards)
The Last Picture Show (Jeff Bridges, Ben Johnson, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman)
The Godfather (Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Al Pacino)
Rocky (Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young)
The Turning Point (Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne)
Julia (Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, Maximilian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave)
Coming Home (Jon Voigt, Jane Fonda, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford)
Kramer Vs. Kramer (Dustin Hoffman, Justin Henry, Jane Alexander, Meryl Streep)
Reds (Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Maureen Stapleton)
Terms of Endearment (Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, John Lithgow, Jack Nicholson)
Chicago (Renee Zellweger, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, Catherine Zeta-Jones)

[Uri]

Tom Jones = 4 (Albert Finney, Edith Evans, Joyce Redman, Diane Cilento)

You've missed Hugh Griffith. It's 5 too.

[Uri]

Network = 4: Faye Dunaway (Actress)*, Peter Finch (Actor)*, William Holden (Actor), Beatrice Straight (Supporting Actress)*, Ned Beatty (Supporting Actor)

Should be 5.

[anonymous1980]

My Man Godfrey and Othello are the only ones not to be nominated for best picture.

So if Doubt gets 4 acting Oscar noms but not Best Picture, it wouldn't be the first? Gotcha.

[Uri]

5
Mrs. Miniver (Walter Pidgeon, Greer Garson, Henry Travers, May Whitty, Teresa Wright)
All About Eve (Anne Baxter, Bette Davis, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter)
From Here to Eternity (Montgomery Clift, Burt Lanchester, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed)
On The Waterfront (Marlon Brando, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint)
Peyton Place (Lana Turner, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, Hope Lange, Diane Varsi)
Bonnie and Clyde (Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard, Estelle Parsons)

4
My Man Godfrey (William Powell, Carole Lombard, Mischa Auer, Alice Brady)
Gone with the Wind (Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Hattie McDaniel, Olivia de Havilland)
For Whom the Bells Tolls (Garry Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Katina Paxinou)
Gentleman's Agreement (Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere)
Johnny Belinda (Lew Ayers, Jane Wyman, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead)
Sunset Boulevard (William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson)
Judgment at Nuremberg (Maximilian Schell, Spencer Tracy, Montgomery Clift, Judy Garland)
The Hustler (Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott)
Othello (Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay, Joyce Redman, Maggie Smith)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal, Sandy Dennis)
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards)
The Last Picture Show (Jeff Bridges, Ben Johnson, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman)
Rocky (Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young)
The Turning Point (Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne)
Julia (Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, Maximilian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave)
Kramer Vs. Kramer (Dustin Hoffman, Justin Henry, Jane Alexander, Meryl Streep)
Terms of Endearment (Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, John Lithgow, Jack Nicholson)

My Man Godfrey and Othello are the only ones not to be nominated for best picture.

[flipp525]

Oh, good catch, Penelope.