Walt Disney dominance, Oscar man Rahman: 8 charts recapping Oscars’ 97-year journey

On Sunday (March 2), Anora creator Sean Baker won the Academy Awards for best director, best picture, original screenplay and editing at the Oscars, bookending a dominant awards season for the American filmmaker whose stories seek to humanise sex workers and immigrants.Baker, 53, wrote, produced, directed and edited the most dominant film of the night. The comedy-drama stars Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who marries the impetuous son of a Russian oligarch. They impulsively tie the knot on a ketamine-induced Las Vegas getaway, angering his parents, who send their bumbling henchmen after the couple to force an annulment.Baker bags 4 Oscars in a single nightAnora swept the evening with five overall wins, four of which went to Baker, who now ties Walt Disney for the most wins in a single year in Academy Awards history. But unlike Disney who won awards for four different films in 1954, all Baker's wins were for a single project. Bong Joon-ho was the previous record holder for most wins for a single film, in 2020 for Parasite. medium118702385Baker made the film on a modest budget of $6 million — an amount one producer previously joked is smaller than the catering budget of some of its competitors. Last year’s best picture winner, Oppenheimer, had a $100 million budget.Nobody has won them like DisneyOverall, Walt Disney’s dominance at the Oscars with 22 wins remains unparalleled, including four honorary Oscars. It is, in fact, those behind the scenes that have the best individual Oscar tally with major studios like MGM (23 wins) and Warner Bros (13) having their own winning legacies. Katherine Hepburn remains the most decorated actor with four Oscars. 118701916For films, 11 is the number to beatTitanic, Ben-Hur, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King share the top spot for highest number of Oscars at 11 apiece. There are some films that also stand out for sweeping all the categories in which they were nominated while there are also those that failed to bag even one award despite being in the race for many. medium nocaption118702090Titanic at peak of merit and moneyWinning the Best Picture Oscar is no guarantee of box office success, but there are films that manage to hit the sweet spot and combine Oscar accolades with handsome takings like the ones below. medium nocaption118701972Europe dominates foreign flight2020 Korean film Parasite created history by becoming the first foreign language movie to win a Best Picture Oscar. But there is also a foreign-language film category — Mother India, Salaam Bombay and Lagaan have been Indian contenders for this honour — that has so far been dominated by Italy. No Indian film has won this category yet. medium nocaption118702537 medium nocaption118702492Rahman Is India’s Oscar man Indians have earned 27 nominations in all and won six times. Awards for the song, ‘Naatu Naatu’ that won Best Original Song, and documentary, The Elephant Whisperers (Best Documentary Short), made 2024 a milestone year for India. Music composer AR Rahman is the only Indian to win twice – Best Original Score and Best Original Song for 'Jai Ho' in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire at the 81st Academy Awards. medium nocaption118702271No. of prizes and nominations have grownEarning an Oscar nomination can feel like a reward, and taking home the award is to be regarded as a legend. The 1940s, known as Hollywood’s Golden Age, saw a sharp rise in nominations while the 2000s were witness to a diversification in both film genres and international entries. medium nocaption118702285