Several Chinese films have won Oscars, with notable wins including Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Best Foreign Language Film), The Last Emperor (Best Picture, Director, etc., a co-production), and Chloé Zhao's Nomadland (Best Picture, Best Director, directed by Chinese-born Zhao but an American production). The first Chinese-language film to win the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2001, directed by Taiwan's Ang Lee.
In 1991, acclaimed director Zhang Yimou's “Ju Dou” became the first film from China to be nominated for best international feature film, followed by Chen Kaige's 1993 release “Farewell My Concubine.” Ang Lee's “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” finally won the prize in 2001.
For her starring role as Evelyn Quan Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first Asian to win the category, and the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award.
The only previous Asian winners of acting Oscars have been Miyoshi Umeki (“Sayonara”), Ben Kingsley (“Ghandi”), Haing S. Ngor (“The Killing Fields”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”), according to Oscar historians. Only Kingsley's was for a leading role.
Only three films in history have won 11 Oscars: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), with The Lord of the Rings sweeping all its nominations and Titanic receiving the most nominations (14) for a film that won 11. These epics share the record for the most Academy Awards won by a single movie.
Walt Disney received a record 26 Oscars, the most by any individual, with 22 competitive awards and 4 honorary ones, including a unique set for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (one large and seven small) and a posthumous win for Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. He was nominated 59 times, winning primarily in animated short and documentary categories.
The most famous actor to refuse an Oscar is Marlon Brando, who in 1973 declined the Best Actor award for The Godfather, sending Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather to protest Hollywood's portrayal of Indigenous peoples and draw attention to the Wounded Knee standoff, while George C. Scott also refused his Best Actor Oscar in 1971 for Patton, calling the awards "a two-hour meat parade".
The only person to refuse a Grammy is Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, who in 1991 declined the award for Best Alternative Music Performance, along with boycotting the ceremony, to protest the music industry's "false and destructive materialistic values" and its focus on commercialism over artistry.
The #1 movie in the world by highest box office gross is Avatar (2009), followed by Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). While personal favorites vary, these films hold the top spots in worldwide ticket sales, with Avatar earning nearly $3 billion.
Award Winning Chinese Movies
Only three films have ever won the Oscars "Big Five" (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay): It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). These rare cinematic achievements represent major sweeps of the top Academy Awards, cementing their places in film history.
Best Chinese Actress
Going My Way – 7
“Going My Way” received seven Oscars for best picture, actor, supporting actor, director, writing (original story), writing (screenplay) and song.
Celebrities Banned from the Academy Awards
Yes, the first non-human Oscar recipient was Mickey Mouse. An honorary Academy Award was granted to Walt Disney in 1932 for the creation of Mickey Mouse, recognising the character's mass appeal and cultural significance.
Films like Cabaret (1972), Gandhi (1982), and Slumdog Millionaire (2008) follow closely with 8 wins each. Interestingly, Cabaret won 8 Oscars but missed out on Best Picture, a rare feat in Academy history.
But here's the twist: no cash prize. That golden statue doesn't come with a paycheck. However, it opens massive doors. As Jo Piazza puts it, an Oscar win is a “seal of approval” for your brand, making studios eager to pay you big bucks.
"Anora" director, screenwriter and editor Sean Baker won four Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday night, a feat only achieved by one other person: Walt Disney.
Most awards or nominations
Chan ちゃん This is the most familiar honorific and is supposedly derived from children who couldn't say “San” properly. This small mistake was considered cute and stayed in the language. It is used to refer to young women you're close with, children, babies, a grandmother, or even an animal you're especially fond of.
It's hard to believe, but Keanu Reeves has never been nominated for an Oscar. He became a worldwide celebrity after blockbusters like Speed and Point Break, and The Matrix made him an iconic figure.