Which 2003 film won 11 Academy Awards?

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the 2003 film that won 11 Academy Awards. At the 76th Academy Awards, held on February 29, 2004, it won every category in which it was nominated.

Its 11 victories included Best Picture, Best Director for Peter Jackson, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and awards for editing, sound, visual effects, makeup, costume design, and art direction. The sweep made it the first film to win all of its Oscar nominations while also taking the top prize.

The achievement completed a remarkable awards run for Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels. The Return of the King was also the first fantasy film to win Best Picture, a distinction that helped change the Academy’s treatment of large-scale genre filmmaking.

Viewers sometimes confuse nominations with wins: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World received 10 nominations but won only two. The Return of the King’s 11-for-11 sweep tied it with Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscars won by a film.