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‘Dad, you’re the greatest. Thank you for showing me that there is honor in looking back and respecting the past’ — List of Steven Spielberg Oscar nominations, wins for Best Director, plus Best Picture
Updated: February 2026
List of Oscar nominations and wins for best director for Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg has been nominated for 9 Academy Awards for Best Director and won 2. In total, Steven Spielberg has received 24 Oscar nominations, including a record 14 for Best Picture and 1 for Best Original Screenplay. Year indicates year/period for which films were judged, not year of ceremony. Sources: Oscars.org, Internet Movie Database, Wikipedia
2022: The Fabelmans — lost to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once). Other nominees: Todd Field (Tár), Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin), Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness)
2021: West Side Story — lost to Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog). Other nominees: Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)
2012: Lincoln — lost to Ang Lee (Life of Pi). Other nominees: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Michael Haneke (Amour)
2005: Munich — lost to Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain). Other nominees: George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck), Paul Haggis (Crash), Bennett Miller (Capote)
WON: 1998: Saving Private Ryan — Other nominees: John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful), Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line), Peter Weir (The Truman Show)
WON: 1993: Schindler’s List — Other nominees: Robert Altman (Short Cuts), James Ivory (The Remains of the Day), Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father), Jane Campion (The Piano)
1982: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — lost to Richard Attenborough (Gandhi). Other nominees: Sidney Lumet (The Verdict), Sydney Pollack (Tootsie), Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot)
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark — lost to Warren Beatty (Reds). Other nominees: Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond), Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire), Louis Malle (Atlantic City)
1977: Close Encounters of the Third Kind — lost to Woody Allen (Annie Hall). Other nominees: George Lucas (Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope), Fred Zinnemann (Julia), Herbert Ross (The Turning Point)
List of Steven Spielberg Oscar nominations, wins for Best Picture, Original Screenplay
Steven Spielberg has been nominated for 14 Academy Awards for Best Picture, with 1 win (and current year pending), and has 1 nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Sources: Oscars.org, Internet Movie Database, Wikipedia
2025 nominee (result pending): Hamnet (shared with Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Sam Mendes).
2023: Maestro (shared with Bradley Cooper, Fred Berner, Amy Durning, Kristie Macosko Krieger) — lost to Oppenheimer
2022: The Fabelmans (Best Picture) (shared with Kristie Macosko Krieger, Tony Kushner) — lost to Everything Everywhere All at Once
2022: The Fabelmans (Best Original Screenplay) (shared with Tony Kushner) — lost to Everything Everywhere All at Once
2021: West Side Story (shared with Kristie Macosko Krieger) — lost to CODA
2017: The Post (shared with Amy Pascal, Kristie Macosko Krieger) — lost to The Shape of Water
2015: Bridge of Spies (shared with Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger) — lost to Spotlight
2012: Lincoln (shared with Kathleen Kennedy) — lost to Argo
2011: War Horse (shared with Kathleen Kennedy) — lost to The Artist
2006: Letters from Iwo Jima (shared with Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz) — lost to The Departed
2005: Munich (shared with Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel) — lost to Crash
1998: Saving Private Ryan (shared with Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn) — lost to Shakespeare in Love
WON: 1993: Schindler’s List (shared with Gerald R. Molen, Branko Lustig)
1985: The Color Purple (shared with Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Quincy Jones) — lost to Out of Africa
1982: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (shared with Kathleen Kennedy) — lost to Gandhi
In 1987, Steven Spielberg received the Irving G. Thalberg Award.