26 directors in the 84 years of Oscars history have received at least 4 Best Director Oscar nominations.
William Wyler is the most honored director in motion picture history with 12 Oscar nominations and 3 Oscar wins for Best Director.
Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen are currently tied as the living directors with the most Oscar nominations for Best Director. Each have 7 Best Director Oscar nominations, including one each this year for Hugo and Midnight In Paris, respectively.
12 William Wyler [3 Oscar wins]
8 Billy Wilder [2 Oscar wins]
7 David Lean [2 Oscar wins]
7 Fred Zinnemann [2 Oscar wins]
7 Martin Scorsese [1 Oscar wins]
7 Woody Allen [1 Oscar win]
6 Frank Capra [3 Oscar wins]
6 Steven Spielberg [2 Oscar wins]
5 Robert Altman [0 Oscar wins]
5 Clarence Brown [0 Oscar wins]
5 George Cukor [1 Oscar win]
5 John Ford [4 Oscar wins]
5 Alfred Hitchcock [0 Oscar wins]
5 John Huston [1 Oscar win]
5 Elia Kazan [2 Oscar wins]
5 George Stevens [2 Oscar wins]
5 King Vidor [0 Oscar wins]
4 Francis Ford Coppola [1 Oscar win]
4 Michael Curtiz [1 Oscar win]
4 Clint Eastwood [2 Oscar wins]
4 Federico Fellini [0 Oscar wins]
4 Stanley Kubrick [0 Oscar wins]
4 Sidney Lumet [0 Oscar wins]
4 Joseph L. Mankiewicz [2 Oscar wins]
4 Mike Nichols [1 Oscar win]
4 Peter Weir [0 Oscar wins]
While many think that Alfred Hitchcock is the biggest losing director when it comes to Oscar nominations, he is and he isn’t. Alfred Hitchcock was nominated for 5 Best Director Oscars; Rear Window, Rebecca, Lifeboat, Spellbound and Psycho.
However, the late Robert Altman was also nominated for 5 Best Director Oscars and won none.
1930s and ’40s director Clarence Brown also received 5 Best Director Oscar nominations, including for directing The Yearling and National Velvet.
The late King Vidor also received 5 Best Director Oscar nominations but walked away with none. His final Best Director Oscar nomination was for the 1956 movie War And Peace.