As a total movie fanatic, I always get excited for the Oscars, thinking they’ll celebrate the real standouts of the year. But honestly, it’s frustrating how often they seem to miss the mark. It makes you wonder what the voters are seeing sometimes!
Despite all the predictions and analysis surrounding the Oscars lately, no one has really explained why the results are often so surprising, other than the fact that, like any democratic process, it’s rarely neat or predictable. There’s even a story circulating about an anonymous Academy voter who gets scolded by their partner annually for voting for Jamie Lee Curtis in 2022 – a perfect example of how unpredictable things can be!
The Academy Awards feels incredibly important, and people often see it as a definitive ranking of the best films. But that’s actually the core issue. Despite all the glitz and glamour, it’s essentially just a few thousand people casting votes, sometimes based on quick impressions. You have to wonder how many Academy members regret some of their past Oscar choices.
Okay, as a total movie fanatic, I’m always up for a good debate, and ScreenCrush just dropped a list that’s begging for one. They’ve picked out what they think are the 15 worst movies to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars. And we’re not talking about awards for things like special effects – these are the films that actually took home the big prize, the one for Best Picture! I’m really curious to see if other movie lovers agree with their choices – maybe some Academy voters would even like a do-over!
Considering how many films come out each year, I’m really surprised by the Academy’s choices for the best. It’s hard for me to accept them as truly the best.
The Worst Oscar Best Picture Winners
15. Marty (1955)
While Marty isn’t a bad film, it doesn’t quite live up to the original television broadcast on Philco Television Playhouse. The story of two lonely people finding a connection works better as a one-hour TV special than stretched to 90 minutes—the added scenes in the movie don’t really improve it. Rod Steiger and Nancy Marchand brought a more intense and somber feel to the characters of Marty and Clara than Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair do in this version. It’s the strongest film on this list, but it feels odd that the movie version, which isn’t as good as the original TV play, won an Oscar.
14. The Artist (2011)
It’s been a while since anyone’s thought about the movie The Artist, hasn’t it? Usually, it’s only remembered for winning five Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture (it beat out films like Moneyball and The Tree of Life). The film isn’t bad – it’s a charming, well-made comedy about the silent film era, with a great performance by Jean Dujardin as a French movie star struggling with the arrival of sound. But ultimately, it feels…insignificant. Many more deserving and genuinely funny comedies have been overlooked by the Academy over the years. It’s almost frustrating that this relatively minor film was the one they chose to honor with their highest award.
13. Dances With Wolves (1990)
The 1990 Oscars are remembered for a major upset: Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves won Best Picture over Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Dances With Wolves is a Western about a Civil War soldier who connects with and eventually lives among Native Americans near his army post. While the story feels somewhat cliché now, it was hugely popular with both audiences and critics in 1990, and Costner’s direction was competent. Whether it was better direction than Scorsese’s work on Goodfellas is debatable.
12. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
1952 was a landmark year for movies around the world. John Ford directed The Quiet Man, Akira Kurosawa made Ikiru, Vittorio De Sica released Umberto D., and Orson Welles debuted his adaptation of Othello at the Cannes Film Festival. Hollywood delivered classics like the Western High Noon, the melodrama The Bad and the Beautiful, and the musical Singin’ in the Rain. The film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture was about the circus: The Greatest Show on Earth.
If you separate The Greatest Show on Earth from the controversy surrounding its Oscar win and look at it as a film on its own, it’s a well-made spectacle. While there is a story, the movie mainly focuses on showcasing the incredible acts of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, filling much of its 150-minute runtime. In many ways, it’s similar to today’s big summer blockbusters – full of stars, action, and visually stunning moments, but not particularly deep or emotionally resonant. It’s a solid and impressively large-scale production, dedicated to capturing the authenticity of the circus, but it’s the kind of film that doesn’t usually win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
11. My Fair Lady (1964)
Despite the beautiful costumes and catchy songs, this movie hasn’t held up well over time. Audrey Hepburn feels like the wrong choice for the role, and Rex Harrison is deliberately annoying, though not in a charming way – and neither of them can actually sing. Hepburn’s singing is dubbed by someone else, and Harrison essentially speaks his songs into an early wireless microphone – a new technology that unfortunately highlights just how unpleasant his voice is. All of this supports a supposed romance where a man repeatedly criticizes a woman for her accent until she finally leaves him, and then he seems to realize he was wrong. How romantic.
10. Green Book (2018)
Peter Farrelly’s Green Book simplifies the true story of pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his driver Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) into a feel-good, but ultimately simplistic, tale about race relations in America. The Shirley family protested parts of the film, stating they weren’t involved in its creation. (The script was co-written by Nick Vallelonga, the son of the real Tony Lip, who drew from interviews with his father.) The movie feels overly sentimental and heavy-handed, like trying to force down a huge, folded pizza – it’s difficult to enjoy despite its abundance of pleasantries.
9. Birdman (2014)
Okay, so Birdman is technically amazing – the way it’s filmed is seriously impressive, almost like one continuous shot. But honestly? I didn’t feel much while watching it. It’s about an actor trying to make a comeback on Broadway, and while Michael Keaton is great, the story just didn’t grab me emotionally. It’s visually stunning, absolutely, maybe even the best cinematography of the year. But best movie of the year? When you consider films like Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Selma, and Whiplash were also released? Nope, not even close.
8. Gigi (1958)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, now considered a cinematic masterpiece, surprisingly wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture in 1958. Instead, the Oscar went to Gigi, a visually appealing but ultimately shallow film set in Belle Époque France. While directed with colorful glamour by Vincent Minnelli, Gigi’s story is simple and its conflicts lack depth—it’s essentially about a privileged man struggling with boredom. It’s hard to feel much sympathy for a character like that. Today, Gigi is mostly remembered for its song, “Thank Heaven For Little Girls,” which is a subject matter you definitely wouldn’t see in a modern Best Picture winner.
7. American Beauty (1999)
Regardless of the controversies surrounding Kevin Spacey, the story of American Beauty remains troubling. Even with a different actor, the film centers on a man having a midlife crisis and becoming obsessed with his teenage daughter’s friend. He repeatedly fantasizes about her in a sexual way, and the movie presents these fantasies not as disturbing, but as a path to personal renewal. The film portrays this as a way for him to regain his youth and happiness as he escapes the burdens of middle age.
Adding to the problematic nature of the film, Lester’s wife is depicted as cold and materialistic, and she also has an affair. If American Beauty were released today, it would likely spark significant outrage and wouldn’t stand a chance of winning Best Picture, especially considering it beat out critically acclaimed films like The Sixth Sense and The Insider in 1999.
6. Out of Africa (1985)
Of all the films that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, this one came out in 1985. As the title suggests, it stars Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, and is based on a true story by Karen Blixen, who Streep portrays as a Danish woman who moves to Nairobi to start a farm and begins a relationship with a hunter (Redford). While beautiful to look at, the film isn’t very memorable and lacks strong dramatic impact.
5. Cimarron (1931)
Some films from the 1930s still feel modern, but Cimarron hasn’t aged as well. This Western follows a newspaper publisher and his family in Oklahoma as the state evolves from the late 1800s onward. While audiences at the time likely enjoyed its grand scope and scenery (and were less sensitive to its problematic stereotypes), today’s viewers will find that other, better-made films have explored similar themes with stronger performances, writing, and visuals.
4. Crash (2005)
Oscar-winning films about race often feel overly simplistic and heavy-handed, which explains why Crash won Best Picture in 2004, despite strong competition from films like Good Night, and Good Luck, and especially Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. The film boasts a famous cast – including Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, and Matt Dillon – giving it an air of prestige that often appeals to Academy voters. However, the movie itself – a complex story about the interconnected lives of people in Los Angeles dealing with racism, both as victims and perpetrators – feels chaotic and unsatisfying, much like the real-life issues it attempts to address.
3. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
I recently watched this film, and it really struck me how the Academy has always loved those long, dramatic life stories. I went in expecting that, but honestly, I was baffled by the runtime! It’s about a pretty awful Broadway producer who doesn’t grow or change at all, and it somehow stretches on for three full hours. I was hoping for witty banter between William Powell and Myrna Loy, but Loy barely appears until halfway through! There are some visually impressive musical numbers, and Powell does a great job making the producer somewhat charming, even though the guy is a liar and takes advantage of people. But seriously, three hours? It just feels way too long for what it is.
2. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
1. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
This movie’s take on the classic around-the-world adventure feels surprisingly slow and lacks excitement. David Niven’s character, Phileas Fogg, keeps delaying his journey with unnecessary detours for things like dances, bullfights, and acrobatic shows, which really puts him behind schedule. Niven himself seems bored, and that feeling spreads to the audience. The film tries to connect the story to modern space travel, but it only makes the already slow pace feel even more drawn out. It’s hard to believe this was considered the best film of 1956 – it feels like the Academy simply had limited options when awarding the Oscar.
Great Movies That Got Zero Oscar Nominations
1. Frankenstein (1931)
It’s an icon of horror. It was nominated for zero Academy Awards.
2. King Kong (1933)
The original King Kong was an exciting adventure film and a groundbreaking achievement in special effects. However, it’s the type of movie the Academy Awards rarely recognizes, both back then and today.
3. Duck Soup (1933)
Any list claiming to feature the greatest movie comedies of all time needs to include Duck Soup. However, it didn’t receive an Oscar nomination, which is ironic considering its comedic brilliance. This reminds us of Groucho Marx’s famous line: “I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.”
4. Modern Times (1936)
Many people assume Charlie Chaplin won numerous Oscars, considering his fame. However, he only received one competitive Oscar – for the music in Limelight – plus two honorary awards. Surprisingly, the Academy never recognized some of his most iconic films, like Modern Times.
5. His Girl Friday (1940)
This beloved screwball comedy, featuring the timeless back-and-forth between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, has been added to the National Film Registry for preservation. It’s fortunate it received this honor, as the film wasn’t recognized with any Academy Award nominations.
6. Breathless (1960)
For decades, every film student has seen Breathless. It’s arguably one of the most viewed and important films ever made, despite not receiving any recognition from the Academy.
7. The Searchers (1956)
Today, many consider it John Ford’s best Western, and possibly the best Western film of all time. However, in 1956, it wasn’t recognized by the Academy Awards. Big, sweeping historical dramas were popular then, and films like The Ten Commandments were receiving most of the attention and awards.
8. Rio Bravo (1959)
It’s tough to say which Westerns will become timeless classics. While Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo is a fantastic film, the Academy didn’t acknowledge it with any awards. However, the Golden Globes did recognize it, nominating it twice and awarding Angie Dickinson as Most Promising Newcomer – and rightfully so!
9. Night of the Living Dead
George A. Romero essentially created the modern zombie horror film and offered a lasting critique of American society. Despite his significant impact, he never received an Academy Award nomination throughout his entire career.
10. The Shining
Stanley Kubrick didn’t win many Oscars during his career, and his famous horror film, The Shining, was notably overlooked by the Academy. You can imagine the reaction of the person who wrote a massive 40,000-word essay claiming the film is actually a hidden story about the Teapot Dome Scandal!
11. The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is often considered the most important and popular high school movie ever made. Many American kids grow up watching it as a key part of their childhood. However, the Academy Awards aren’t decided by children’s votes.
12. Groundhog Day (1993)
As a critic, I can confidently say Groundhog Day is a comedic masterpiece – easily one of the best films of the ’90s, and honestly, a strong contender for the greatest comedy ever. It’s baffling, truly, that the Academy overlooked it. You almost have to imagine them trapped in their own time loop, endlessly repeating the same day until they finally recognize the brilliance of its screenplay!
Read More
- Call the Midwife season 16 is confirmed – but what happens next, after that end-of-an-era finale?
- Star Wars Fans Should Have “Total Faith” In Tradition-Breaking 2027 Movie, Says Star
- Taimanin Squad coupon codes and how to use them (March 2026)
- Robots That React: Teaching Machines to Hear and Act
- Country star Thomas Rhett welcomes FIFTH child with wife Lauren and reveals newborn’s VERY unique name
- Are Halstead & Upton Back Together After The 2026 One Chicago Corssover? Jay & Hailey’s Future Explained
- Overwatch Domina counters
- Genshin Impact Version 6.4 Stygian Onslaught Guide: Boss Mechanism, Best Teams, and Tips
- Decoding Life’s Patterns: How AI Learns Protein Sequences
- PUBG Mobile collaborates with Apollo Automobil to bring its Hypercars this March 2026
2026-03-10 22:32