Worst recent movies ever nominated for a Best Picture Oscar
When it comes to the Best Picture nominees, Oscar voters have several highly-acclaimed films from which to choose.
But previous years' nominees — and even some winners — have actually gotten some not-so-great notices from critics. Here are the 29 worst Best Picture nominees and winners from the past 31 years, as ranked by the review-aggregator Metacritic, in sadly descending order.
"Hacksaw Ridge" (Metascore: 71)
The 2016 biographical war drama, directed by Mel Gibson, received six Academy Award nominations. The movie starred Andrew Garfield and Teresa Palmer.
"Good Will Hunting" (Metascore: 70)
Robin Williams won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and Matt Damon shared an Oscar with his co-screenwriter Ben Affleck, for this 1997 drama.
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Metascore: 70)
The 2008 fantasy, directed by David Fincher, about a man who ages backwards starred Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton. The movie was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, and won three.
"Green Book" (Metascore: 69)
This film tells the story of the friendship between jazz pianist Don Shirley and his bodyguard and driver Tony Vallelonga. It won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2019.
"Green Book" has the lowest Metascore of any Best Picture winner since the 2005 winner "Crash."
"Crash" (Metascore: 69)
This 2004 drama, produced, directed, and co-written by Paul Haggis, was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three, including Best Picture.
"Babel" (Metascore: 69)
This 2006 drama, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and won one.
"Braveheart" (Metascore: 68)
Mel Gibson's 1995 historical epic was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won five, including Best Picture and Best Director.
"Gladiator" (Metascore: 67)
Ridley Scott's 2000 spectacle of ancient Rome, starring Russell Crowe as a general-turned-gladiator, won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
"Finding Neverland" (Metascore: 67)
This 2004 fantasy, starring Johnny Depp (as "Peter Pan" author J.M. Barrie) and Kate Winslet, was nominated for several Academy Awards and won one.
"Fatal Attraction" (Metascore: 67)
The 1987 psychological thriller, starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, was nominated for six Oscars.
"As Good As It Gets" (Metascore: 67)
Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt each won acting Oscars for James L. Brooks' 1997 romantic comedy-drama.
"Moulin Rouge!" (Metascore: 66)
Baz Luhrmann's 2001 musical fantasia starred Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two.
"Rain Man" (Metascore: 65)
This 1988 dramedy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (for Hoffman).
"The Prince of Tides" (Metascore: 65)
This 1991 romance, starring Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand, was nominated for seven Oscars.
"Mississippi Burning" (Metascore: 65)
This 1988 true-crime thriller, starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe, received seven Academy Award nominations.
"The Sixth Sense" (Metascore: 64)
M. Night Shyamalan's haunting psychological thriller was nominated for six Academy Awards (including Haley Joel Osment for Best Supporting Actor).
"Chocolat" (Metascore: 64)
This 2000 romantic comedy-drama starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche was nominated for five Academy Awards.
"Les Miserables" (Metascore: 63)
The 2012 adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, featuring Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne, was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three.
"The Help" (Metascore: 62)
This 2011 period drama was nominated for four Academy Awards. Octavia Spencer (pictured, with Jessica Chastain) won for Best Supporting Actress.
"A Few Good Men" (Metascore: 62)
Rob Reiner's 1992 film of the acclaimed courtroom drama, starring Kevin Pollak, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore (pictured), along with Jack Nicholson and Kevin Bacon, was nominated for four Academy Awards.
"Vice" (Metascore: 61)
Christian Bale plays former Vice President Dick Cheney in this 2018 comedy-drama. In addition to Best Picture (which it lost to "Green Book"), the film was nominated for seven other Oscars.
"The Green Mile" (Metascore: 61)
This 1999 prison drama adapted from a Stephen King novel, starring Tom Hanks and Best Supporting Actor nominee Michael Clarke Duncan, was up for four Academy Awards.
"The Godfather Part III" (Metascore: 60)
The first two films in Francis Ford Coppola's series of the Corleone crime family each won the Oscar for Best Picture, and received a total of 21 nominations.
Coppola's 1990 followup, in which Al Pacino reprised his role as Michael Corleone, was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Andy Garcia for Best Supporting Actor.
"Joker" (Metascore: 59)
Joaquin Phoenix's performance in this supervillain origin story won him an Oscar in 2020. The film also took home the Academy Award for best original score.
"Scent of a Woman" (Metascore: 59)
The 1992 drama was nominated for four Academy Awards and won one, for Best Actor Al Pacino.
"Life Is Beautiful" (Metascore: 59)
Roberto Benigni's 1997 Italian comedy-drama ("La vita è bella") set during the Holocaust was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three, including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor (Benigni).
"Jojo Rabbit" (Metascore: 58)
This satire follows a young boy living in Nazi Germany and his imaginary friend, a slapstick Adolph Hitler. The film won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay in 2020.
"The Reader" (Metascore: 58)
The 2008 romantic drama set in post-war Germany, starring Kate Winslet and David Kross, was nominated for five Academy Awards. Winslet won for Best Actress.
"Field of Dreams" (Metascore: 57)
The 1989 sports fantasy, starring Kevin Costner and Burt Lancaster, was nominated for three Academy Awards.
"The Blind Side" (Metascore: 53)
This 2009 sports film, starring Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron, was nominated for two Academy Awards. Bullock won for Best Actress.
The film's nomination for Best Picture came as a surprise, the result of an expansion of the category from five nominees to 10 following criticism that popular films like "The Dark Knight" and "Wall-E" had been shut out of voting. With more criticism over the "padded" category, the Academy subsequently stiffened their balloting requirements for earning a nomination.
"The Accidental Tourist" (Metascore: 53)
This 1988 romance was nominated for four Academy Awards. Geena Davis (pictured with William Hurt) won for Best Supporting Actress.
"Ghost" (Metascore: 52)
This 1990 fantasy thriller, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two, including Best Supporting Actress Whoopi Goldberg.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" (Metascore: 49)
Rami Malek won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2019 for his portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (Metascore: 46)
The film with the lowest Metascore score to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar was this 2011 drama, starring Tom Hanks and Thomas Horn, about a possibly autistic boy who loses his father in the 9/11 attacks. It received two nominations, including Max Von Sydow for Best Supporting Actor.