The Academy Awards ceremony is the pinnacle of film, the most illustrious night in the calendar of cinema that prides itself on recognizing the most brilliant achievements in the industry. Despite the reverence and attention that always surrounds the Oscars, however, the ceremony doesn’t always get it right. While this is perhaps most commonly sighted througha long history of infamous snubsthat came to be more celebrated than the films they lost out to, it has also been present in some perplexing Oscars being awarded to movies that simply aren’t worthy.
From self-important and pretentious pictures that saw their Oscar-baiting antics met with nominations aplenty and even awards, to monotonous misfires that beat out more deserving competition to achieve their accolades, the award-season success of these movies left plenty scratching their heads.Some may even argue that the fact that these films are Oscar recipients jeopardizes the validity of the entire ceremony. All we know for certain is that masses of people asking “how the hell didthatwin?” was a common trend when the award presenters read out these 10 titles.
10’Crash' (2004)
Won Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay & Best Film Editing
Marking one of the most contentious moments of the Oscars in recent decades, the middling social dramaCrashtook home three awards at the 78th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, an honor it received over the far more fanciedBrokeback Mountain. A film distinctly of its time,Crashappealed to the gaping hole in American society in the wake of 9/11, using its story of sparsely interwoven characters in L.A. to explore themes of race, class, and gender.
Granted, there is definitely purpose to the picture’s moralistic focus and its desire to address common issues in contemporary America, butits unrealistic execution, oversimplified depiction of its central issues, and its easy solutions make it come off as self-important and shallow. The fact that it won three Academy Awards, let alone one, is a travesty. Even 20 years on from the event,Crashremains a leading candidate forthe worst Best Picture winner of all time.
9’In Old Arizona' (1928)
Won Best Actor
In Old Arizonais not a title many people would be familiar with today, and therein lies the fault in its Academy Award win. The 1928 Western follows the Cisco Kid (Warner Baxter), a revered Mexican bandit who finds himself being hunted by Sgt. Mickey Dunn (Edmund Lowe), whose pursuit of the notorious outlaw turns personal when a romantic affair arises between Dunn and the gunslinger’s girlfriend.
The film itself is horrifically outdated, butBaxter’s win for Best Actor is outrageously dumbfoundingconsidering his performance has been almost entirely forgotten over time, while iconic performances likeConrad Veidt’s inThe Man Who LaughsandBuster Keaton’s inSteamboat Bill, Jr.weren’t even nominated. While Warner Baxter was a fine actor in his time, his Oscar win forIn Old Arizona—along with the film’s four other nominations—is little more thanample proof that the Academy’s penchant for making mistakes is not necessarily a new phenomenon.
In Old Arizona
8’The Wolfman' (2010)
Won Best Makeup
A woefully misguided remake of the 1941 original, 2010’sThe Wolfmanultimately wastes an all-star cast and a sizable production budget on a horror picture bereft of chills and suspense. Upon hearing of his brother’s horrific murder, actor Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his ancestral home to figure out what happened to him. When he is bitten by a werewolf, however, he struggles to adjust to his new cursed life.
Critically derided and a box office bomb,The Wolfmanis still remembered as a monumental misstep from Universal Studios, one that stumbles through its inability to strike an emotional chord while also floundering as a poorly realized horror epic.Rick Baker and Dave Elsey’s Oscar win for Best Makeup was particularly perplexing, given the film leaned more so on CGI to realize the titular beastrather than practical effects, an approach that actively contributed to its poor reception, as what should have been its most engrossing and mortifying sequences are reduced to being blurry and completely inhuman.
The Wolfman
7’Pearl Harbor' (2001)
Won Best Sound Editing
Tedious, tiresome, and over-inflated byits own obsession with its supposed blockbuster spectacle,Pearl Harborstrives to be an emotionally overwhelming romantic war epic, but it collapses asan almost laughable misappropriation of narrative stakes imbued with painfully bad dialogue. Given the universality of its negative feedback, it may come as a surprise to many thatPearl Harbornot only won for Best Sound Editing but was also nominated for a further three Academy Awards.
Pearl Harborwas nominated for Best Sound Editing alongside just one other film,Monsters, Inc., which was the norm back then, bizarre as it sounds. While many would argue the Pixar classic should have emerged victorious, it is worth noting thatLord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,Black Hawk Down,Amélie, andMoulin Rouge!were among the nominees for Best Sound, withBlack Hawk Downultimately going on to win. Why none of those films were even nominated for Best Sound Editing is truly bewildering.
Pearl Harbor
6’Cimarron' (1931)
Won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay & Best Production Design
An expansive and sprawling Western epic that initially entranced viewers with its scope but has since come to be more derided in recent years,Cimarronis a prime example of how audiences' tastes have changed so drastically over the years. What is disappointing about this is that it beat out some enduring classics of early Hollywood, such asThe Public EnemyandLittle Caesar, to win its Oscars.
Spanning over 40 years, it follows a couple’s hopes for prosperity as they move to Osage, Oklahoma, and find themselves being parted several times throughout their lives. Funnily enough, the film’s one true highlight—Irene Dunne’s sensational performance—only received a nomination from the Academy. Adding insult to injury,Cimarronstood asthe only Western film to win Best Picturefor almost 60 years, withDances with Wolvesbecoming the next picture from the genre to be awarded the honor at the 63rd Academy Awards ceremony.
Won the Oscars Fan Favorite
The notion of an Oscars Fan Favorite award was utterly ridiculous from its conception. Therefore, it is perhaps a blessing in disguise that the technical Academy Award win ofArmy of the Deadled to the immediate discontinuation of the honor. TheZack Snyderheist action film follows a group of mercenaries tasked with infiltrating a zombie-infested Las Vegas to retrieve a $200 million cash sum from a casino vault before the military drops a tactical nuke on the undead city.
Reception to the film was mixed, with some heralding it as a delightfully over-the-top feat of ultra-violent action, while others chastised it asa derivative and lazily stylized dose of camp genre-fare incapable of fulfilling its 148-minute runtime. Granted, circumstances in 2021 meant the Oscars’ glorified popularity contest wasn’t exactly imbued with a litany of choices for voters, but the fact thatArmy of the Deadtechnicallystands as an Academy Award-winning pictureis an indictment on the ceremony that is only worsened by the fact that such films asTick, Tick… Boom!,Pig, andThe Worst Person in the Worlddidn’t win anything.
Army of the Dead
4’The Iron Lady' (2011)
Won Best Actress & Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Biopics have always held a certain sway with the Academy Awards, especially when they feature prominent stars depicting complicated public figures and ostensibly market themselves as awards season stunners. While it isn’t the only film to have garnered Oscar success through such a method,The Iron Ladyis one of the worst, withthe reflective exploration of Margaret Thatcher’s (Meryl Streep) political career a dull and dreary affair, to say the least.
While Streep’s performance is impressive, it is perhaps more a feat of impersonation than one of supreme emotional depth and moving nuance, and there is a sense that she earned the Oscar on reputation more than merit. It is unbecoming of the ceremony thatThe Iron Ladywon more Oscars than now-widely celebrated movies likeThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,A Separation, andMoneyball.
The Iron Lady
3’The Greatest Show on Earth' (1952)
Won Best Picture & Best Story
The Greatest Show on Earthis an infamous title in the context of the Academy Awards, not only because it is one of the weakest films to win Best Picture, but because of the far superior movies it triumphed over as well. Amid a lavish medley of colors and showbiz spectacle, the film focuses onperformers in a traveling circus act, following the relationships and rivalries that emerge during their tenure on the road.
While there is a certain charm to certain chapters of the movie, it is ultimatelybogged down by its overbearing melodrama and its threadbare plot that struggles to fulfill the 152-minute runtime. These plot pitfalls make it an absurd point thatThe Greatest Show on Earthwas even nominated for Best Picture and Best Story, let alone that it won. In doing so, it emerged triumphant over such enduring classics asHigh Noon,The Quiet Man, andMoulin Rouge, while the iconicSingin’ in the Rainwasn’t even nominated.
The Greatest Show on Earth
Won Best Makeup and Hairstyling
There is a certain injustice to the fact that, while such movies asLogan,The Batman, and many,manymore superhero classics have left the Academy Awards empty-handed, 2016’s cataclysmic disasterpieceSuicide Squadnabbed an Oscarfor Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The infamous action flick follows a group of rogue supervillains as they are captured by a ruthless government agency and forced to carry out high-risk missions.
What should have been a fun, vibrant, and wickedly enjoyable spectacle of DC’s worst villains being showcased in all their entertaining glory insteadflails as an uninspired, inconsistent, and utterly boring picturethat fails to imbue its run-of-the-mill story with anything even resembling stylistic flamboyance or creative dare. It triumphed overStar Trek Beyondto win Best Makeup and Hairstyling, an upset that many believe was the wrong decision.
Suicide Squad
1’Emilia Pérez' (2024)
Won Best Supporting Actress
The subjective nature of the Oscars typically sees controversies and deliberations emerge every year. However, few ceremonies of late have generated such widespread backlash as the recent 97th Academy Awards, which was rightly lambasted for its ridiculous decision to nominateEmilia Pérezin 13 categories. The musical crime film follows a Mexican cartel leader’s efforts to transition into a woman, to disappear from the violent environment, and fulfill a long-held ambition in the process.
Emilia Pérezwon two Oscars: one for the song “El Mal” and another forZoe Saldaña’s supporting turn, with the actress turning in a striking performance as the lawyer Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) goes to for help. Still, worthy though she may be, Saldaña’s win only exacerbatesthe ludicrous fact that a filmso unashamedly out of touch with its central focuscould be held in such high regard by the Academy, while so many others immediately recognized it for the cynically opportunistic, grotesquely shallow, and inauthentic fantasy that it is.
Emilia Perez
Emilia Pérez follows Rita, an underestimated lawyer working at a prominent law firm focused on freeing criminals rather than pursuing justice. She is recruited by the leader of a criminal organization, prompting a complex journey that challenges her principles as she navigates the morally ambiguous world of her new employer.
