The 30 Worst Movies To Win Awards At the Oscars

1. Pearl Harbor (2001)

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When tasked to produce films based on key world events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, you need quality scripting and emotional infusion. The director Michael Bay did not create such magic. Instead, the film was an array of mechanical sound effects and superficial dialogue. The details in the movie were obvious, and there is nothing new or interesting audiences learned about one of the second world war’s tragic events. Best sound editing? For a movie that was too noisy with the droning planes and ear-shattering crashes! Puh-leeze!

2. Avatar (2009)

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This film invested in quality CGI, which is undoubtedly why it won the best visual effects category. James Cameron was also at the peak of his direction abilities, and the Best art direction category may be justified. But the script of the movie was not very impressive. Critics of the film’s plot have decried the poor dialogue and unoriginal storyline. When watching the film, you cannot help but feel that Cameron certainly lost himself in the film’s graphics world but killed what would have been a golden narrative. There were very few good films that year, and he just might have seized other categories if these faults were straightened out.

3. The Great Gatsby (2013)

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The budget inscribed for this film must have been immense. It is probably the reason it won the Best Costume and production design categories at the Oscars. But if you brushed aside these alluring aspects, the film does not seem to have any interesting plot to explore. The story is bland, and critics have taunted it as a gross misinterpretation of Scott Fitzgerald’s remarkable novel. The film is all about alcohol and women, but the thrill does not appear anywhere else.

4. Crash (2004)

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The film assembled a fairly dramatic tension between different racial groups in Los Angeles, and some may argue that it deserved the three awards it received at the Oscars. However, some scenes felt off. The racial stereotypes were also included dishonestly. If you watched this film, you would probably predict every character’s reaction. Cops behave like the ‘bad people’ they are, and the blacks are dangerous. There were better movies that year and Crash was not very enticing, even with its star-laden cast.

5. Scent of a Woman (1992)

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We can all agree that Al Pacino deserved his best actor award for his impressive performance in this film. But we cannot agree that anything was fascinating about Martin Brest's drama. The scenes are all melodramatic and shallow. It was perhaps his grand plan. Get Al, an A-rate actor, to play a disabled man with no meaningful scenes. He will perform all right. And since he has bagged the award several times, the academy will pick him up with ease, and your film gets into the spotlight like a fraud.

6. The Artist (2011)

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Something was disconcerting about this film winning the Oscars. It was an extremely dull film. Aside from being black and white, it was also a silent film that did not have any interesting plot worth remembering. In that same year, amazing films like ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’ were released, and many movie enthusiasts believed either of these would clinch the prize. Therefore, it was a shocker that an obscure film like this won five categories. It got the best director, best actor, best costume design, best original score, and the best picture.

7. Les Miserables (2012)

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This awful film bagged three awards at the Oscars despite the ridiculous scenes it displayed. Being a musical, the film ought to emotionally drive its audience to an authentic thrill. Instead, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe delivered a lousy attempt to effect this purpose. There is little substance to the plot itself, and anyone who watched the movie would wonder if they were getting a theatrical release: too much overacting and empty ostentation.

8. The Wolfman (2010)

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We can all agree that the makeup in this film was amazing. Turning Benicio del Toro into a ferocious-looking beast with bushy fur, without any computer-generated effects, was an impressive skill. However, the production itself was a combination of poorly-written scenes and lacking a dramatic pace. Moreover, there were too many ridiculous scenes meant to cover up the slow dialogue and flimsy story. The director Joe Johnstone did not seem to know what he was doing.

9. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

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For the Best Makeup award, this film deserved it. Jim Carrey transformed the main character into something inhuman. It was amazing. However, the rest of the film is just ridiculous. When the legendary Dr. Seuss created this antagonist, he visualized something else—a villain who would not veer into a gross nightmare for children. The film contravenes this vision and laps around unimaginative zones. Some scenes are too negative and stupid, even for adults.

10. The Blind Side (2009)

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Who does not love a good sports biopic film? Inspirational and mind-blowing discoveries about the people we imagine have succeeded. This film follows the life and struggle of NFL star Michael Oher. Rising through the slums of Memphis as a young dreamer, fighting racial discrimination, and finally getting that plum contract, one would have expected Michael Lewis to produce a hell of a biopic. Instead, the movie falls into the sin of the ‘white savior complex.’ Sandra Bullock, who plays a white mother who takes Oher into her home, actually wins the Best Actress category because the movie was mostly about her. Oher dissipates into oblivion.

11. Life is Beautiful (1997)

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The movie depicts an Italian man called Guido who ends up with his family in a concentration camp during the terrifying 1930s. Played by Roberto Benigni, the plot is an array of manipulative scenes and an atrocious display of comedy. One cannot help but feel a sense of discomfort as the credits roll. The film won three categories: best actor, original score, and foreign language film. However, the humor in this film does not cut it.

12. American Sniper (2014)

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The Iraq War remains a blot in American military history. This film was directed by Clint Eastwood, one of the most controversial directors in Hollywood. While many critics praise him for his impressive filmmaking skills, others feel that his productions are superficial insights into the masculine mind and the role of American imperialism. This film was about an ex-vet who served as a sniper in the Iraq War. The message seems obvious. War is terrible for both its victims and the pawn soldiers. But the inability to delve into the struggles of this ex-vet makes audiences doubtful if it deserved to win anything at the Oscars.

13. The Theory of Everything (2014)

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The film aimed to highlight the extraordinary life of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. Let’s face it! Hawking was a genius. His theories in physics have helped us understand our universe better. For a man of this intellectual standing, a film played by Eddie Redmayne was a disgraceful attempt to show how the man lived with his family. It was a basic movie with a not-so-great actor without an emotional impact. It shocked many people that this film won the Best Actor category.

14. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

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Everyone is tired of war propaganda films, especially those made with racist undertones. Mel Gibson has lost his reputation over the years for making anti-Semitic remarks, but he has also been making terrible films. The film is a glib depiction of a nice Christian man who enlists in the army during the second world war. On the other hand, the Japanese are portrayed as a brutal force that indiscriminately kills American soldiers for sport. Unfortunately, the film won the ‘best film editing’ and ‘sound mixing,’ marking the revival of Gibson’s career.

15. The Imitation Game (2014)

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For a film that attempted to describe the life of the eminent British coding scientist Alan Turing, the plot was a mess. Little was said about the inner struggle of the gay scientist in his grueling task of helping British intelligence during the second world war. Instead, the movie is packed with unnecessary dialogue about the British tussle with the Germans. Even the death of Turing by suicide because of homophobic laws remains an epilogue announcement. Surprisingly, this film won the Best adapted screenplay category.

16. Suicide Squad (2016)

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This film had a fiery cast. From Will Smith to Viola Davis. It was a puzzle to many that these great film stars would be wasted upon a flimsy plot. Audiences complained about the ridiculous action scenes that were almost impossible to watch, thanks to the poor cinematography. Although the film won the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category, Harley Quinn’s appearance is the only worthy depiction of this artistic endeavor. Little effort was made to the other characters, which makes it hard to understand why they won this category.

17. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

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When this movie hit our screens, everyone was anticipating a golden performance from the protagonist Matthew McConaughey. Fair enough, the actor himself did well. Although not well enough to win the best actor category. But the plot of the movie is somewhat dreary. It focuses on a homophobic man in the 80s who learns to overcome his bigotry by associating with queer victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, the movie runs along with many embarrassing stereotypes about queer people. It certainly did not deserve to win three categories.

18. The Iron Lady (2011)

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Many people do not like former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher mainly because they view her economic policies as damaging. However, Meryl Streep’s performance in this film as the indomitable British leader takes an arrogant approach that critics found repulsive. The film does not even explore Thatcher’s faults and weaknesses but leaps from one victory to another. Shockingly, the film won two categories despite these glaring problems.

19. The Help (2011)

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When Octavia Spenser won Best supporting actress at that year’s Oscars, we were puzzled because the movie did not impress its audiences as expected. The film follows three black housekeepers in the 1960s Mississippi hoping to tackle unfairness and injustice against them. But the movie then veers into another character whose role seems underwhelming. The ‘white savior complex’ becomes the main theme as the movie progresses into boring subplots.

20. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

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Audiences are divided on whether this movie deserved the double awards it received at the Oscars. Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson performed their best, but the movie has a shocking plot. The plot follows a woman who seeks justice for her daughter, who was raped and murdered. The ending suggests that her anger was unrighteous, but many people still imagine it went cold on this atrocity committed against her daughter. Such a film should not get the Oscars.

21. Alice in Wonderland (2010)

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This film was a definite disappointment. Although it won the Best art direction category for its amazing setup and color visualization, the story was completely dead and uninteresting. The plot glides on with no sense of direction or promising resolution, and when it ends, there are no smiles on the audience’s faces. One might argue that it was probably why they did not land other awards at the ceremony, but I insist that even that category they won was not well-deserved.

22. Darkest Hour (2017)

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If the academy intended to award a film set during the second world war, they should have awarded Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk,’ also released that same year. However, they settled for an insipid film with no dramatic feel around it. Darkest Hour sought to reveal the story of British prime minister Winston Churchill during that perilous period. The role was played by Gary Oldman, who looked nothing like Churchill. He won the best actor category in a movie where he does nothing much but yell in a bland British accent.

23. The Golden Compass (2007)

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This film won the Best visual effects category that year at the Oscars despite there being better screenings like Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers .’Undoubtedly, the movie invested a lot of effort in its CGI and action sequences. But the audience reception was very low. In the first few weeks, the movie had raked very little, and its producers even regarded it a complete waste. Indeed it was! The movie barely has any scenes worth remembering, and it was just a mashup of poorly-directed action scenes.

24. Chicago (2002)

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A good musical needs its protagonists to shine. Bring them to the limelight and make them the center of the glam. However, Chicago did the contrary. It focuses too much on the stylistic appearances, and the film just looks like a music video. Everything is chaos! Despite Catherine Zeta-jones bagging the Best supporting actress, she was obscured by the intense editing of the musical. A reality that makes critics doubt if the movie deserved its two awards.

25. The Reader (2008)

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Kate Winslet, who won Best Actress at that year’s Oscars, delivered a wonderful performance in a somewhat dull movie. Initially, the movie begins on a sensual note. The romantic scenes are well-structured and evocative. However, once the film progresses, its characters become bland caricatures that can barely make audiences melt. The passion dies out, and the candor wanes. The courtroom drama becomes a death knell to the film’s plot.

26. Forrest Gump (1994)

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This may come as a surprise! Why is this film on this list? It clinched as many awards as it could at the Oscars. Best picture, best actor, best director, best-adapted screenplay, best film editing, best visual effects, best…Everything. Robert Zemeckis’ film revealed well-crafted characters and emotional scenes. But if you squint your eyes and glare keenly at the film, you’ll see that the scenes are ludicrously sentimental and forcible. Gump is a pitiful figure that sometimes exhausts us. The film reveals a certain degree of obviousness and ‘cry-here’ undertones. Six awards! For this?

27. What Dreams may come (1998)

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This film clinched the award for best visual effects. While we may agree that Vincent Ward carefully adapted the original novel, some of its elements are downright boring. The film is about the afterlife. A haunting vision of a painting animating itself to life. The main character was not suited for this role. Robin Williams delivers a weary performance, but we cannot entirely blame him. The film is not spectacular enough to be considered by the academy.

28. Death Becomes Her (1992)

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Robert Zemeckis intended to use this film to portray the vanity of youthful obsession and the need for mortality. A satire of some sort. However, it flopped terribly despite its amazing cast. A waste! Golden Hawn and Meryl Streep do their best to salvage this film from being whack, but the concept does not resonate with the audiences. Not even many people would remember this film was ever screened. And yet, the academy awarded it at the Oscars for best visual effects.

29. Flashdance (1983)

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The billboard hit ‘Flashdance…what a Feeling’ was awarded by the Oscars thanks to its iconic performer Jennifer Beals who gave it her all. However, the film dissipated into obscurity because it was not that amazing. There is a tiring character development that seems mechanic and forced, and the romantic scenes are just…too laughable. Winning the Best original song was justified, but the film that accompanies the song was just garbage.

30. Earthquake (1974)

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Some films have the immense opportunity to glean emotional effects from the audience, but they waste it upon ostentatious visual and noisy sound effects. Filmmaking is about storytelling. Earthquakes fail greatly in this endeavor. It is just another melodramatic disaster flick that dominates the 70s. The director Mark Robson was a flop, and his characters were just rudderless and uninspiring. It’s all goofy cinematic sequences that bombard our eyes with “See, Earthquake!”.

31. The Broadway Melody (1928)

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Have you ever heard of this movie? It's probably best that you haven't. This one second best picture at the Oscars, but it was pretty much a musical flop - or should have been - with romance so cringy it should have taken the award for worst picture. Watch it, if you can stomach it!

32. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

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This was the precursor to the more recent 'The Greatest Showman', but the latter was far superior and you should probably stick to watching that. While the 1952 movie did have a great cast including Jimmy Stewart and Charlton Heston, it fell flat - which is surprising, when it was about a circus, so should have been thoroughly entertaining!

33. Cimarron (1930)

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It's always great to see something a little different genre wise win an Oscar, and Cimarron was a Western drama - the first Western to ever win in this category. But the issue is... should it have really won? The film is littered with racist stereotypes, unfortunately, so wouldn't go down as well these days.

34. Cavalcade (1932)

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Fans of Downtown Abbey and upstairs/downstairs drama might have already seen this film, or in theory should like it, but Cavalcade - despite winning an Oscar in its category - wasn't very good when it very much should have been with so many servants and families to work with for drama!

35. The Deer Hunter (1978)

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With a stellar cast that includes Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro, there's no doubt this film was brilliantly done, with a very serious subject matter. Seeing as it's based around the Vietnam war, it's no surprise an epic film like this would win an award - but the film is altogether very miserable, so it might not even be labelled as 'enjoyable'.

36. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

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We were all pretty taken with this movie when it came out because it offered something a little different - and the journey of a slum orphan to millionaire winner was worth a watch. The only issue with this movie was the rather unsatisfying ending with that song and dance number!

37. Grand Hotel (1931)

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This film was entertaining, sure, as it followed an episodic format so that we could follow the activities within a rather lavish Berlin hotel. We got to watch relationships form between the different characters, and while it was overall a great film, it was hardly Oscar-worthy.

38. Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

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This is another example of one of those films that hasn't aged very well, or with a synopsis that was more a good idea at the time it was made rather than now... The movie follows Gregory Peck as a journalist who poses as a Jew to write a story on antisemitism. A bit insensitive.

39. Green Book (2018)

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When you make a movie about race, you either do it very right or kind of wrong. This one won an Oscar, despite doing the race thing a little askew. The movie follows a black man who's touring with his white driver - but the main issue with this film is it's very whitewashed.

40. Chariots of Fire (1981)

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If someone says Chariots of Fire to you, you're more likely to immediately think of that memorable piece of music and the slow motion running - and that's because the music itself is more memorable than the movie. Though it went down in the history books, it was a bit of a slow-moving movie (ironically).

41. How Green Was My Valley (1941)

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The main issue and conundrum with this win wasn't so much that it took an award, but more because it won over the movie Citizen Kane - which, as we know, as far as movies go is one of the 'films you should watch' in the history books. A lot of people would have been miffed Citizen Kane lost out to this!

42. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

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The Rocky movies were a prime example of boxing movies done right - a character to root for and an uplifting story in the end. Million Dollar Baby, while being a great film with an even greater cast, paled in comparison because it wasn't really an inspirational story - it was quite depressing!

43. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

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For a movie that has great in the title, it actually wasn't that great in hindsight. Sure, it took the award, but there's a lot of pressures on musicals to hit the mark, and this didn't really do so... Based on the famous Broadway producer, Ziegfeld, it should have been a showstopper, but ended up being just too showy.

44. Shakespeare in Love (1998)

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This one is a bit debateable, because it's a great movie by all accounts and many people have a soft spot for Shakespeare in Love - but it's more one of those comfort/guilty pleasure movies than an outstanding Oscar winner by far. But we love a costume drama!

45. Out of Africa (1985)

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You can't really fault this movie for setting out what it wanted to do - it was basically Oscar bait, and it ended up winning, so fair play. But the very fact you could tell it was set up trying to be award-winning romance makes it feel a little shallow. It's basically 160 minutes too long of Meryl Streep and hunter Robert Redford.

46. The English Patient (1996)

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This is more soap opera than Oscar winner, but nevertheless it still managed to win. In theory, this should have been an epic drama because of its great cast: Ralph Fiennes as an injured man, Juliette Binoche as the nurse caring for him and Kristen Scott Thomas as the other woman. But it was all a bit full of itself.

47. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

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This is definitely a fun romp, there's no doubt about it - a film where you watch an Englishman travel the world and meet a variety of different characters is of course going to be entertaining. But up against some powerhouse movies out there, we wouldn't really watch it and think 'Oscar-winner'!

48. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

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Another movie which focuses on race for some reason set inside a car, this one was definitely a good movie but one you'd sort of expect to stumble across while flicking through the TV late at night. Any movie with Morgan Freeman is a dependable bet, though.

49. Tom Jones (1963)

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Despite the title, this isn't a biopic about the singer's life - rather, it was a comedy film with Albert Finney playing the title role, as a squire who went on adventures outside his kingdom... so altogether a fun story if you love British comedy and that whole knight vibe, but we'd hardly say Oscar-worthy.

50. The Lost Weekend (1945)

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We do think it's important to make films highlighting problems like alcoholism and other struggles - and it's often those serious movies win Oscars - but this one, about a man who's basically just looking for his next drink, didn't really offer us anything more in terms of plot.