Oscar Worthy

Who really should have won Best Picture.

Score every film of the year on a weighted ratings formula, and the Academy's Best Picture lines up with the year's best-reviewed film just 15 times in 98 ceremonies. The other 83 years, a film they passed over should have taken it. Here's every year — winner versus the one that should have won.

By the numbers →

Notable snubs

1931AcademyCimarronShould have wonCity Lights 1941AcademyHow Green Was My ValleyShould have wonCitizen Kane 1952AcademyThe Greatest Show on EarthShould have wonSingin' in the Rain 1967AcademyIn the Heat of the NightShould have wonThe Graduate 1977AcademyAnnie HallShould have wonStar Wars 1981AcademyChariots of FireShould have wonRaiders of the Lost Ark 1994AcademyForrest GumpShould have wonThe Shawshank Redemption 2008AcademySlumdog MillionaireShould have wonThe Dark Knight 2018AcademyGreen BookShould have wonSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2024AcademyAnoraShould have wonDune: Part Two

Pick a year

By decade

1900s

1902—historical note 1903—historical note 1904—historical note 1905—historical note 1906—historical note 1907—historical note 1908—historical note 1909—historical note

1910s

1910—historical note 1911—historical note 1912—historical note 1913—historical note 1914—historical note 1915—→ Les Vampires 1916—→ Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages 1917—→ A Man There Was 1918—→ The Outlaw and His Wife 1919—→ J'accuse!

1920s

1920—→ The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1921—→ The Kid 1922—→ Nosferatu 1923—→ Safety Last!1924—→ Sherlock Jr.1925—→ The Gold Rush 1926—→ The General 1927Wings→ Metropolis 1928—→ The Passion of Joan of Arc 1929The Broadway Melody→ Pandora's Box

1930s

1930All Quiet on the Western Front→ All Quiet on the Western Front 1931Cimarron→ City Lights 1932Grand Hotel→ Freaks 1933Cavalcade→ King Kong 1934It Happened One Night→ It Happened One Night 1935Mutiny on the Bounty→ Bride of Frankenstein 1936The Great Ziegfeld→ Modern Times 1937The Life of Emile Zola→ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1938You Can't Take It with You→ Grand Illusion 1939Gone with the Wind→ Gone with the Wind

1940s

1940Rebecca→ The Great Dictator 1941How Green Was My Valley→ Citizen Kane 1942Mrs. Miniver→ To Be or Not to Be 1943Casablanca→ Casablanca 1944Going My Way→ Double Indemnity 1945The Lost Weekend→ Brief Encounter 1946The Best Years of Our Lives→ It's a Wonderful Life 1947Gentleman's Agreement→ Out of the Past 1948Hamlet→ Bicycle Thieves 1949All the King's Men→ The Third Man

1950s

1950All about Eve→ Sunset Blvd.1951An American in Paris→ Strangers on a Train 1952The Greatest Show on Earth→ Singin' in the Rain 1953From Here to Eternity→ Tokyo Story 1954On the Waterfront→ Seven Samurai 1955Marty→ The Night of the Hunter 1956Around the World in 80 Days→ The Ten Commandments 1957The Bridge on the River Kwai→ 12 Angry Men 1958Gigi→ Vertigo 1959Ben-Hur→ North by Northwest

1960s

1960The Apartment→ Psycho 1961West Side Story→ Yojimbo 1962Lawrence of Arabia→ Harakiri 1963Tom Jones→ The Great Escape 1964My Fair Lady→ Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1965The Sound of Music→ For a Few Dollars More 1966A Man for All Seasons→ The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1967In the Heat of the Night→ The Graduate 1968Oliver!→ Once Upon a Time in the West 1969Midnight Cowboy→ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

1970s

1970Patton→ Patton 1971The French Connection→ A Clockwork Orange 1972The Godfather→ The Godfather 1973The Sting→ The Sting 1974The Godfather Part II→ The Godfather Part II 1975One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest→ One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest 1976Rocky→ Taxi Driver 1977Annie Hall→ Star Wars 1978The Deer Hunter→ The Deer Hunter 1979Kramer vs. Kramer→ Apocalypse Now

1980s

1980Ordinary People→ The Empire Strikes Back 1981Chariots of Fire→ Raiders of the Lost Ark 1982Gandhi→ The Thing 1983Terms of Endearment→ Scarface 1984Amadeus→ Once Upon a Time in America 1985Out of Africa→ Back to the Future 1986Platoon→ Aliens 1987The Last Emperor→ Full Metal Jacket 1988Rain Man→ Grave of the Fireflies 1989Driving Miss Daisy→ Dead Poets Society

1990s

1990Dances With Wolves→ Good Fellas 1991The Silence of the Lambs→ The Silence of the Lambs 1992Unforgiven→ Reservoir Dogs 1993Schindler's List→ Schindler's List 1994Forrest Gump→ The Shawshank Redemption 1995Braveheart→ Se7en 1996The English Patient→ Trainspotting 1997Titanic→ Good Will Hunting 1998Shakespeare in Love→ Life Is Beautiful 1999American Beauty→ Fight Club

2000s

2000Gladiator→ Gladiator 2001A Beautiful Mind→ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2002Chicago→ The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2003The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King→ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2004Million Dollar Baby→ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2005Crash→ Batman Begins 2006The Departed→ The Prestige 2007No Country for Old Men→ There Will Be Blood 2008Slumdog Millionaire→ The Dark Knight 2009The Hurt Locker→ Inglourious Basterds

2010s

2010The King's Speech→ Inception 2011The Artist→ The Intouchables 2012Argo→ Django Unchained 201312 Years a Slave→ Prisoners 2014Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)→ Interstellar 2015Spotlight→ Inside Out 2016Moonlight→ Your Name.2017The Shape of Water→ Coco 2018Green Book→ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2019Parasite→ Parasite

2020s

2020Nomadland→ The Father 2021CODA→ Spider-Man: No Way Home 2022Everything Everywhere All at Once→ Top Gun: Maverick 2023Oppenheimer→ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 2024Anora→ Dune: Part Two 2025One Battle after Another→ Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc