# Worst film to get an Oscar nomination **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184 "2016-01-25T16:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/1 "2016-01-25T16:20:48Z")
So just going through the Oscar nominations and noticed **Fifty Shades of Grey** got one for Best Original Song. It struck me odd, given the incredible piece of shit the movie was. That got me to thinking. What’s the worst movie to get an Oscar nomination? Better yet, what’s the worst movie to get an Oscar win? ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/2 "2016-01-25T16:24:57Z")
Norbit was nominated for Best Achievement in Makeup (Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji) in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/3 "2016-01-25T16:40:37Z")
[The Greatest Show on Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044672/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) won the Best Picture and Best Story Oscars. It’s widely considered one of the worst films ever to even be nominated for Best Picture. One of the other nominees was _High Noon_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/4 "2016-01-25T16:59:37Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [The Greatest Show on Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044672/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) won the Best Picture and Best Story Oscars. It’s widely considered one of the worst films ever to even be nominated for Best Picture. One of the other nominees was _High Noon_. It’s actually not that bad, though certainly not the best picture of any year; the award was mostly just a lifetime achievement award for Cecil B. DeMille. I’ve seen people saying the worst film to win an Oscar was **Thank God It’s Friday** , which won for best song in 1978. That category has always been Oscar’s Achilles Heel – there are many nominees from mediocre movies where the song was the best thing about them. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/5 "2016-01-25T17:09:16Z")
Phantom Menace got three nominations, but it isn’t as bad as some other even worse movies. I think the better question is what is the worst movie to get a nomination for writing, directing, or best picture. ---
**Author:** ![misterlucas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@misterlucas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterlucas)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/6 "2016-01-25T17:14:11Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > So just going through the Oscar nominations and noticed **Fifty Shades of Grey** got one for Best Original Song. From my point of view in these situations the song itself got nominated, not the film. The song itself “Earned It” by The Weeknd was highly appreciated and The Weeknd won a lot of awards this passing year. To be on topic, I feel like what Micheal Caine said in a BBC interview 2 days ago very true, that Oscars are not that representative. Some actors argued that it’s the second year no black actor was nominated and there were great roles interpreted by black actors. Micheal Caine , himself, said that it took him years and years to be nominated for an Oscar. I didn’t think it was fair that in 2013, Ben Affleck’s “Argo” won the Best Picture Award, since from my point of view it should have been Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” . Both are great films, but Tarantino succeded in creating his best film, a once in a lifetime masterpiece from my point of view. I am daring to bet that he won’t make any film better than Django Unchained, and as I’ve seen The Hateful Eight , it concludes that his style will become more common and unentertaining to the vast majority, hence he will go downhill from here on. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/7 "2016-01-25T17:16:18Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I think the better question is what is the worst movie to get a nomination for writing, directing, or best picture. Fair enough, I was trying to picture someone standing at the podium witha straight face saying, “I’d like to thank the Academy and the producers and crew for the opportunity to work on such a special project like Fifty Shades of Grey…” ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/8 "2016-01-25T17:34:22Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I think the better question is what is the worst movie to get a nomination for writing, directing, or best picture. _Gladiator_ won best picture and best actor, plus three other awards. It’s easily the worst film I’ve ever seen that won the top Oscar, though I haven’t seen _Crash._ Lots of horrible films have won or been nominated for Best Visual Effects: _Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, The Golden Compass, Real Steel, Prometheus,_ etc. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/9 "2016-01-25T18:32:37Z")
Well, **The Broadway Melody** is pretty terrible by modern standards. It was a big hit, and well regarded in its time, but looks pretty bad today. **The Deer Hunter** certainly isn’t very good. The Academy wanted to give an award to a film that tackled Vietnam, and couldn’t wait for Coppola. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/10 "2016-01-25T19:10:05Z")
Best Visual Effects is a good category to seek out some stinkers: _Alice in Wonderland_ (2010) _Alien 3_ (1992) _Cliffhanger_ (1993) _Dragonslayer_ (1981) _Earthquake_ (1974) - won _The Hindenburg_ (1975) - won _I, Robot_ (2004) _King Kong_ (2005) - won _The Lone Ranger_ (2013) _The Lost World: Jurassic Park_ (1997) _Moonraker_ (1979) _1941_ (1979) _Pearl Harbor_ (2001) _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End_ (2007) _Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest_ (2006) - won _Poltergeist II: The Other Side_ (1986) _Poseidon_ (2006) _The Poseidon Adventure_ (1972) - won _Prometheus_ (2012) _Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace_ (1999) _Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones_ (2002) _Starship Troopers_ (1997) _Superman Returns_ (2006) _Transformers_ (2007) _Transformers: Dark of the Moon_ (2011) _When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth_ (1970) _Willow_ (1988) I think it’s worth noting that _The Poseidon Adventure_ won two Oscars (Best Song and Best Visual Effects) while _Citizen Kane_ won only one (Best Original Screenplay). ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/11 "2016-01-25T20:37:24Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [The Greatest Show on Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044672/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) won the Best Picture and Best Story Oscars. From the synopsis: _Subplots involve the secret past of Buttons the Clown_ Thank you. That made my day. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/12 "2016-01-25T20:51:08Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > _Gladiator_ won best picture and best actor, plus three other awards. It’s easily the worst film I’ve ever seen that won the top Oscar, though I haven’t seen _Crash._ Yeah, I think Gladiator is the worst Best Picture I’ve seen and I also have not seen Crash. Wait. Shakespeare in Love might be worse. It was a rare year where all other films nominated for Best Picture were better(Saving Private Ryan, Thin Red Line, Elizabeth, and Life is Beautiful). **Batman Forever** had…wait for it…3 nominations, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/13 "2016-01-25T21:13:04Z")
_Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa_\* from 2013 is the one that stands out in my mind in this category. Got an Oscar nom for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Johnny Knoxville couldn’t believe it. It also _won_ an award from the Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist Guild! (While it is 60% at RT, I think there’s a huge genre pass given by the critics. “Well, for a _Jackass_ movie …”) - Not to be confused with the new De Niro trash _Dirty Grandpa_, 7% at RT. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/14 "2016-01-25T21:19:31Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > _Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa_\* from 2013 is the one that stands out in my mind in this category. Got an Oscar nom for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Johnny Knoxville couldn’t believe it. > . Dude, that movie was hilarious in some parts. No way is that a really bad movie. I’d put it in “most unlikely” nomination, not worst movie to get one. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/15 "2016-01-25T21:31:16Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [The Greatest Show on Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044672/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) won the Best Picture and Best Story Oscars. It’s widely considered one of the worst films ever to even be nominated for Best Picture. One of the other nominees was _High Noon_. While I agree it was a bad choice for Best Picture, the question was “What’s the worst movie to get an Oscar nomination,” and if you think “The Greatest Show On Earth” was worse than “Norbit,” you have either not seen both movies or you’re Eddie Murphy. All the references here to movies that won Best Picture are wrong. Sorry, I know it’s an opinion call but you’re wrong. “Gladiator,” “Shakepeare in Love” and “The Deer Hunter” may not be your cup of tea but they are all perfectly well made movies. “Poltergeist II: The Other Side” was every bit as good a movie as it sounds like it would be, which is to say it blew. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/16 "2016-01-25T21:33:08Z")
> [@bup](#): > > From the synopsis: _Subplots involve the secret past of Buttons the Clown_ > > Thank you. That made my day. One look at the cast list to see who played said clown and you have some idea how it won Best Picture. Speaking of which, it was the last Best Picture before _Crash_ in 2005 where Picture, Director, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress went to six different films. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/17 "2016-01-25T21:36:22Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > _Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa_\* from 2013 is the one that stands out in my mind in this category. Got an Oscar nom for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Johnny Knoxville couldn’t believe it. > > It also _won_ an award from the Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist Guild! > > (While it is 60% at RT, I think there’s a huge genre pass given by the critics. “Well, for a _Jackass_ movie …”) > > - Not to be confused with the new De Niro trash _Dirty Grandpa_, 7% at RT. Here are some worse movies nominated for an Oscar in that category: _Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Bicentennial Man Click Dad Heartbeeps Hook How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ (winner) _The Lone Ranger The Time Machine_ as well as the aforementioned _Norbit_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/18 "2016-01-25T22:17:55Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > _Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa_\* from 2013 is the one that stands out in my mind in this category. Got an Oscar nom for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Johnny Knoxville couldn’t believe ittT. But there was a very strong case for the nomination. Remember, the movie was shot in public areas, and the makeup had to be good enough to fool people close up. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/19 "2016-01-25T22:24:40Z")
I have seen “Crash” (the Oscar winner from about 10 years ago; there do exist other movies with that title). It was OK, but I didn’t like the characters. The movie mainly consists of people not being nice to each other, for an assortment of reasons. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184/20 "2016-01-25T22:59:53Z")
> [@bup](#): > > From the synopsis: _Subplots involve the secret past of Buttons the Clown_ > > Thank you. That made my day. No offense, but that attitude is what makes the subplot work. Because, c’mon, what are the odds that “Buttons The Clown” has problems that anyone would care about? I’m sure he’s just a silly goofball who, yeah, now that you mention it, I’ve never seen without his makeup – but who gives a crap who he is? On an unrelated note, just yesterday I saw where the cops are still looking for a respected physician who killed his wife years ago; I understand they go everywhere you’d _expect_ to find a serious and well-educated man like that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-film-to-get-an-oscar-nomination/744184.md?page=2)