The Oscars are famous for recognizing smaller films among its crop of Best Picture nominees. In fact, a Best Picture nomination can be crucial for a film’s box office prospects, and many movies have seen their grosses significantly increase after receiving the coveted acknowledgment from the Academy.
However, not every Best Picture nominee can be a box office smash. In these films’ cases, the nomination was not enough to improve their paltry box office returns. And so, despite their significant critical acclaim, they stand as the lowest-grossing theater-exclusive Oscar-nominated movies of the decade.
Her (2013) – $48 Million
Spike Jonze’s Her expertly bends the sci-fi and romantic genres to create a truly unique film. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Her follows Theodore Twombly, a lonely man who forms an intimate and romantic connection with Samantha, an artificially intelligent virtual assistant.
Her earned $48 million at the box office and attracted acclaim. Spike Jonze won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay at the 2014 ceremony, while the film received four more nominations, including Best Picture, Original Score, Original Song, and Production Design.
Phantom Thread (2017) – $47.7 Million
Revered auteur Paul Thomas Anderson is an Academy favorite. His films are staples at the Oscars, and 2017’s Phantom Thread wasn’t an exception. The movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Leslie Manville, and Vicky Krieps and centers on Reynolds Woodcock, a demanding but gifted designer, and Alma, a young waitress who becomes his muse.
Phantom Thread received six nominations at the 2018 Oscars, including Best Picture, Director for Anderson, Actor for Day-Lewis, and Supporting Actress for Manville. However, its sole victory was for Mark Bridges’ Costume Design. Phantom Thread grossed $47.7 million at the box office, making it Paul Thomas Anderson’s third highest-grossing movie.
Call Me By Your Name (2017) – $41.8 Million
Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name stars Timothée Chalamet as Elio, a seventeen-year-old who forms an intense and intimate relationship with his father’s twenty-four-year-old graduate assistant. The film grossed $41.8 million at the box office and was lauded by critics for its emotional impact.
Call Me By Your Name also attracted intense praise for Chalamet’s performance, Guadagnino’s direction, and James Ivory’s script. The film received four Oscar nominations at the 2018 ceremony, including Best Picture, Director for Guadagnino, and Actor for Chalamet. However, Ivory was the sole winner, prevailing in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.
Hell Or High Water (2016) – $37.8 Million
Westerns are popular with the Academy, and Hell or High Water demonstrated that. Directed by David Mackenzie and written by Taylor Sheridan, the movie stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges and follows two brothers who commit several bank robberies while being tracked by two Texas Rangers.
Hell or High Water received four nominations at the 2017 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Bridges; however, it didn’t win any. The film didn’t fare much better at the box office, grossing only $37.8 million worldwide.
Amour (2012) – $36.7 Million
Written and directed by Michael Haneke, Amour tells the story of an older couple, Anne and Georges, who struggles after a stroke that paralyzes the right side of Anne’s body. Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, and Isabelle Huppert, the film grossed $36.7 million worldwide.
Foreign language films don’t often crack the Best Picture category, but Amour was one of the few to do it. Following intense critical acclaim, including winning the Palm d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Amour received five nominations at the 2013 Oscars; however, its sole win was for Best Foreign Language Film.
Room (2015) – $36.3 Million
Based on the 2010 novel of the same name and directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Room stars Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. The plot follows Ma and Jack, a mother and her son who’ve been held captive in a room for seven years. After their escape, the two struggle to adapt to their new reality.
Room was lauded by critics, but grossed only $36.3 million at the worldwide box office. The film was Larson’s breakthrough, and she won the Oscar for Best Actress at the 2016 ceremony, the film’s sole victory out of four nominations, including Best Picture. In one of the biggest Oscar snubs from the 2010s, the Academy failed to recognize Tremblay despite the film’s acclaim.
The Kids Are All Right (2010) – $34.7 Million
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo star in Lisa Cholodenko’s 2010 drama The Kids Are All Right. It follows a lesbian couple, Bening and Moore, whose life gets disrupted after their teenage children invite their biological father, Ruffalo, into their family.
One of the best movies to come out of the Sundance Film Festival, The Kids Are All Right garnered rave reviews. Despite earning only $34.7 million at the box office, it was a major player at the 2011 Oscars, receiving four nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Bening, and Best Supporting Actor for Ruffalo. Alas, it failed to win any category.
Nebraska (2013) – $27.6 Million
Alexander Payne has a rich and varied filmography and is no stranger to the Academy Awards. For example, his 2013 black-and-white road film Nebraska was a major player at the 2014 ceremony. It tells the story of an older man and his son who make a trip from Minnesota to Nebraska to claim a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.
Nebraska received six Oscar nominations at the 2014 ceremony, including Best Picture, Best Director for Payne, and Best Actor for Bruce Dern. However, it failed to win in any category and went home empty-handed. Nebraska didn’t fare much better at the box office, earning only $27.6 million internationally.
Beasts Of The Southern Wild (2012) – $23.2 Million
Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild follows six-year-old Hushpuppy as she deals with situations beyond her control, learning about courage and love in the process.
Beasts of the Southern Wild grossed only $23.2 million at the box office, but it was still a success considering its small production budget. The film received universal acclaim, with critics particularly praising lead actress Quevenzhané Wallis’ performance. At the 2013 Oscars, Beasts of the Southern Wild earned four nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Zeitlin, and Best Actress for Wallis. At age nine, Wallis became the youngest nominee in Oscar history.
Winter’s Bone (2010) – $16.1 Million
Jennifer Lawrence, one of the most iconic actresses of the 2010s, had her breakthrough role in 2010’s Winter’s Bone. The film co-stars John Hawkes and follows Ree Dolly, a poverty-stricken teenage girl in the Ozarks of Missouri who must locate her missing father.
Praised for its raw yet hopeful approach, Winter’s Bone attracted universal critical acclaim, with particular praise going to Lawrence’s performance. Despite earning only $16.1 million at the box office, the film fared much better at the Oscars, receiving four nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress for Lawrence, and Best Supporting Actor for Hawkes. However, it went home empty-handed.
