The Lowest-Scoring Best Picture Nominees of the Past 30 Years
As history—and Metascores—show, Academy Award nominations reveal best picture contenders, but not necessarily the best pictures.
We've looked through the best picture Oscar fields of the last 30 years, from the 1989 nominees through the recently announced 2018 field, cross-checked the nominees' Metacritic scores, and ranked the 24 lowest-scoring films, from the bottom to the relative top. Four of these films went on to become best picture winners—but none boasts a Metascore higher than 69.
The Kevin Costner drama earned three Oscar nominations, played well at the box office, and is now regarded as one of Hollywood's great baseball movies. Back in 1989, however, critics complained the movie mucked up its cornfield with too much sap.
“The movie may steal a base here and there, but there are no homers.” —Desson Thomson, Washington Post