15 great movies that did not win a single Academy Award

For many years, the Academy Awards have been looked at as the highest honor in the world of film. However, time and time again, films that critics and audiences rave about don't even get a nomination. While certain films can clean up at the Oscars despite lukewarm reactions from audiences, others, no less bold and genre-defining, no less emotional, leave the Academy empty-handed.

These memorable films range from psychological horror to visually stunning science fiction to quiet character studies that showcase how awards do not matter.

If you consider yourself a cinephile, you are interested in exploring more films that the Academy has missed, or you are just endlessly curious about how the Academy missed the point on so many films, you will be astonished by this list.

The films described here won no golden statuette, but they have already earned a long-lasting place in the hearts of cinephiles around the world.

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1) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Although touted as one of the greatest movies ever produced, The Shawshank Redemption left the 1995 Oscars with nothing. Pit against Forrest Gump, it received seven nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Morgan Freeman).

Today, its reputation easily surpasses its loss of awards. It always tops IMDb's Top 250 list and has built an unparalleled cult following. Strikingly, it flopped at the box office at first but picked up momentum with home video and cable viewings. The movie's themes of hope, courage, and redemption remain relevant globally, demonstrating that awards are not the ultimate test of cinematic excellence.

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2) Fight Club (1999)

David Fincher's Fight Club was not only snubbed; it was almost dismissed on release. Critics split, and the Academy did not acknowledge its direction, acting, or revolutionary visual style. It picked up only a single Oscar nomination for Best Sound Editing and lost out.

But eventually, it became a cultural sensation, and its nihilistic tone and Edward Norton–Brad Pitt combination won universal acclaim. Now, Fight Club is a touchstone of popular culture discourse, and its consumerist critique appears more timely than ever.

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3) The Prestige (2006)

Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction revolutionized indie filmmaking and narrative flow but still lost Best Picture and Best Director in 1995 to Forrest Gump. Though it did capture Best Original Screenplay, the larger impact of the movie went unrecognized.

Tarantino's aesthetic spurred a generation of filmmakers, and John Travolta's career experienced a serious overhaul. Even today, people still quote Jules' monologue or imitate the twist dance scene. Tarantino himself recently commented on how Pulp Fiction was his "true coming-out party," and fans concur that it was worthy of more Oscar gold.

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4) Taxi Driver (1976)

Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver is a gritty character study that still haunts decades on, but it inexplicably lost all four of its Oscar nominations in 1977. Robert De Niro's terrifying performance as Travis Bickle became iconic, particularly the "You talkin' to me?" scene.

The film lost Best Picture to Rocky, a choice still argued. Its impact is undeniable, influencing anti-hero stories in hundreds of films and television shows. In recent years, Joker (2019) made direct comparisons, with director Todd Phillips pointing to Taxi Driver as a chief inspiration.

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5) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street bullied its way into the 2014 Oscars with five nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, but took home zero. The movie's outrageous energy, propelled by drugs, mayhem, and capitalism, made it a rollercoaster. It also was the film that signaled the arrival of Jonah Hill as a dramatic force.

Others were critical of it as promoting excess, but Scorsese explained it was a satire. The movie remains popular with younger audiences due to viral moments on TikTok and Instagram, particularly DiCaprio's chest-thumping moment.

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6) American Psycho (2000)

When American Psycho opened, it polarized audiences; some regarded it as a brilliant satire, others as horrifying excess. Now, though, it's acclaimed for its searing social commentary and Christian Bale's unsettling, dedicated performance. Remarkably, the Academy didn't shortlist it for a single Oscar.

Bale's physical and psychological transformation into Patrick Bateman has since become the stuff of legend, even influencing a fresh wave of meme culture and reinterpretation videos on the internet. Mary Harron's direction quietly judged toxic masculinity before that catchphrase entered the mainstream lexicon.

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7) Children of Men (2006)

Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men was one of the most groundbreaking sci-fi movies in the 21st century but received zero Oscars despite three nominations. The dystopian imagining of a society without fertility today seems hauntingly near at hand with falling birth rates and chaos around the globe.

Cuarón's dark, immersive direction set the stage for future Oscar victories with Gravity and Roma. Ironically, many now consider Children of Men to be his masterpiece. Time has done what the Academy was unable to accord it its proper respect.

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8) The Truman Show (1998)

The Truman Show was prescient in ways we didn't realize in 1998. Although it was nominated for three Oscars, it won none, and Jim Carrey was famously overlooked in the Best Actor category despite his breathtaking performance. Looking back, Carrey's performance as Truman Burbank, a man unwittingly living within a reality television show, was both moving and chilling.

With the surveillance and social media mania of today, the movie seems more topical than ever. Directors and screenwriters have often cited it as a unique mix of sci-fi, drama, and social commentary. Carrey even referred to it as the "role of his lifetime," and we do, too.

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9) The Big Lebowski (1998)

When The Big Lebowski first opened in theaters, critics were unsure what to make of it. The movie was ignored altogether at the Oscars and took decades to become a cult classic. Now, it's a pop culture behemoth. Jeff Bridges' The Dude has become a lifestyle icon, giving rise to conventions, merchandise, and even a religion called Dudeism.

The Coen Brothers created a universe so offbeat and volatile that enthusiasts keep going back to it over and over again for reassurance and humor.

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10) Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

The Coen Brothers hit gold once more with Inside Llewyn Davis, a poignant sketch of a struggling folk singer in 1960s New York. Well-received by critics and generating Oscar buzz, the film received only two nominations and took home neither. Oscar Isaac's star-making turn as Llewyn was entirely snubbed by the Academy, a decision still reviled by fans and critics alike.

The soundtrack, which was selected by T Bone Burnett, rekindled interest in the traditional folk sound. The movie, over time, has gained a devoted following and is now regarded as one of the Coens' most emotionally complex films. It was worthy of much more attention.

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11) Heat (1995)

Michael Mann's Heat is regularly cited as the greatest cat-and-mouse crime thriller, teaming up Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in an iconic showdown. Even with its iconic diner showdown, razor-sharp dialogue, and stylized city shootouts, the Academy awarded it no nominations.

Over time, it's become a standard for the crime genre, inspiring everything from The Dark Knight to Sicario. De Niro eventually owned up to the movie being one of his most complicated performances. A sequel book was published in 2022, and a movie adaptation is now in the works. How ironic that a film that redefined action cinema was once underappreciated.

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12) Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko went under the radar at its first release, partly because of its timing close to 9/11 and marketing difficulties. It wasn't nominated for any Oscars, but years later, it developed a cult following based on Jake Gyllenhaal's spine-chilling performance and its mind-bending plot.

The movie has inspired thousands of fan theories on time travel, parallel universes, and existential terror. Director Richard Kelly has long been a proud defender of its cult following, and in 2021, a new 4K restoration introduced it to a new generation through streaming. For a film once shrugged off, Donnie Darko is now somewhat of a generational mirror.

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13) Zodiac (2007)

David Fincher's Zodiac was a slow-burning, painstaking thriller that most consider his best work. But the Academy utterly snubbed it with no nominations whatsoever. The movie's realism, combined with Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr.'s acting, received massive acclaim in hindsight.

Fincher's fixation on accuracy extended so far that he digitally reconstructed San Francisco to mirror the 1970s exactly. Of late, directors and critics alike have openly hailed Zodiac as a masterclass in procedural cinema. Even Paul Thomas Anderson referred to it as one of the greatest films of the century.

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14) Drive (2011)

Drive blew away dazed viewers with its synth-heavy sound, neon-drenched imagery, and Ryan Gosling's stoic, charismatic turn. The movie received only one Oscar nomination, for Best Sound Editing, and lost. Nicolas Winding Refn's flashy direction created an instant cult phenomenon, and Gosling's nameless lead became an anti-hero icon.

Though it had little dialogue, the movie's emotional subtext and visual narrative lingered. Over the years, it's been praised for retooling the action genre with art-house sophistication. The jacket, the soundtrack, the bloodshed it all entered the pop culture lexicon. Even without the Oscars, Drive still punches like a speeding bullet.

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15) Vertigo (1958)

Now ranked as one of the greatest films of all time, Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo was mostly overlooked by the Academy upon its release, collecting only two nominations and zero awards. It wasn't until many years later that its brilliance was universally acknowledged.

In 2012, it even surpassed Citizen Kane as the all-time greatest film in the Sight & Sound critics' poll. Its psychological sophistication, innovative application of the dolly zoom, and Bernard Herrmann's eerie score raised the bar. Hitchcock never received a competitive Oscar, which only serves to compound the injustice.