The most prestigious awards show in the world of film, the annual Academy Awards are the cause for much excitement and debate in the entertainment world when they come round. The awards often respect the best of the best for the year in film and its makers, with the biggest of the awards being the award for Best Picture.
The award can often go to the wrong film and the opinions of said films can fluctuate a lot. A good authority on the opinions on these films is Rotten Tomatoes and equally as important as the critics’ Tomatometer is the audience score, especially since the two differ a lot. Here are the decades Best Picture winners ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes audience score.
THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017) - 72%
With beautiful direction at the hands of Guillermo Del Toro and great performances throughout, not to mention the spectacular visuals, The Shape Of Water was a huge hit with critics. It took home the 2018 Best Picture award beating out the more deserving films Get Out and Lady Bird.
Following an unlikely, blossoming romance between a cleaner and the supernatural creature being kept and abused at the facility where she works, the film connected with a lot of people but the romance between the woman and creature was not for everyone. Critics loved so much about this film and while 72% is no bad score, it is a testament that the film perhaps does not resonate with audiences as much.
BIRDMAN (OR THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (2014) - 77%
Birdman is another film that was a hit with critics. Its fantastic performances from its cast along with its technical ambition and brilliant story helped the film beat out films like Whiplash and The Grand Budapest Hotel for the Oscar in 2015.
It follows an actor who formerly played a massive superhero who is struggling to run a broadway play while attempting to rediscover himself, connect with family and overcome hurdles. It is edited to be one continuous shot and it is done perfectly. With over 70,000 more audience reviews than The Shape Of Water and a 6% higher score, the film is more popular with fans but was not for everyone.
MOONLIGHT (2016) - 78%
A film which undoubtedly deserved its Best Picture award, Moonlight is a brilliantly acted, beautiful, emotional and compelling coming of age story which beat out films such as Arrival and La La Land at the 2017 Academy Awards.
Following three stages of a man’s life as he attempts to find himself while dealing with pain and love and coming to terms with his sexuality, Moonlight was adored by critics and is truly one of the best-made films of the decade. 78% is a good score, however, a lot of audiences did not enjoy its extremely slow pace and for some a victim of over-hype.
THE HURT LOCKER (2009) - 84%
Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq War-based action drama The Hurt Locker was the first Best Picture winner of the decade and is a beautifully intense film, with good performances and great direction from the history-making director. It beat out films such as Up and Inglourious Basterds in 2010.
It presents the conflict from the view of the soldiers, specifically a bomb squad as they work to make the streets safer for both citizens and the American soldiers. Critics love and audiences also seem to love this film which is one of the best films depicting the Iraq War. Some seen the movie as perhaps too unrealistic or melodramatic, but for the most part, people enjoyed the film.
THE ARTIST (2011)
A joyful love letter to the lost era of silent cinema, The Artist is a crowd-pleaser that is both clever and beautiful alongside well acted. Taking home the Oscar in 2012 the film beat out the arguably more deserving Moneyball alongside other films such as The Help.
The film follows a romance between a silent film star - whose career is going downhill thanks to the emergence of talkies - and an up and coming actress who becomes a film star. It is a film that pleased and was liked by critics and audiences alike as a tribute to a lost era and while it is not a film which has a great social impact, it does not need to be and fulfills its purpose well.
12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013) - 90%
A somber viewing experience, 12 Years A Slave is a hard film to watch but it is incredibly acted and directed. The brutal film beat out the extremely tough competition in The Wolf Of Wall Street and Her.
It is based on the memoirs of the main character, Solomon Northup, as he is kidnapped and sold into slavery across multiple torturous plantations for years. It is revered by both critics and audiences, with no real common complaints, the film is deserving of all its praise and will be looked at as one of the best of the 2010s.
ARGO (2012) - 90%
The winner of the 2013 Oscar, Argo is a smart, tense, well written and well-performed drama full of suspense and some good dark comedy. It beat out Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty and other great films to win the prize.
The film follows an undercover extraction mission to rescue six American hostages in Tehran during the U.S hostage crisis in Iran. The film received immensely positive reviews, with the higher critics, score putting it over 12 Years A Slave on this list. It is well performed and directed two-fold by Ben Affleck, overall the film is extremely well-liked with nearly all Rotten Tomatoes users liking the film.
GREEN BOOK (2018) - 91%
A film which was undeserving of its Oscar, Green Book is the most controversial film on this list due to its outdated narrative frame and backward point of view. It is a very well-acted, visually pleasing film which is a good buddy story, but it beating films such as BlackKklansman, Roma and even Black Panther was a mistake.
The film follows revered musician, Dr. Don Shirley, as he tours the deep south being chauffeured by Tony Lip with the pair confronting racism and the formation of an unlikely friendship. It is the worst-reviewed critically on this list, and its 91% audience score is largely down to is a low amount of reviews and the fact a lot of people enjoyed the buddy dynamic of the great pair, even if the overall treatment and message of the story was a miss.
THE KING’S SPEECH (2010) - 92%
A great film with an utterly outstanding performance which unfortunately was undeserving of its Oscar, The King’s Speech was well received by critics and by audiences but despite how good and crowd-pleasing it is, it never deserved the Oscar over The Social Network, nor Inception, and, arguably to some, not even the other fantastic selections on show that night in 2011.
The film is the story of the newly crowned King George VI as he tries to overcome his stammer with the help of a speech therapist to lead his country in a time of need. It is a well-made film with an expert performance from Firth, it is popular amongst critics and audiences, but its Oscar bait at its finest and will not stand the test of time like The Social Network.
SPOTLIGHT (2015) - 93%
A film which did deserve its Oscar, Spotlight was a brilliantly made, extremely well-performed film which handles an extremely delicate subject perfectly, doing justice to its audiences and its subject. The film beat out tough competition The Big Short and Mad Max: Fury Road in 2016.
It is a story of the Spotlight team of the Boston Globe that uncovered and investigated the scandal of child molestation within the Church. The film has no side story to take away from the importance of the topic, nor any over-the-top Oscar-baiting performances (only excellent ones, especially from Mark Ruffalo), it is both simple and layered with respect for everyone involved and it is one of the best dramas of the decade, as well as the best Best Picture winner, according to the Rotten Tomatoes audience.
