Oscar-winning films that failed at the box office (10 photos)

Oscar is an interesting thing. There are cases when people shout “the judge is damned, they didn’t deserve the statuette.” Sometimes everything turns out the other way around, they say, they condemned and deprived the worthy. And in this post there is already a third story. These films received everything one could wish for: the notorious Oscar and other awards, honor from film critics, as well as high ratings from ordinary viewers. And by a strange coincidence, they failed at the box office. Why did this happen... is a debatable question. So let's take a look at the Oscar-winning films that missed out on the money.

What Dreams May Come (1998)





The film won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, but grossed $55 million on a budget of $85 million.

Girl, Interrupted (1999)



It was for her role in this film that Angelina Jolie received her only Oscar. But the film grossed $48 million on a $40 million budget, so few appreciated her performance on the big screen.

The right guys (1983)





The film won four Oscars in technical categories, including best soundtrack, but few people heard the music from it, as it grossed $21 million against a budget of $27 million.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)



The film won an Oscar for visual effects and cinematography, but at the box office it did not collect at least twice the amount it cost to create - $259 million versus 150. Due to marketing costs, this ratio resulted in a loss of $80 million.

Citizen Kane (1941)



The film No. 1 in a huge list of the best received an Oscar for its screenplay, but at the time of release it grossed only one and a half million dollars against a budget of 800 thousand, which became the reason for its financial collapse.

This result was also a consequence of an anti-advertising campaign directed against the film by the powerful newspaper magnate William Hearst, who became the prototype for the main character, which he obviously did not like.

Almost Famous (2000)



The film won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, but grossed $47 million on a $60 million budget.

The Wolf Man (2010)



The film absolutely deservedly won the Oscar for Best Makeup, but failed at the box office ($139 million gross on a $150 million budget), and viewers gave it low marks.

Timekeeper (2011)



The film has 5 Oscar wins and all technical ones, including visual effects and best cinematography. The collections turned out to be a failure for a budget of 150-170 million dollars - only $185 million.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)



The legendary musical fantasy won two Oscars and all the musical ones - for best song and best soundtrack - but, you will be surprised, the film earned only $3 million in its first release against a budget of $2.7 million. At that time, The Wizard of Oz became the most expensive film in history and did not make its money back. The matter was corrected only by re-release in 1949.

The surprising opening is especially in contrast to the fact that the film is currently considered the most watched in cinema history.

CODA: Child of Deaf Parents (2021)



Well, the absolute winner of this selection! "CODA: The Child of Deaf Parents" was a box office failure, but won the main "Best Picture" award at the Oscars. The film was also awarded for adapted screenplay and best supporting actor. But such success and fame throughout the world overtook the film late - it had already rolled out in theaters, collecting only 2.2 million dollars against a budget of 10 million.