Focus
- Critics and audiences aren't always on the same page when it comes to movies.
- The Oscars are a great example of this, as there are plenty of films that critics liked way more than audiences.
- We picked 13 Oscar best-picture nominees that have divided critics and moviegoers throughout the years, based on their critics and audience scores on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics and audiences don't always see eye-to-eye, and the Oscars put it into focus.
At the Academy Awards, some best-picture nominees are ones that audiences enjoyed more than critics - like "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," which has a 46% critics score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes compared to a 61% audience score.But there are also plenty of movies nominated that critics loved a lot more than audiences.
We went back in time over four decades to find Oscar best-picture nominees that drew a clear line between critics and general moviegoers.
We picked 13 that had above an 80% critics score, but below a 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. A few may come as a shock; the 1997 crowd-pleaser and box office champ "Titanic" doesn't seem to have aged well with the public, at least by Rotten Tomatoes standards.
Below are 13 Oscar best picture nominees that critics liked a lot more than audiences:
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"Phantom Thread" (2017)
Critics score: 91%
Audience score: 69%
Also nominated for: actor, supporting actress, director, costume design, original score
An acclaimed dress designer played by Daniel Day-Lewis poorly balances work and romance in 1950s London.
"The Tree of Life" (2011)
Critics score: 84%
Audience score: 60%
Also nominated for: director, cinematography
Terrence Malick directed this surreal look at the history of the universe, centered around a young boy's life and relationship with his parents.
"A Serious Man" (2009)
Critics score: 90%
Audience score: 67%
Also nominated for: original screenplay
Michael Stuhlbarg, who appeared in 2017 best picture nominees "The Shape of Water" and "Call Me by Your Name," plays a professor who experiences one life crisis after the next in this Coen Brothers-directed film.
"Michael Clayton" (2007)
Critics score: 90%
Audience score: 69%
Also nominated for: actor, supporting actress (won), supporting actor, director, original screenplay, original score
George Clooney portrays a "fixer" named Michael Clayton, who is recruited to handle a lawyer who experiences a breakdown over a case he knows he's on the wrong side of.
"Titanic" (1997)
Critics score: 84%
Audience score: 69%
Won best picture.
Also nominated for: director, cinematography, art direction, costume design, sound, sound effects editing, film editing, visual effects, original song, original score (won all); actress, supporting actress, makeup
James Cameron's "Titanic" swept the 1998 Oscars and remains one of the highest-grossing films at the box office of all time. But apparently audiences have soured on it over time.
"Babe" (1995)
Critics score: 97%
Audience score: 67%
Also nominated for: supporting actor, director, original screenplay, art direction, film editing, visual effects (won)
"Babe's" sheep-herding talking pig captured the hearts of children when the film was released in 1995, and remains a rare children's film to be nominated for best picture.
"Bugsy" (1991)
Critics score: 85%
Audience score: 69%
Also nominated for: actor, supporting actor (2x), director, original screenplay, cinematography, original score, art direction (won), costume design (won)
Warren Beatty plays Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel in this biopic about the mobster and his involvement in spearheading the Las Vegas Strip.
"Working Girl" (1988)
Critics score: 85%
Audience score: 67%
Also nominated for: actress, supporting actress (2x), director, original song (won)
"Working Girl" follows a secretary (Melanie Griffith) who gets back at her boss (Sigourney Weaver) after she steals one of her ideas and claims it as her own.
"The Accidental Tourist" (1988)
Critics score: 80%
Audience score: 60%
Also nominated for: supporting actress (won), adapted screenplay, original score
William Hurt plays a man whose marriage collapses after the murder of their son, but his life slowly pieces itself back together when he meets a dog trainer played by Gina Davis.
"Prizzi's Honor" (1985)
Critics score: 88%
Audience score: 62%
Also nominated for: actor, supporting actress (won), supporting actor, adapted screenplay, film editing, costume design
Before "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" there was this dramedy about a hitman and hitwoman who fall for each other. Obviously in their line of work, things get difficult.
"Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
Critics score: 89%
Audience score: 68%
Also nominated for: actor, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, adapted screenplay, cinematography, original score, art direction (won)
A professional football quarterback is killed in a car accident, but when he learns in the afterlife that he still had more years left on Earth, he returns as a multimillionaire.
"Rocky" ( 1976)
Critics score: 93%
Audience score: 69%
Won best picture.
Also nominated for: director (won), actor, actress, supporting actor (2x), original screenplay, film editing (won), original song, sound
Everyone knows Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa, the Philadelphia boxing hero who takes on the favored heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in this underdog story.
"A Touch of Class" (1973)
Critics score: 91%
Audience score: 65%
Also nominated for: actress (won), original screenplay, original song, original score
An American named Steve (George Segal) begins an affair with a divorced British woman, Vickie (Glenda Jackson), who has two kids, while Steve is in London.
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