The movies that should have won Best Picture Oscars, based on Rotten Tomatoes

The Oscars are now just weeks away and the race to snatch the crown for best film of the year is getting fiercely competitive. The Shape of Water is facing down Three Billboards with the outside, fan-favourite Get Out nipping at both their heels. And although this year’s Academy Award nominees are generally pretty strong, there can be some years when barely anyone’s ever heard of the nominated films (did anyone actually watch The Artist?).

So we thought it would be interesting to find out which films should have won Best Picture Oscars based on their adjusted Rotten Tomatoes score. And, very interestingly, there are a quite a few unexpected results.

And because the Rotten Tomatoes scores are weighted by the total number of positive results, they tend to tally a bit closer to the films us regularly schmucks have actually seen. Here they are:

2016

Actual Best Picture Winner - Moonlight (Adjusted score: 110.185% - this result has changed over time since Rotten Tomatoes awarded their score) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Zootopia/Moonlight (At the time of the Oscars, Zootopia had an adjusted score of 107.819%, which was higher than Moonlight’s score, however, Moonlight has now surpassed it) 

2015

Actual Best Picture Winner - Spotlight (109.387%) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Mad Max: Fury Road (111.542%)

2014

Actual Best Picture Winner - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (103.206%) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Boyhood (108.6%)

2013

Actual Best Picture Winner - 12 Years a Slave (108.43%) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Gravity (108.51%)

2012

Actual Best Picture Winner – Argo (107.63%)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner – Argo

We have a match!

2011

Actual Best Picture Winner - The Artist (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (105.5%)

2010

Actual Best Picture Winner - The King’s Speech (102.77%) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Toy Story 3 (107.56%)

2009

Actual Best Picture Winner - The Hurt Locker (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Up (106.93%)

2008

Actual Best Picture Winner - Slumdog Millionaire (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - WALL-E (105.15%)

2007

Actual Best Picture Winner - No Country for Old Men (101.98%) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Ratatouille (103.96%)

2006

Actual Best Picture Winner - The Departed (100.03%) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Casino Royale (102.39%)

2005

Actual Best Picture Winner - Crash (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (100.67%)

2004

Actual Best Picture Winner - Million Dollar Baby (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - The Incredibles (103.47%)

2003

Actual Best Picture Winner - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (101.68%) 

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Finding Nemo (106.48%)

2002

Actual Best Picture Winner - Chicago (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (101.68%) 

2001

Actual Best Picture Winner - A Beautiful Mind (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (98.54%)

2000

Actual Best Picture Winner - Gladiator (Doesn’t feature in top 10)

Rotten Tomatoes Winner - Chicken Run (103.06%)

(Image: Rex)