Ok, so what constitutes "Oscar Bait"? I would say it means films funded with the expectation of Academy Award success.
Well, as an avid awards followers for many years now, I decided to list all the Best Picture nominees from 2010 onwards that I would classify as Oscar Bait. This is not a statement on quality. Good and bad films can be Oscar Bait. This is more about release method and target audience.
Common traits of Oscar Bait:
- American
- Established director
- Social themes (w/ a focus on identity)
- Safe politics (nothing radical)
- Decent budget
- Studio backing (i.e. not a pure indie)
- Released after the Summer
- Does not premiere in first half of…
Ok, so what constitutes "Oscar Bait"? I would say it means films funded with the expectation of Academy Award success.
Well, as an avid awards followers for many years now, I decided to list all the Best Picture nominees from 2010 onwards that I would classify as Oscar Bait. This is not a statement on quality. Good and bad films can be Oscar Bait. This is more about release method and target audience.
Common traits of Oscar Bait:
- American
- Established director
- Social themes (w/ a focus on identity)
- Safe politics (nothing radical)
- Decent budget
- Studio backing (i.e. not a pure indie)
- Released after the Summer
- Does not premiere in first half of year
- Famous actors
- Historical setting
- Serious drama, not a genre film or comedy
- Decent box office returns
- Copies elements of a recent winner / nominee
Films with some features of Oscar Bait:
- Jojo Rabbit (2019)
- Joker (2019)
- Marriage Story (2019)
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
- The Favourite (2018)
- Roma (2018)
- The Shape of Water (2017)
- Dunkirk (2017)
- Phantom Thread (2017)
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
- Brooklyn (2015)
- The Martian (2015)
- Birdman (2014)
- Gravity (2013)
- Nebraska (2013)
- Philomena (2013)
- Django Unchained (2012)
- The Artist (2011)
- Hugo (2011)
- The King's Speech (2010)
- 127 Hours (2010)
- Black Swan (2010)
- The Kids Are All Right (2010)
- The Social Network (2010)
Films that were not Oscar Bait:
- Parasite (2019)
- Black Panther (2018)
- BlacKkKlansman (2018)
- Call Me by Your Name (2017)
- Get Out (2017)
- Lady Bird (2017)
- Moonlight (2016)
- Arrival (2016)
- Hell or High Water (2016)
- Manchester by the Sea (2016)
- Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
- Room (2015)
- Boyhood (2014)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- Whiplash (2014)
- Her (2013)
- Amour (2012)
- Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
- Midnight in Paris (2011)
- The Tree of Life (2011)
- Inception (2010)
- Winter's Bone (2010)
