The Academy Awards has released its list of nominees for the Best Picture Oscar. The 10 critically acclaimed movies on the list range from summer blockbusters to indie darlings and sleeper hits, frontlined by both newcomers and industry heavy weights. This sets the stage for a fierce competition for the movie industry’s top accolade.
Considering the significant competition among the movies on the list, it is worth seeing how they rank on Rotten Tomatoes – a review aggregator website where film critics and regular viewers alike can post what they think about a movie. The website then collects the average of the ratings in the individual categories. Below is the list of the 10 nominees for the Best Picture Oscar, ranked in ascending order of scores from the critics, if two or more entries have the same critic score, they are arranged in ascending audience score. Which among the list sat better with the critics, and which were preferred by viewers?
10. Triangle of Sadness
Triangle of Sadness received the lowest among the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees in both critics’ score and the audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics appreciated how its director, Ruben Östlund, presented his concept of social parody, but the movie reportedly lacked that Östlund wit present in his previous movies, earning it a 72% from critics. With the audience, the movie earned a slightly lower rating of 71%. Despite its relatively low ranking on this list, the film still earned nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay as well, and can be considered an overall success.
9. Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar: The Way of Water has a huge gap between the ratings given by the critics and regular viewers. It received a grade of 76% from critics who deemed the movie as lacking the spark of its predecessor, Avatar. Meanwhile, the audience gave it a much higher grade of 92%, prioritizing its fun experience over filmmaking mechanics. With over $2 billion at the box office, it’s clear the audience went all in with this sequel.
8. Elvis
Elvis, which chronicled the life and rise to fame of Elvis Presley, currently holds a critics’ rating of 77%. What’s interesting is that like The Way of Water above it, the film has a significantly higher audience rating. At a whopping 94%, it delivers the second-highest audience rating among the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees. The movie was a star making vehicle for Austin Butler who played the titular character in the film and even also earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role.
7. Tár
The critics appreciated the way Tár tackled sensitive topics such as femininity, masculinity, patriarchy, and power dynamics, earning it a score of 91%. Meanwhile, the audience has an opposite sentiment, and with 73%, it is the second worst audience-rated movie among the nominees, only after Triangle of Sadness. The audience seemingly enjoyed the cast’s performances, the director’s eye as well as the cinematography; however, they reportedly took issue with the plot and storytelling.
6. Women Talking
Women Talking is another movie on this list with a 91% score from the critics, and that does not come as a surprise because the critics are always looking at the finer details of filmmaking. The movie captured the attention and approval of the critics with how it tackled its sensitive topics, and was praised for its portrayal of trauma, quietness, and femininity. With an audience score of 80%, it appears the audience appreciated the movie and recognized the messages it was trying to get across.
5. All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the only two movies among the ten nominees for Best Picture Oscar to have received scores of at least 90% from both the audience and the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics awarded the film’s script, acting, and loyalty to the source material with a 91%, while the movie going audience rated the film 90% for its tactful and masterful approach in evoking the horrors of war. The film was also nominated Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best International Feature.
4. The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans was a critics’ darling since release, framing director Steven Spielberg in a new light. While not a straight biography, the movie is inspired by Spielberg’s early years and journey to becoming a filmmaker. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has amassed a critics score of 92% and an audience score of 83%. Spielberg also earned a Best Director nomination, cementing the fact the way he told his story was a success.
3. Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a movie that appeals to audiences of all ages – it is magical, it is fun, and it is a wild ride. For those reasons, the Rotten Tomatoes’ critics gave it a 95%, their second-highest rating among the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees. The audience also seemed to like it, giving the film an 88% for its engaging story and dynamic cast.
2. The Banshees of Inisherin
The Banshees of Inisherin has the largest gap between the critics and audience ratings of any of the Best Picture Oscar nominees on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics gave it a 96% (the highest for the 10 from the critics), while the audience gave it a 75% (the third lowest from the audience). The whopping 21-point gap is due to the audience finding the premise of the movie unexciting while the critics loved the film’s lesson and the portrayal of masculinity in the film.
1. Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick received the highest scores, from both Rotten Tomatoes’ audience and critics, among the nominees for the Best Picture Oscar. The critics awarded the film with a 96% praising the film for holding on to the spark that made its 1986 predecessor, Top Gun, a success. The audience, on the other hand, gave the film an almost perfect score with 99%. With over $1 billion in its box office returns, clearly, Maverick was a hit a across the board.
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