15 Movies With The Most Oscar Nominations And No Wins
Imagine showing up to a party, getting called to the stage 11 times, and walking away with absolutely nothing.
That is exactly what happened to some of Hollywood’s most celebrated films at the Academy Awards.
These movies earned massive critical praise, packed theaters, and collected nomination after nomination, yet somehow left the Oscars empty-handed.
Get ready for the most jaw-dropping list of near-misses in movie history!
1. The Turning Point (1977)
Hold on to your ballet slippers, because this one stings.
“The Turning Point” earned a jaw-dropping 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and two Best Actress nods for both Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine. That double Best Actress nomination alone was historic!
However, when Oscar night arrived, the film walked away without a single trophy. It remains one of the most nominated films in Academy history to go completely winless.
The rivalry between its two leading ladies, both on screen and off, made headlines everywhere. How a film this celebrated got zero wins is still a Hollywood head-scratcher.
2. The Color Purple (1985)
Eleven nominations. Zero wins. That math just does not add up for a film this powerful.
“The Color Purple” received nods for Best Picture, Best Actress for Whoopi Goldberg in her film debut, and Best Supporting Actress nominations for both Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey. Yes, THAT Oprah.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film tackled race, gender, and resilience in ways that moved audiences to tears. Yet the Academy handed it nothing on awards night.
Many film historians still consider this one of Oscar history’s biggest snubs. Even decades later, fans passionately debate why this masterpiece went home empty-handed.
3. Gangs of New York (2002)
Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors who ever lived, so you would think the Oscars would agree.
“Gangs of New York” scored 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis playing one of cinema’s scariest villains, Bill the Butcher.
If you have seen Day-Lewis in that role, you already know it was unforgettable. Yet somehow, Oscar night was a total wipeout for the film. It lost across every single category.
Scorsese would eventually win his overdue Best Director Oscar for “The Departed” in 2007, but this one still hurts.
4. True Grit (2010)
Westerns rarely get Oscar love, but the Coen Brothers made the Academy pay attention.
“True Grit” rode into the ceremony with 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Joel and Ethan Coen, and Best Actor for Jeff Bridges as the grizzled Rooster Cogburn.
Young Hailee Steinfeld also delivered a performance so good that audiences were stunned she did not win.
Where the film truly shines is in its sharp writing and breathtaking cinematography. Though it left without a single award, “True Grit” proved that remakes can absolutely match and even surpass the original.
Fans still quote it constantly, so that counts for something!
5. American Hustle (2013)
If you nominated every single acting category and still walked away with nothing, that is a special kind of Oscar heartbreak.
“American Hustle” scored 10 nominations, with nods in all four acting categories, Best Picture, and Best Director for David O. Russell. That is rare territory.
Christian Bale’s ridiculous comb-over alone deserved some kind of award. Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence all brought incredible energy to this wild con-artist story.
“12 Years a Slave” and “Gravity” dominated that year, leaving “American Hustle” completely shut out. Still, with a cast that electric, the real prize was the film itself.
6. The Irishman (2019)
Scorsese came back swinging with “The Irishman,” a three-and-a-half-hour crime epic featuring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci.
Ten Oscar nominations followed, including Best Picture and Best Director. The de-aging visual effects alone were groundbreaking for their time.
However, “Parasite” was unstoppable that year, and “The Irishman” went home without a single win. For a film that reunited some of Hollywood’s greatest legends, that still feels shocking.
Watching three acting giants share the screen made it unforgettable, even without a golden statue to show for it.
7. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Scorsese on this list again? Yes, and honestly, that tells you everything about Hollywood’s complicated relationship with genius.
This 2023 movie brought 10 Oscar nominations to the table, including Best Picture, Best Director, and a powerful Best Actress nod for Lily Gladstone, the first Indigenous woman ever nominated in that category.
Based on the true and deeply disturbing events in 1920s, the film was critically acclaimed and emotionally devastating.
Though Gladstone and Scorsese went home without wins, the film sparked important conversations about Indigenous history that Hollywood had ignored for far too long.
8. The Little Foxes (1941)
Way back in 1941, Bette Davis delivered what many consider one of the greatest performances in film history.
“The Little Foxes” earned nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Davis as the ruthlessly calculating Regina Giddens. She played a villain so cold that audiences shivered in their seats.
If you enjoy old Hollywood drama, this film is required viewing. Despite its nominations, it lost across the board to “How Green Was My Valley.”
Cinematographer Gregg Toland, fresh off “Citizen Kane,” brought stunning visual depth to every frame.
9. Peyton Place (1957)
Small towns hide big secrets, and “Peyton Place” blew the roof off that idea in 1957. The film shocked audiences by tackling taboo subjects like abuse and scandal in a seemingly perfect American town.
Nine Oscar nominations followed, including Best Picture and acting nods for Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Diane Varsi, Arthur Kennedy, and Russ Tamblyn.
Five acting nominations from a single film is practically a world record! Yet it won nothing. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” swept the ceremony that year.
“Peyton Place” later inspired a hugely popular TV soap opera that ran for years, proving its cultural impact outlasted any trophy it might have won.
10. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
What happens when your best friend suddenly decides he does not want to be your friend anymore? That is the haunting question at the heart of “The Banshees of Inisherin.”
Set on a fictional Irish island, this darkly funny and deeply sad film earned nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Martin McDonagh, and acting nominations for Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan, and Kerry Condon.
Four acting nominations from one film is extraordinary. Though “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominated that ceremony, “Banshees” won hearts worldwide.
Colin Farrell’s heartbroken performance deserved every bit of recognition it received, trophy or not.
11. Marty Supreme (2025)
Fresh off the 2025 awards season, “Marty Supreme” became the newest member of this exclusive and painful club. The film earned nine Oscar nominations, making it one of the most celebrated films of its year.
Directed by Josh Safdie, it tells the story of a relentlessly competitive ping-pong player, and yes, that sounds quirky but the film is absolutely gripping.
Timothee Chalamet starred in the lead role, bringing his trademark intensity to every scene. Despite massive buzz and critical love, the film did not take home a single win.
Sometimes the awards cycle just is not on your side. Ping-pong has never looked so heartbreaking.
12. Quo Vadis (1951)
Before “Ben-Hur” became the king of epic Roman spectacles, “Quo Vadis” was setting the standard. Released in 1951, this lavish MGM production earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
The sheer scale of the production was staggering, with thousands of extras and massive sets recreating ancient Rome in glorious Technicolor.
How it did not win a single award remains one of Hollywood’s great mysteries. “An American in Paris” took Best Picture that year, which surprised even critics at the time.
“Quo Vadis” was a massive box office hit, one of the highest-grossing films of its era. Popularity and Oscar gold, it turns out, do not always go hand in hand.
13. The Elephant Man (1980)
Few films have ever combined heartbreak and humanity quite like “The Elephant Man.”
Directed by David Lynch and based on the true story of Joseph Merrick, the film earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for John Hurt’s extraordinary performance beneath layers of prosthetics.
If you have a heart, this film will wreck you in the best possible way. Despite universal critical praise, “Ordinary People” swept the major categories that year.
The Academy did introduce a new rule after this film was snubbed: the creation of the Best Makeup category, which was essentially inspired by the incredible work done on “The Elephant Man.”
14. Elvis (2022)
Baz Luhrmann does not do anything quietly, and “Elvis” was no exception. Austin Butler’s transformation into the King of Rock and Roll was so complete that people genuinely forgot they were watching an actor.
The film earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Butler, whose vocal performance was jaw-dropping.
However, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was simply unstoppable that year, and “Elvis” did not convert a single nomination into a win.
Butler reportedly kept Elvis’s voice and mannerisms for months after filming wrapped, which is either incredibly dedicated or slightly alarming.
15. A Complete Unknown (2024)
Bob Dylan’s early years in Greenwich Village have never looked so cinematic.
“A Complete Unknown” arrived in 2024 with Timothee Chalamet stepping into Dylan’s iconic boots, and critics went wild with praise.
Eight Oscar nominations followed, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Chalamet’s remarkable performance capturing Dylan’s mysterious, restless energy.
Folk music, electric guitars, and one of history’s most fascinating artists made for a compelling watch.
Though it did not win any Oscars, the film introduced Dylan’s revolutionary music to an entirely new generation of fans.
