The 95th Academy Awards nominations are in, and among the finalists are many critically acclaimed films that bombed at the box office. Writer and director Damien Chazelle’s Hollywood excess tale “Babylon,” for instance, has only managed to pull in $41.8 million against a $78 million budget, despite its all-star cast featuring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. (Here are more examples of A-list actors’ biggest box office flops.)
Throughout history, dozens of Oscar-winning films have failed to make money. To compile a list of Oscar winners that never turned a profit, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on production budget and box office from The Numbers, an online movie database owned by Nash Information Services. Films that won Academy Awards were ranked based on the return on investment ratio between production budget and worldwide box office. Data is not adjusted for inflation. Director and cast information is from IMDb. Data on Oscar wins came from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The majority of the films on this list were released in the ‘80s and ‘90s – although a few classic films of the ‘40s and ‘60s appear, as do a handful from the 21st century. Six of the films tanked so badly that they didn’t recover even a quarter of their production budgets, while a handful managed to nearly break even, pulling in at least $0.92 per dollar spent.
Some of the films come from hit directors including James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, Woody Allen, and Cameron Crowe. Prolific actors John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Redford also directed Oscar-winning movies that didn’t turn a profit. (Here are the best and worst movies directed by actors.)
25. The Wolfman (2010)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.95
> Worldwide box office: $142.6 million
> Production budget: $150.0 million
> Directed by: Joe Johnston
> Academy Award wins: Makeup
When an actor’s brother is mauled to death, he returns to the English countryside and reunites with his estranged father to solve the mystery – which may involve a wild animal or something much more sinister.
24. The Age of Innocence (1993)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.94
> Worldwide box office: $32.0 million
> Production budget: $34.0 million
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese
> Academy Award wins: Costume Design
Newly engaged to a demure young woman, a wealthy attorney in 1870s New York runs into complications when he meets his fiancée’s heiress cousin, a social outcast due to her decision to separate from her abusive husband.
23. The Young Victoria (2009)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.91
> Worldwide box office: $31.9 million
> Production budget: $35.0 million
> Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée
> Academy Award wins: Costume Design
This historical drama follows the early reign of Queen Victoria in 19th-century England through various political power struggles, including with her own love interest and eventual consort, Prince Albert.
22. What Dreams May Come (1998)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.89
> Worldwide box office: $71.5 million
> Production budget: $80.0 million
> Directed by: Vincent Ward
> Academy Award wins: Visual Effects
A surreal fantasy about loss, grief, and family bonds, “What Dreams May Come” follows a man into the afterlife as he attempts to save his wife from her pain after his own death and the untimely deaths of their two children.
21. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.89
> Worldwide box office: $17.9 million
> Production budget: $20.0 million
> Directed by: Robert Stevenson
> Academy Award wins: Special Visual Effects
An enchanting combination of live action and animated sequences helped this musical comedy about a witch and three children who use magic to fight the Nazis during World War II win an Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects.
20. The Right Stuff (1983)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.80
> Worldwide box office: $21.5 million
> Production budget: $27.0 million
> Directed by: Philip Kaufman
> Academy Award wins: Film Editing; Music (Original Score); Sound; Sound Effects Editing
Based on the book by Tom Wolfe, “The Right Stuff” details the creation of the first U.S. spaceflight program, following the seven military pilots who were recruited as astronauts for Project Mercury.
19. Almost Famous (2000)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.79
> Worldwide box office: $47.4 million
> Production budget: $60.0 million
> Directed by: Cameron Crowe
> Academy Award wins: Writing (Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen)
“Almost Famous” follows a teenage journalist in the ’70s who accompanies a touring rock band in order to write a feature article for Rolling Stone magazine – and learns a lot more than he’d expected during his time on the road.
18. The Abyss (1989)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.77
> Worldwide box office: $54.2 million
> Production budget: $70.0 million
> Directed by: James Cameron
> Academy Award wins: Visual Effects
After a nuclear submarine sinks near a deep ocean fissure, a diving team attempts to locate and recover the vessel before the Soviets do, but encounters a dangerous alien lifeform under the sea.
17. Innerspace (1987)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.73
> Worldwide box office: $19.8 million
> Production budget: $27.0 million
> Directed by: Joe Dante
> Academy Award wins: Visual Effects
In this sci-fi comedy, a Navy aviator volunteers to be a test subject in a secret experiment that shrinks him to a microscopic size – but when an organization tries to steal the technology, the pilot is accidentally injected into a hypochondriac grocery store clerk.
16. The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.70
> Worldwide box office: $38.6 million
> Production budget: $55.0 million
> Directed by: Stephen Hopkins
> Academy Award wins: Sound Effects Editing
A fictionalized version of true events, this film recounts the hunt for two vicious male lions who killed dozens of people in Kenya during the building of a railroad around the turn of the 20th century.
15. Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.67
> Worldwide box office: $13.4 million
> Production budget: $20.0 million
> Directed by: Woody Allen
> Academy Award wins: Actress In A Supporting Role
When an idealistic playwright-turned-director can’t find investors for his play, he strikes a bargain with a mobster who will fund the entire production – as long as his inept girlfriend gets a lead role.
14. The Alamo (1960)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.66
> Worldwide box office: $7.9 million
> Production budget: $12.0 million
> Directed by: John Wayne
> Academy Award wins: Sound
A dramatization of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, this historical drama recounts the struggles of a small group of Texas and Tennessee militiamen who refuse to surrender during a 13-day siege by a large and well-armed Mexican army.
13. The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.63
> Worldwide box office: $13.8 million
> Production budget: $22.0 million
> Directed by: Robert Redford
> Academy Award wins: Music (Original Score)
When developers and corrupt authorities come up with a plan to divert a scarce water supply in order to build a resort, a water-rights war begins between the law and the citizens of a small farming community.
12. Melvin and Howard (1980)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.62
> Worldwide box office: $4.3 million
> Production budget: $7.0 million
> Directed by: Jonathan Demme
> Academy Award wins: Actress In A Supporting Role; Writing (Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen)
Inspired by true events, “Melvin and Howard” details the events surrounding a mysterious will, allegedly written by billionaire Howard Hughes, that left $156 million to a thriftless Utah service station owner.
11. Marooned (1969)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.54
> Worldwide box office: $4.3 million
> Production budget: $8.0 million
> Directed by: John Sturges
> Academy Award wins: Special Visual Effects
Released just after the Apollo 11 moon landing, this sci-fi film follows three astronauts who experience technical failures on their return to earth, leaving them stranded in orbit and awaiting rescue before their oxygen supply runs out.
10. The Red Violin (1998)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.53
> Worldwide box office: $9.5 million
> Production budget: $18.0 million
> Directed by: François Girard
> Academy Award wins: Music (Original Score)
With score solos performed by the preeminent violinist Joshua Bell, this drama follows a mysterious Italian violin as it makes its way through four centuries and multiple countries, finally ending up at a Montreal auction.
9. Wilson (1944)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.38
> Worldwide box office: $2.0 million
> Production budget: $5.2 million
> Directed by: Henry King
> Academy Award wins: Writing (Original Screenplay); Art Direction (Color); Cinematography (Color); Film Editing; Sound Recording
This biographical drama details the presidency of Woodrow Wilson and his personal struggles as he mourns the death of his wife and attempts, unsuccessfully, to keep the U.S. neutral when war breaks out in Europe.
8. Ed Wood (1994)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.32
> Worldwide box office: $5.8 million
> Production budget: $18.0 million
> Directed by: Tim Burton
> Academy Award wins: Actor In A Supporting Role; Makeup
Starring Johnny Depp as the eccentric cult filmmaker Ed Wood, this biographical drama recounts Wood’s attempts at success with the support of his devoted cast and crew, all misfits themselves.
7. Topsy-Turvy (1999)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.31
> Worldwide box office: $6.2 million
> Production budget: $20.0 million
> Directed by: Mike Leigh
> Academy Award wins: Costume Design; Makeup
A musical historical drama, “Topsy-Turvy” follows the British theatrical duo Gilbert and Sullivan through their creative conflicts as they clash over the making of their next big comedic opera.
6. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.24
> Worldwide box office: $6.3 million
> Production budget: $26.0 million
> Directed by: Shaka King
> Academy Award wins: Actor In A Supporting Role; Music (Original Song)
A dramatization of the events leading up to the 1969 murder of activist and multicultural political organizer Fred Hampton by local law enforcement officers, this film details the Illinois Black Panther Party’s infiltration by an FBI informant.
5. Restoration (1995)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.23
> Worldwide box office: $4.1 million
> Production budget: $18.0 million
> Directed by: Michael Hoffman
> Academy Award wins: Art Direction; Costume Design
A period piece set during the 17th-century reign of King Charles II, “Restoration” tells the tale of a young court physician who falls out of the king’s favor and is banished just as the Great Plague sweeps over London.
4. CODA (2021)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.22
> Worldwide box office: $2.2 million
> Production budget: $10.0 million
> Directed by: Sian Heder
> Academy Award wins: Best Picture; Writing (Adapted Screenplay) ; Actor In A Supporting Role
The English remake of a 2014 French film, this coming of age comedy-drama follows a CODA (child of deaf adults) who is the only hearing member of her family, as she struggles to reconcile her dreams of going to Berklee College of Music with her commitments to her family.
3. Blue Sky (1994)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.21
> Worldwide box office: $3.3 million
> Production budget: $16.0 million
> Directed by: Tony Richardson
> Academy Award wins: Actress In A Leading Role
“Blue Sky” details the devotion between a nuclear engineer (Hank) and his free-spirited and mentally unstable wife (Carly) as they navigate their family’s move to a secluded base in Alabama and a coverup involving Hank’s nuclear bomb tests.
2. The Producers (1967)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.17
> Worldwide box office: $0.2 million
> Production budget: $0.9 million
> Directed by: Mel Brooks
> Academy Award wins: Writing (Story And Screenplay–Written Directly For The Screen)
In the directorial debut of Mel Brooks, a failing theater producer and his accountant attempt to get rich by staging a play they are sure will flop: a bright musical about the Nazis called “Springtime for Hitler.”
1. Bird (1988)
> Money made for every dollar spent on production: $0.15
> Worldwide box office: $2.2 million
> Production budget: $14.4 million
> Directed by: Clint Eastwood
> Academy Award wins: Sound
A biographical film about virtuoso jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, who was elemental in the development of bebop, “Bird” details Parker’s rise with fellow musician Dizzy Gillespie, his tumultuous personal life, and the steadfast devotion of his wife Chan.