While many think that winning an Oscar is synonymous with making a huge profit, this isn’t always the case for movies. There have been plenty of Oscar-winning movies that didn’t make any money, even though they ended up being films worthy of winning an award. Some even made less than the overall production budget.
Many of the films on this list won multiple awards and received a myriad of nominations. Even though many of these films made a low profit overall, they were still able to win awards because making a large profit isn’t one of the requirements for winning an Oscar.
Films that meet certain qualifications can win an Oscar if members of the Academy nominate and vote for them. Even though the films on this list won at least one award, they also had a production budget higher than the profit made in the United States and Canada.
To create this list of Oscar-winning movies that didn’t make any money, 24/7 Tempo consulted several lifestyle and movie publications, including BuzzFeed and IMDb. Here are 14 Oscar-winning movies that didn’t make any money. (Check Out Movies So Good They Should Have Won An Oscar–But Didn’t.)
“Ed Wood” (1994)
- Estimated production budget: $18 million
- Gross US & Canada: $5,887,457
This 1994 comedy produced by Tim Burton had a cast that included stars like Johnny Depp and Sarah Jessica Parker. Despite the $18 million production budget, “Ed Wood” didn’t even make half of that in the box office. “Ed Wood” is the lowest-grossing film to win an Oscar on this list, which goes to show that Oscar-winning movies don’t always make money. However, it received two Academy Awards, one awarded to Martin Landau for Best Actor and one for Best Makeup.
“What Dreams May Come” (1998)
- Estimated production budget: $85 million
- Gross US & Canada: $55,382,927
The whimsical and romantic drama known as “What Dreams May Come,” won the 1999 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The film wasn’t much of a hit in theaters, despite the visual effects and star cast, which included Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. In addition to the award for Best Visual Effects, “What Dreams May Come” also received an Academy nomination for Best Art Direction and Set Decoration.
“Girl, Interrupted” (1999)
- Estimated production budget: $40 million
- Gross US & Canada: $28,912,646
Stars like Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie starred in this drama based on the memoir by Susanna Kaysen. Despite this film tanking at the box office, Angelina Jolie won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
“Almost Famous” (2000)
- Estimated production budget: $60 million
- Gross US & Canada: $32,534,850
“Almost Famous,” a film about an aspiring rock journalist in the 1970s, had a star cast with celebrities such as Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, and Jimmy Fallon. This heartwarming and dramatic comedy barely made half of the production budget after the release in theaters. However, it had a whooping 103 award nominations and won the Oscar for Best Writing as a Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
“Spirited Away” (2001)
- Estimated production budget: $19 million
- Gross US & Canada: $15.2 million
Even though “Spirited Away” had a higher production budget than the overall gross profit in the US and Canada, this film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. When it comes to the best Oscar winning movies that didn’t make any money, “Spirited Away” is still a well-loved classic and has a strong fan base to this day. It was also one of the cheapest movies to win an Oscar, with a production budget more than $100 million lower than some of the other films on this list.
“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003)
- Estimated production budget: $150 million
- Domestic box office gross: $93.9 million
The 2003 film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” made nearly $60 million less than the production budget for the film. This movie about British Captain Jack Aubrey wasn’t much of a hit in theaters, but it did catch the eye of the Academy. It had 90 total nominations and won two Oscars, one for Best Sound Editing and one for Best Cinematography.
“A Series of Unfortunate Events” (2004)
- Estimated production budget: $140 million
- Gross US & Canada: $118,634,549
The beloved fictional stories from the book series, “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” hit the big screen with the 2004 film, starring Jim Carey and Jude Law. While the stories the film was based off of were well-loved, the film itself didn’t make as much profit as expected. Even though “A Series of Unfortunate Events” ended up being a low-grossing film, it won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup.
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005)
- Estimated production budget: $85 million
- Domestic box office gross: $57.5 million
“Memoirs of a Geisha” was celebrated for its substance and compelling adaption of the historical fiction novel written by Arthur Golden. The work put into this film didn’t lead to much profit since the film only brought in a gross profit of $57.5 million. However, it ended up winning three Academy Awards: Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Art Direction, and Best Achievement in Art Design.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008)
- Estimated production budget: $150 million
- Gross US & Canada: $127,509,326
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a 2008 film, tells the interesting tale of a man who ages in reverse. With stars like Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, the film made over $127 million in theaters, but that was less than the overall production budget of $150 million. Even still, the engaging tale, based on a short story by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, ended up winning three Oscars: Best Achievement in Art Direction, Makeup, and Visual Effects.
“The Wolfman” (2010)
- Estimated production budget: $150 million
- Gross US & Canada: $61.9 million
The fantasy and horror film known as “The Wolfman” was released in 2010 with a production budget of about $150 million. This film didn’t make any money compared to the production budget, but it was recognized with an award from the Academy. “The Wolfman” was the 2011 Academy Award Winner for Best Achievement in Makeup.
“Rango” (2011)
- Estimated production budget: $135 million
- Gross US & Canada: $123,477,607
The animated film “Rango” had an all-star cast with voice actors and actresses such as Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, and Johnny Depp starring as Rango. This story about Rango, the chameleon who ends up in a town in the Wild West, made it close to grossing as much as the production budget but was still over $10 million shy. Rango was recognized in 2012 as the winner of Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.
“Blade Runner 2049” (2017)
- Estimated production budget: $150 million
- Domestic box office gross: $92.1 million
“Blade Runner 2049” was released in October of 2017 and featured stars like Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling. While it made close to $100 million at the box office, it didn’t come close to the overall production budget of $150 million. The Academy did recognize this drama and action film with two Oscars, including Best Achievement in Cinematography and Visual Effects.
“Phantom Thread” (2017)
- Estimated production budget: $35 million
- Gross US & Canada: $21,198,205
The 2017 film “Phantom Thread,” set in 1950s London tells the story of a famous dressmaker whose life is interrupted when he falls in love. This romantic and dramatic story starred Daniel Day Lewis but was nearly $15 million shy of the overall production budget. It did win the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design, which was fitting considering the plot of the movie.
“West Side Story” (2021)
- Estimated production budget: $100 million
- Gross US & Canada: $38,530,322
The renowned musical West Side Story was a hit, but the film adaptation didn’t make as much money as the director may have expected. The 2021 version of “West Side Story” had a gross profit of only $38 million with an estimated production budget of $100 million. It did, however, receive nearly 300 award nominations and Ariana DeBose won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. (Here’s Movies That Lost the Oscar for Best Picture to a Lower Rated Film.)