Best Picture Winners That Made the Least Amount of Money

Critical darlings Ethan and Joel Coen are not known for releasing blockbusters, despite their enthusiastic fan following. Their most financially successful film to date is the western “True Grit,” which grossed more than $171 million domestically upon release in 2010. “No Country for Old Men” brought in just over $74 million at the box office in 2007, which falls just under $88 million when adjusted for inflation.

The directing duo also won their sole Best Director Oscar for “No Country.”

Despite being nominated for Best Director five times, British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar. His film “Rebecca” did win Best Picture in 1941, however. A review in The Hollywood Reporter upon the film’s 1940 release questioned whether “the gloom with which it is pervaded, its slow pace and its deeply foreign note” would hurt its potential at the U.S. box office.

Despite winning Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards, “Green Book” was outgrossed by 35 other films at the domestic box office in 2018. Among the films that performed better than the Oscar-winner about a white driver accompanying a black musician in the South during the 1960s are fellow 2018 Best Picture nominees “Black Panther,” “A Star is Born,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci rose to prominence in the 1970s directing movies including “The Conformist” (1970) and “Last Tango in Paris” (1972). His film “The Last Emperor” — about the last Emperor of China, Pu Yi — won Best Picture, along with eight other Oscars, in 1988. The film had a slow start at the box office, and did not enter the top 10 best performing movies until its 14th weekend in theaters, when it reached the No. 9 position.

Director Paul Haggis’ Los Angeles-based drama “Crash” grossed just over $55 million at the domestic box office in 2005 — $70.9 million when adjusted for inflation — making it the 49th biggest movie of that year. Among the movies that “Crash” beat for Best Picture is “Brokeback Mountain,” which grossed $83 million unadjusted.

Elia Kazan’s film about a longshoreman standing up to corrupt union bosses won eight Academy Awards in 1955, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for lead Marlon Brando. While the movie did very well relative to its reported budget of about $1 million — grossing nearly $10 million domestically unadjusted for inflation — it’s overall gross pales in comparison to more popular Best Picture winners.

Adjusted for inflation, “On the Waterfront” grossed $70.2 million. The average for all Best Picture winners for which data was available is $245.6 million.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1950 drama “All About Eve” — about a cutthroat thespian manipulating her way into a group of theater workers — won six Oscars, including Best Director and Best Writing. The film grossed $8.4 million at the domestic box office, which translates to $68.4 million when adjusted for inflation.

Before directing movies including “On the Waterfront” (1954), and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951), Elia Kazan directed the Best Picture winner “Gentleman’s Agreement.” The film grossed $7.8 million at the domestic box office, which is $67.4 million after adjusting for inflation. This amount is less than either of those later movies grossed when also adjusted the proper amounts.

Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi drama about the relationship between a janitor and an aquatic creature won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Forty-five movies grossed more than it did in 2017. These include “Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi,” which took in nearly ten times as much at the domestic box office.

Director Steve McQueen’s film about a free black man who is sold into slavery beat eight other movies to win Best Picture, including “Gravity, “American Hustle,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Each of these earned more than “12 Years a Slave,” which was 2013’s 62nd most successful movie at the domestic box office.

While not as well known as his films “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939), director Frank Capra’s “You Can’t Take It with You” was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture in 1939. The film stars James Stewart as a wealthy man who is introduced to his fiance’s unusual and lower class family.

The romantic musical “Gigi” won an exceptional nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Music for its score. This was a record-breaking amount at the time. Despite this level of recognition, the movie grossed $7.3 million at the domestic box office, which translates to less than $50 million when adjusted for inflation.

The France-Belgian-American-produced homage to the Hollywood silent era won five Oscars in 2012. It was outgrossed by 69 other films released in 2011. “The Artist” never broke into the top ten most financially successful movies during any week of its theatrical release.

The film about Boston Globe journalists’ investigation into the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandals bested movies including “Bridge of Spies,” “The Revenant,” and “The Martian” to win Best Picture in 2016. It was only the 63rd highest grossing movie of 2015, however. The film grossed $45 million unadjusted for inflation. For comparison, “The Martian” — the top-grossing nominee that year — took in more than $228 million.

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s movie about a former superhero actor trying to reinvent himself won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing – Original Screenplay. The movie was only the 77th top grossing movie released in 2014, however. The year’s best-performer at the domestic box office was fellow Best Picture-nominee “American Sniper,” which brought in more than $350 million.

Based on the true life of American theater producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., “The Great Ziegfeld” won Best Picture over popular films including “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” “Dodsworth,” and “Libeled Lady.” The film — which clocks in at nearly three hours — did well at the domestic box office for the time, grossing $3 million. This amount pales in comparison to today’s blockbusters, however.

Frank Capra’s romantic comedy starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert won acting Oscars for its two leads as well as Best Picture in 1935. The film reportedly grossed $2.5 million at the domestic box office. Adjusted for inflation, this is about two-thirds the amount grossed by Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which failed to win any Oscars.

The musical about a love triangle in Paris won six Oscars at the 1952 Academy Awards. The movie brought in $4.5 million at the domestic box office upon its release. “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which was also nominated for Best Picture in 1952, grossed $8 million.

“The Broadway Melody” was the second movie ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, after “Wings” in 1929. The groundbreaking film did well for its time, grossing $2.8 million at the domestic box office, resulting in the creation of three additional “Broadway Melody” movies. Even so, this amount is only $32.5 million when adjusted for inflation.

The coming-of-age film about a gay black man was the first film with an all black cast to win Best Picture. Ninety-one movies released in 2016 outperformed it at the domestic box office, including numerous films that were also in competition for Best Picture. These include “Hidden Figures,” which was the year’s 14th biggest movie; “La La Land,” which was the 19th; and “Arrival,” which was the 29th.

Kathryn Bigelow’s film about a Sergeant tasked with disarming bombs in the Iraq War did not even fall within the top 100 grossing movies of 2009, the year it was released in the U.S. The Best Picture winner ranked at No. 117 for the year, based on its domestic box office gross of $17 million, unadjusted for inflation. The movie’s production budget was approximately $15 million.

Among the Best Picture nominees defeated by “The Hurt Locker” was “Avatar,” which grossed more than $760 million. Adjusted for inflation, this is $874.1 million, compared with “The Hurt Locker’s” $19.5 million.