Art is subjective. There isn't a "right way" or a "wrong way" to create art in any medium, because everyone has a different artistic mindset. That's why everyone has different preferences when it comes to clothing style, music taste, home decorating, and more. The subjectivity of art is especially apparent regarding an individual's taste in movies. There are so many films to watch in a wide array of genres and subgenres that make the art of film completely up to the interpretation of the individual watching it. A movie you may love is probably a movie that someone else hates and vice versa.

Despite the concept that art is subjective, it is human nature to still try to find a way to critique each form of art. Art shows, award ceremonies, Rotten Tomatoes scores, and Billboard charts are all different ways of determining the value of a piece of art. Perhaps the most well-known platform for determining the worth of art, movies specifically, is the Academy Awards ceremony. It is the most glamorous night of the year for Hollywood and the most important ceremony for everyone in the film industry. For a movie to receive an Oscar nomination is a big deal itself, but when it wins an Oscar, it becomes the object of the whole world's attention.

However, what the Academy deems Oscar-worthy does not always coincide with what critics or audiences believe to be worthy of the coveted awards. In fact, the Academy has nominated numerous films that critics absolutely hated. Many of these critically hated films ended up winning Oscars as well. It goes to show that just because the Academy believes certain films are the best, doesn't mean that everyone else will have those beliefs. After all, art is subjective. Let's take a look at 12 movies that were critically panned, but won Oscars anyway:

Related: Why Small Films Deserve a Chance at the Oscars

12 The Iron Lady (2011)

Meryl Streep campaigning as The Iron Lady
20th Century Fox

Margaret Thatcher is an extremely controversial figure in British political history and her time as Prime Minister is not remembered fondly by many British citizens. Still, a biopic was inevitably made about her life and legacy. The Irony Lady stars Hollywood icon Meryl Streep as Thatcher herself and her performance won her the Best Actress Oscar. However, Streep's performance is the only aspect of the film that anyone liked. Critics thought that the film's attempt to portray itself as championing a female politician's rise to fame was both questionable and offensive given her history. Nevertheless, the movie earned an additional award for Best Makeup.

11 Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Alice in Wonderland
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The animated Alice in Wonderland is full of color, whimsical characters, and nonsensical dialogue. The combination of those elements seemed like a perfect fit for Tim Burton to helm the live-action adaptation of the beloved Disney classic. Audiences clearly agreed because it was a huge success worldwide, as it grossed a total of 1.025 billion at the global box office. However, critics did not enjoy the remake nearly as much. It was criticized for the overuse of CGI and less-than-great performances. Even with the negative reaction from critics, the movie won two Oscars. It took home the gold for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

10 Death Becomes Her (1992)

streep-hawn-death-becomes-her-1992-universal
Universal Pictures

Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn play two actresses whose rivalry and hatred of one another cannot be thwarted even by death in Robert Zemeckis' black comedy, Death Becomes Her. The film has gained a cult following in the almost 31 years since its release, and it is even considered a pioneer in CGI and practical effects. It received mixed reviews from critics at the time, but it still gained attention from the Academy the following year. It nabbed the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, which seems fitting considering its reputation. Although, it is amusing that a movie that pokes fun at Hollywood actors who are obsessed with looking good ended up winning an award for exactly that.

9 Flashdance (1983)

Flashdance 'What a Feeling' water scene
Paramount Pictures

Flashdance remains a staple film in pop culture even 40 years after its release and that is mostly because of its infectious soundtrack. When you hear Irene Cara's "What a Feeling", your mind most likely immediately thinks of Flashdance. One of the film's four Oscar nominations was for this song, and it actually did win Best Original Song. These four nominations were given despite the extremely negative, downright vicious reviews from critics. Critics complained of poor storytelling, bizarre character beats, and stiff performances. If you've seen the movie, you know these criticisms are valid. Still, the soundtrack is the best part of the movie.

8 The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

The Greatest Show on earth
Paramount Pictures

Not many Best Picture nominees are so despised by critics that it can't even manage a "fresh" rating on the low end of the Rotten Tomatoes scale. It is even rarer to have one of these films win Best Picture. That is exactly what happened with Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. This movie was so universally hated by critics that it's mind-boggling how the Academy deemed it worthy of their most prestigious award. Not only did it receive the award's highest honor, but it also walked away with a win for Best Writing. It seems like the Academy really just wanted to award the movie's legendary director rather than the movie itself.

7 Suicide Squad (2017)

suicide-squad-2016
Warner Bros.

David Ayer's Suicide Squad had a notoriously hellish production. From reported heavy interference from the studio, to disturbing method acting shenanigans from Jared Leto, to a rushed script, the movie never stood a chance to receive decent critical reception. The movie was a chaotic, muddled mess. Even with the absolute nightmare that the production ended up being, the movie somehow snagged an Oscar for Best Makeup. To admit that Suicide Squad is an Academy Award-winning film is bizarre, but it's the truth. It does have a pretty banging soundtrack, though.

Related: The 12 Most Important "Firsts" in Oscar History

6 What Dreams May Come (1998)

what-dreams-may-come-1998
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

No matter what the role was or what the movie was about, Robin Williams was always the highlight of every project he was involved in. He brought a surreal energy to everything that just cannot be emulated by anyone else. Even in his lesser-known movies, Robin Williams shone in every single role. One of his lesser-known films, What Dreams May Come, received mixed reviews during its initial release. However, one thing that people agreed on was that the movie was visually fantastic. The use of color to depict Earth, Heaven, and Hell are some of the many reasons the film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

5 The Broadway Melody (1929)

The Broadway Melody
MGM

Rotten Tomatoes has awarded The Broadway Melody a measly 42% for criticisms that it lacks appeal to modern audiences. It follows two sisters from the vaudeville circuit who have dreams to make it big on Broadway. In the pursuit of their dreams, they fall for the same man, inevitably derailing their goals. It won the Best Picture award, but Rotten Tomatoes is probably correct in its assumption that it doesn't resonate with modern audiences.

4 Out of Africa (1985)

A scene from Out Of Africa
Universal Pictures

Meryl Streep seems to be showing up a lot in this list but to no fault of her own. In addition to Streep, Out of Africa also stars another big actor from their generation, Robert Redford. They star as a married plantation owner and a big-game hunter who have an affair in colonial Kenya. Even with great performances from Streep and Redford, critics claimed that the narrative was bogged down by slow pacing. However, it ended up winning seven Oscars the following year, including Best Picture and Best Director.

3 Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow on a ship with a sword fighting something in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Captain Jack Sparrow has been played brilliantly by Johnny Depp since the first movie came out in 2003. Curse of the Black Pearl was a humongous success among audiences and critics alike, so naturally a sequel, Dead Man's Chest, was made to capitalize off the success of the movie inspired by the fan-favorite Disney World ride. However, even though fans enjoyed it, critics were not impressed with its lack of originality and humor. Surprisingly, the sequel picked up the award for Best Visual Effects.

2 Pearl Harbor (2001)

Ben Affleck as seen in Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor
Touchstone Pictures

It seems that Pearl Harbor tried to capitalize off the success of the love story in Titanic by adding in a love triangle in another movie inspired by real events. However, turning the real-life events of the attack on Pearl Harbor into an over thee-hour long love story did not bode well with critics. It was panned as a tedious romance with laughable dialogue, according to Rotten Tomatoes. It was nominated for Worst Picture at the Golden Raspberry Awards, but somehow still managed to win Best Sound Editing at the 2002 Oscars.

1 The Golden Compass (2007)

the-golden-compass-2007
New Line Cinema

Based on the acclaimed YA book by Phillip Pullman titled Northern Lights, New Line Cinema's theatrical adaptation titled The Golden Compass completely bombed at the box office. It toned down the book's strong anti-religious themes and added in overly flashy CGI that didn't make up for the lack of story telling in the eyes of critics. In spite of those criticisms, the messy movie actually won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.