There are different measures of success for artistic projects. You can ask how much the audience enjoyed it, how many people went to see it, and what kinds of awards it won. Sometimes, these go hand in hand; if people really enjoyed the movie, they will probably tell their friends, so more people will see it. However, there’s no guarantee that just because the public enjoys a movie that it will be a critical success as well. The same applies in reverse, there is a surprising number of movies that won Oscars that didn’t recoup their budgets or only just made it over the threshold.
A couple of factors are at play regarding the relationship between awards and financial success. Sometimes, a movie might be of incredible quality, but its appeal is too niche to draw in large crowds at the box office. Other times, it might be highly successful in theaters, but its budget is so high that it can’t quite be reached. However, neither of these metrics can be relied upon too heavily. Consider The Shawshank Redemption: on its opening weekend, it only made $727,000 at the box office and didn’t win an Oscar either. But these facts don't manage to get in the way of its almost universal acclaim. It is, however, unusual for this to be the case, so you may be surprised to learn about these eight Oscar-winners that flopped at the box office.
1 The Wizard of Oz (1939)
From the present-day perspective, The Wizard of Oz is obviously incredibly successful. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who hadn't at least seen a clip from the movie. In 1940, the movie won two Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. These wins make it even more shocking to learn that it only just earned back its budget at the box office. Costing $2.7 million to make, it earned just $3 million in return. While $3 million might not sound terrible, when you factor in additional costs for things like promoting the movie, $300,000 profit won't quite cut it.
2 Hugo (2011)
Directed by Martin Scorsese, though not his usual fare, Hugo follows the story of a young boy who lives in the walls of the Gare Montparnasse railway station in Paris. His job is to keep a clock oiled and running, and protect a broken automaton left to him by his late father. This big-budget exploration into family, friendship, and 3D technology won five Oscars in 2012, including Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. However, with a budget of $180 million, it was always going to be difficult to be a box office hit. The movie only made it $5.8 million over its budget, ending up with a similar issue to The Wizard of Oz.
3 The Wolfman (2010)
If your first thought on reading this title was, "what?" then you're not alone. The Wolfman flew very much under the radar despite its star-studded cast featuring Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, and Benicio del Toro. This movie finds del Toro's character returning to his ancestral home in search of his missing brother, only to discover that an ancient curse is turning people into wolves under the full moon. With a lackluster premise, it's not completely surprising that this movie failed to earn back its budget of $150 million, only making $139.8 million. What may come as more of a surprise is that it's an Oscar-winner, receiving the Best Makeup and Hairstyling award in 2011.
4 Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Filled with well-known names, such as Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy, Elizabeth Moss, and Clea DuVall, Girl, Interrupted is based on the true story of Susanna Kaysen. She is brought to a mental institution in the 1960s after a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Despite its star power, the complex subject matter may have deterred people from the box office, and it only made just over half of its $40 million budget back, with $28.9 million. However, in 2000, Jolie won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
5 Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Director Denis Villeneuve's follow-up to the original Blade Runner starred Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, and Ana de Armas. Blade Runner 2049 repeated its predecessor's history by becoming a cult hit but failing financially (via Esquire). On its opening weekend, the 2017 sequel only made $31 million. For a movie of that scale, with the backing of a beloved original, making a third of its $100 million budget came as a surprise. The movie went on to win two Oscars in 2018, including Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins.
6 Phantom Thread (2017)
Another 2017 release that didn't match up to its budget was Phantom Thread. Featuring Daniel Day-Lewis as dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock, the movie fittingly won its Oscar for Best Achievement in Costume Design. Despite lush costuming and introspective character work, its meditative pace may have been part of the reason it didn't find a huge audience. Only making back 21 of its $35 million, it clearly wasn't the year's biggest hit.
7 Almost Famous (2000)
This coming-of-age story follows 15-year-old William as he follows the band Stillwater on tour. The 1973 setting is charming, and the movie has since become a cult classic, but it was not so successful upon its release. Earning about half of its budget, Almost Famous pulled in $32.5 million when it cost $60 million to produce. However, maybe its Oscar win for Best Original Screenplay softened the blow.
8 Spectre (2015)
Learning that a James Bond movie flopped at the box office could be surprising to some, the Bond name seems like it would generate an automatic hit. Several issues led to a less-than-perfect movie: its original script leaked and had to be changed, director Sam Mendes claims he didn't have enough time (via Digital Spy), and its runtime of two and a half hours was simply too long for a blockbuster. All of this culminated in a meager $200 million at the box office after requiring $245 million to produce. Fortunately, Spectre still managed to bag the Best Original Song Oscar for Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall."