2002 Best Picture: 2 Films That Didn’t Deserve The Nomination (& 8 Replacements)

The 74th annual Academy Awards were hosted at the end of March in 2002 and honored some of the greatest films from the previous year, in 2001. That year brought movie-goers films like: Donnie Darko, Hannibal, Riding in Cars with Boys, and Save the Last Dance. None of those films were recognized during award season, but were favorites among audiences.

Films that were nominated in the Best Picture category that year were: Godsford Park, A Beautiful Mind, which won the coveted award, In the Bedroom, Moulin Rouge, and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Some of these nominations were very well deserved, while a couple of them left fans and critics wondering if there were better titles that should have received the nomination.

10 Should Have Been: Black Hawk Down

Ridley Scott’s war drama, based on the non-fiction novel with the same name, is about the US Military’s 1993 raid in Mogadishu. The film boasts an incredible ensemble cast with Josh Hartnett, Ewen McGregor, Eric Bana, and Tom Hardy in his feature film debut.

The film was nominated for four awards at the Oscars that year, winning two, one for Best Film Editing and one for Best Sound Mixing, but was left out of the larger categories despite the film’s success.

9 Should Have Been: Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is a psychological science fiction independent thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jenna Malone, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film was shot in twenty-eight days, which matches the passage of time in the movie itself.

The making of this film is very impressive and it was very well-received with critics, but considered a flop at the box office. The film may not have been on the Academy’s radar at the time of voting, but if it had been, it would have definitely been nominated in some of the major categories that year.

8 Should Have Been: Amelie

This French romantic comedy has become a classic over the years and garnered a lot of praise by both fans and critics alike. The film did receive a handful of nominations in the year it was eligible, but was left out of the Best Picture category, much to fans’ surprise.

The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but that still didn’t compensate for it not getting a nomination in the most anticipated category.

7 Nominated: Gosford Park

This statical feature film featured a wonderful ensemble cast and told a fun story, which is probably why it did so well at the box office and received mostly positive criticism.

The film was also nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Though the cast is great as a whole, the individual performances vary and aren’t consistently great, which makes some audience members wonder how this film received so much praise when it was released.

6 Should Have Been: Training Day

This crime thriller stars Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, who both received Academy Award nominations for their work in the film.

The film also received a lot of praise from film critics and was a success at the box office. Usually, when both of the lead actors are nominated for their performances, a Best Picture nomination seems enviable, but that was surprisingly not the case for this feature film.

5 Should Have Been: Pearl Harbor

This romantic war drama, directed by Michael Bay and starring Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Alec Baldwin, tells a fictional story set within the true events surrounding the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The film was incredibly successful at the box office and received a handful of Academy Award nominations for the work behind the camera, but some would argue the performances fell flat, which is what kept this film out of the Best Picture category, despite being a favorite among movie-goers that year.

4 Nominated: In The Bedroom

In the Bedroom is an independent crime drama starring Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei, and William Mapother. The film tells the story of a family dealing with an incredible tragedy and was praised for its performances by this stellar cast.

The film was nominated for a number of the big awards that year, but won none of them, leaving many movie-goers wondering if the film was really that great after all.

3 Should Have Been: I Am Sam

Sean Penn received an Academy Award nomination in the Best Actor category for his work in this film, which also put young star Dakota Fanning on the map. The film was a hit with movie-goers and did very well at the box office, but had mixed reviews from critics, with most claiming the storyline to be too predictable to be considered great.

That was probably the reason why this film was overlooked by the Academy, but some believe it still should have been nominated given the amount of heart each actor brought to telling this story.

2 Should Have Been: The Others

This supernatural horror film is regarded as one of the most terrifying films ever made, even to this day. The film was an incredible success at the box office and was praised by critics for not only the individual performances from the cast, but also for the original storyline and terrifyingly good execution.

Despite being one of the best films of the year, The Others was left out of the Academy Awards the year it was eligible, receiving no nominations.

1 Should Have Been: Mulholland Drive

David Lynch’s masterpiece stars Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Mark Pellegrino and Robert Forster. The story follows different characters and vignettes with Naomi Watts’ character, Betty Elms, an aspiring actress, being at the forefront of the story.

The film received extremely mixed with reviews with some critics tearing the film apart and others praising it and calling it the best film of the year. The Academy only gave this film one nomination in the Best Director category, despite being a film that, at the very least, everyone was talking about.

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