10 Days til Oscar... The Past 10 Years of Stats

Happy Valentine's Day y'all ❤️. It's officially 10 days until the Oscars so it's a perfect time to go list crazy and look at the past 10 years of Oscar honors (2008-2017) for multiple top tens, don't you think? Not that we need excuses to go list-crazy. We make them up when they don't present themselves!  How have the past ten years been for you? We hope you'll share in the listing fun. In addition to ranking the Oscar winners we've notated whether the same achievements medalled in our own annual film bitch awards that year.

PAST TEN BEST PICTURE WINNERS RANKED 

1. Moonlight (2017) *silver medal
2. The Hurt Locker (2009) *gold medal
3. Birdman (2014) *silver medal...
4. 12 Years a Slave (2013) *gold medal
5. The Artist (2011) *silver medal
6. Spotlight (2015)
7. The Shape of Water (2016)
8. The King's Speech (2010)
9. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
10. Argo (2012) 

The order of that top five would change if you ask me again tomorrow but the rest is set in stone accurate. For rankings of the current nominees for Best Picture, check out its Oscar chart and vote on your favourite.

PAST TEN BEST ACTRESS WINNERS RANKED

1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine (2013) *gold
2. Brie Larson, Room (2015)
      ...this is where I'd put Glenn Close in the Wife OR Olivia Colman in The Favourite whoever wins 
3. Emma Stone, La La Land (2016)
4. Natalie Portman, Black Swan (2010)
5. Frances McDormand, Three Billboards (2017) *bronze
6. Julianne Moore, Still Alice (2014)
7. Kate Winslet, The Reader (2008)
8. Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady (2011)
9. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side (2009)
10. Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

PAST TEN BEST ACTOR WINNERS RANKED

1. Sean Penn, Milk (2008) *silver
        ... this is where I'd put Bradley Cooper if he miraculously wins. 
2. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (2012) *gold
3. Jean DuJardin, The Artist (2011) *silver
4. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (2016) *bronze
5. Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart (2009) *silver
6. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
7. Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour (2017)
8. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything (2014)
        ... this is where I'd put Christian Bale if he wins 
9. Colin Firth, The King's Speech (2010)
10. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (2015)
        ...this is where I'll have to put Rami Malek if he wins -HEAVY SIGH

Don't forget to vote on the current Best Actor chart. 

PAST TEN SUPPORTING ACTRESS WINNERS RANKED

1. Mo'Nique, Precious (2009) *gold
2. Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) *gold
3. Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables (2012) *silver
4. Melissa Leo, The Fighter (2010) *silver
5. Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave (2013) *gold
6. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood (2014) *silver
        ... this is where I'd put Regina King if she wins 
7. Allison Janney, I Tonya (2017)
8. Octavia Spencer, The Help (2011)
   Unranked because they're actually leads:
   Viola Davis, Fences (2016) *bronze but in lead
           ...this is where I'd put Rachel Weisz if she wins (but I love the performance)
   Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl (2015)

The Supporting Actress Smackdown is coming this weekend so send in your votes.  

PAST TEN SUPPORTING ACTOR WINNERS RANKED

1. Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds (2009) *gold
      .... this is where I'll put Richard E Grant if he miraculous upsets on Oscar night 
2. Christopher Plummer, Beginners (2011) *gold
3. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (2008)
   (I have since regretted that I designated Ledger as a leading man in The Dark Knight-- I was feeling beaten down by the rampant Category Fraud of the mid Aughts so was definitely overcorrecting a bit. Little did I know that it would get much much worse just a decade later. Now Category Fraud is not only accepted but both expected AND encouraged by many film fans and critics. Shame on everyone. Sigh)
4. Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (2016)
5. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies (2015)
6. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
7. Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards (2017)
   Unranked because they're actually leads:
   Christian Bale, The Fighter (2010) *gold but in lead
   JK Simmons, Whiplash (2014) 
      ...this is where I'll have to put Mahershala Ali if he wins 
   Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (2012)

PAST TEN CINEMATOGRAPHY WINNERS RANKED
#PresentAll24 

1. Birdman - Emmanuel Lubezki (2014) *gold
2. Blade Runner 2049 - Roger Deakins (2017) *gold
   ... this is where I'd put either Roma or Cold War whichever wins
3. Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki (2013) *silver
4. La La Land - Linus Sandgren (2016)
5. Avatar - Mauro Fiore (2009) 
6. Inception - Wally Pfister (2010) 
7. Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle (2008)
8. The Revenant - Emmanuel Lubezki (2015)
9. Life of Pi - Claudio Miranda (2012)
10. Hugo - Robert Richardson (2011) 

 PAST TEN MAKEUP & HAIR WINNERS RANKED
#PresentAll24  

1. Mad Max Fury Road (2015) *gold
         ...this is where I'd put Border if it wins 
2. Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) *gold
3. Darkest Hour (2017) *gold
4. Les Miserables (2012) *gold
5. The Iron Lady (2011) *gold
       ... this is where I'd put Vice or Mary Queen of if they win 
6. Dallas Buyers Club (2013) *silver
7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
8. Star Trek (2009) 
9. Suicide Squad (2016)
10. The Wolfman (2010)

PAST TEN FILM EDITING WINNERS RANKED
#PresentAll24

1. Mad Max Fury Road (2015) *gold
2. The Hurt Locker (2009) *gold
3. The Social Network (2010) *gold
          ....this iswhere I'd put BlacKkKlansman or The Favourite if they win  
4. Gravity (2013)
5. Whiplash (2014) 
6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
7. Dunkirk (2017)
8. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
9. Argo (2012)
          this is where I'd put Green Book or Vice or Bohemian if they win... 
10. Hacksaw Ridge (2016) 

HOW ABOUT YOU? HAVE SOME LISTING FUN OR JUST JUDGING IN THE COMMENTS. And while you're at it, vote on each category on their respective Oscar charts. 

Comments

[JHR]

Always enjoy your lists. Looking back on things, I’m kind of shocked how unimpressive that Leading Actress list of winners is. Once I hit #5 on your list, I didn’t care for any of those winners. The only other thought that popped into my head was is JK Simmons really a co-lead in Whiplash? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the film (which I loved) but I don’t recall him being at the crux of the story. But maybe a new watch is needed.

[Peggy Sue]

Brie Larson nº2 over Rampling and Ronan LOL

[Suzanne]

I'm not sure how anyone can complain about the list of Best Actress winners after reading the list of Best Actor winners. The most impressive performances of the past ten years (Hawke in First Reformed, Fiennes in Grand Budapest, Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis, Hanks in Captain Phillips, etc.) don't even get nominated.

Portman is my favorite of the Best Actress winners. I think Larson should be on the bottom, actually - I still don't know why she won that year. If they wanted an ingenue, Ronan was right there. And Arquette is my favorite of the Best Supporting Actress winners.

[NATHANIEL R]

Peggy Sue -- Rampling and Ronan did not win. This is ranking the winners.

JHR -- it's basically a two-hander movie. The entire thing is about the two of them squaring off (i guess there's a couple perfunctory scenes about Miles's family?)

[Cash]

Reading your list made me realize how seeing certain movies at certain times in my life can really affect my feelings about them. I've never liked The Avengers as much as the world at large, probably because I felt so terrible when I saw it in the theater. I always felt like I endured it more than anything. Conversely, I think I like Slumdog Millionaire and Julianne Moore in Still Alice more than most movie lovers because they struck such a chord with what was happening in my life at the time I first saw them.

[Barryyorkbrooks]

Love the quiet shade you are throwing by including the cinematography, editing and makeup categories :)

[Hayden]

That placement of Emma Stone gets an eyebrow raise from me. La La Land is perfectly charming but she's capable of so much better. I don't see that on the level of Natalie Portman, Frances McDormand or Julianne Moore (say what you will about their films) at the top of their game.

[thefilmjunkie]

Wow, I knew you weren’t a huge fan of JLaw in Silver Lining’s Playbook, but dead last? After Bullock in The Blind Side? Interesting.

[Cash]

Also, that best actor list is boring. Not bad, just boring. Day-Lewis, DuJardin, and Affleck didn't bore me. The rest: pretty boring. It's a shame, too, because every one of those other winning actors has given much more exciting performances.

[Bruno]

1. Cate
1. Julianne
both at the top of their game. Add Glenn or Olivia to #1 whoever wins.
3. Frances
4. Natalie
5. Brie
6. Kate
7. Meryl
8. Emma
9. Jennifer
10. Sandra

[Bruno]

For BP:

1. Moonlight
2. Birdman
3. Shape of Water
4. 12 Years a Slave
add Roma here
5. The King's Speech (I found it entertainting. Sue me.)
6. The Artist
7. The Hurt Locker
8. Spotlight
9. Slumdog

10. Argo

[NATHANIEL R]

thefilmjunkie -- my thing with her is that i just dont buy a minute of that performance. She's very charismatic in it but it is like ALL CHARM OFFENSIVE / BLAZING SCREEN PRESENCE (she definitely has that) but in terms of character work/acting? nope! She's so much better in her other roles. All i see when i watch her in that is "totally untrained actor / big movie star potential!" it's a weird feeling to watch that.

i think Sandra is pretty good in Th Blind Side but it's something anyone could have done. (apart from taking it to nearly $300 million which probably only Sandra could have done)

[Glenn Close]

OR Olivia Colman in "The Favourite"? Stop trying to make her happen! She isn't going to happen.

[ken s.]

Hugo in last place? Last? Really? Tsk Tsk

[Robert G]

Cate Blanchett is so good in Blue Jasmine. I still hate the film, but she's phenomenal. I'd rewatch it for her performance but I'd have to see the rest of the film around it. Ok, Sally Hawkins and Bobby Cannavale are great, too. I just don't like how mean spirited the whole film is. Blanchett's performance stopped me from walking out of the theater.

[DO]

Hmmmm
I'd put Still Alice at the bottom. Fine performance Really lousy film
Also put at the bottom of all lists
The Artist...completely forgettable film
I'd move Argo up a few
and Patricia Arquette right at the top of her list...

[Bruno]

@DO: I get that this is your opinion and you have every right to it, but I am really TIRED of people who rank the performance based on the overall film. If the performance is good enough, base it on that alone, because it's not the actor's fault if the film is lousy outside of their milieu.

[Amirfarhang]

I really enjoyed your post , thank you nathaniel
I love to see another list in wich you rank your own gold medalists of each category of last decade

[/3rtful]

Missed opportunity to speculate on who'll join Bette Davis in the 10 or more acting nominations club.
2/8: Denzel Washington (definitely)
2/7: Cate Blanchett (likely)
1/7: Kate Winslet (likely)
0/6: Amy Adams (could)

[nandes]

Eh, I would put Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards as a lead way before Bale or JK Simmons. As important as Bale and Simmons' characters are in their movies, they don't have a storyline of their own like Rockwell, whose storyline runs alongside Frances' and becomes pretty much essential to the movie in the end

[Anon]

Best Picture:
1. Moonlight
2. The Shape of Water
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. Spotlight
5. The Hurt Locker
6. Birdman
7. Slumdog Millionaire
8. The Artist
9. The King’s Speech
10. Argo

Best Actor:

1. Casey Affleck
2. Sean Penn
3. Daniel Day Lewis
4. Jeff Bridges
5. Jean Dujardin
6. Leonardo DiCaprio
7. Colin Firth
8. Gary Oldman
9. Eddie Redmayne
10. Matthew McConaughey

Best Actress:
1. Natalie Portman
2. Frances McDormand
3. Cate Blanchett
4. Julianne Moore
5. Emma Stone
6. Brie Larson
7. Jennifer Lawrence
8. Sandra Bullock
9. Meryl Streep
10. Kate Winslet

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
2. Heath Ledger
3. Mahershala Ali
4. Christopher Plummer
5. Mark Rylance
6. Christian Bale
7. Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
8. J.K. Simmons
9. Sam Rockwell
10. Jared Leto

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Viola Davis
2. Penélope Cruz
3. Mo’Nique
4. Melissa Leo
5. Octavia Spencer
6. Allison Janney
7. Alicia Vikander
8. Anne Hathaway
9. Lupita N’yongo
10. Patricia Arquette

[Pam]

@Bruno and others
I agree about performances rising above films. So in this case, I really do think what Meryl Streep did in The Iron Lady was quite extraordinary even if it was a shit-show of a movie and she stole Viola's Oscar.

Also, I'll defend Slumdog Millionaire forever. Never get tired of watching it.

[Bruno]

@Pam; Agreed. Meryl was fantastic, as usual.

[Brown Cow Stunning]

1. Birdman
2. Moonlight
3. 12 years a slave
and.... I don't go mad for the other winners. They are not bad movies (except Slumdog Millionaire and Spotlight), just cute like kitties.

[Richter Scale]

I've been mulling over this for a few years and I must disagree with your assessment regarding Christoph Waltz in Django and J.K. Simmons in Whiplash being Lead, and both according to a definition you yourself made recently. While both Dr. King Schultz and Terren ce Fletcher are key players in their respective stories, they are never about them and these films never leave the points of view of their actual protagonists. There is never a scene in Django Unchained that is not from Django's point of view (if you see the movie again, you will notice the scene where they kill the Brittle brothers, there's a long stretch where we follow Django alone, we never follow Schultz that way). Same with Whiplash, everything we know about Fletcher is through Andrew and his point of view. Miles Teller is in every single frame of that movie and we see so much of his life, and yet we never see Fletcher's life at all outside of that bandroom and those competitions and performances. Which is why I would urge you to rank them accordingly, as Supporting performances, which no matter how memorable they are and how much they drive the plot, they are driving someone else's plot. I can buy your argument regarding Christian Bale, but not these two.

In terms of my own rankings in terms of these last ten Best Picture winners, I would probably go...

1. Birdman
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Spotlight
4. Moonlight
5. The Artist
6. 12 Years a Slave
7. The Shape of Water
8. The King's Speech
9. Argo
10. Slumdog Millionaire

[Bruno]

Best Mimic, I mean Actor:

1. Penn
2. Firth
3. Dujardin
4. Redmayne
5. Bridges
6. McConaughey
7. Lewis
8. Affleck
9. DiCaprio
10. Oldman

[Rebecca]

These lists make we want to rewatch 'The Hurt Locker'.

[Jamie]

Jennifer Lawrence in SLP reaches level 3 of depth on a 1-10 scale. I swear at times she was doing a Juliette Lewis impersonation. Lewis would be great in the role. She has the raw quality and the right age. Not that that character could save that movie, but still.

Also, I'm surprised Moonlight ranks so high on some of your lists. It's very amateurish in its filmmaking and performances. I guess it spoke to the zeitgeist and all those critics calling it a "masterpiece" really led the herd mentality that way. But watching it out of context, it's not a movie with much authenticity to it. It strives for realism, but there's no real foundation to support that. The teenage actor was good, but everyone else was desperately searching for a "character". The quiet male/female protagonist is my least favorite trope.

And Argo winning... What a sad, sad outcome. To anyone who really thinks the Oscars are relevant, these lists just show how poor the quality of winners are in general, in every category, really.

[MorganB Mark 1]

I still think Rachel Weisz taking supporting in your team experience awards negates any category fraud argument you have here - just rank the winners of BSA as they stand!

Also - Jennifer Lawrence does not deserve to be below Sandra - she was really quite good in that movie!

[Jorge]

I consider Christoph Wlatz lead un Inglorious Bastards. He appears un all chapters, all characters interact with him, he's the link in all the movie. Why do you consider him supporting?

Where can I have access to past Film Bitch Awards winners? It seems the link is lost.

[Jack]

You put Colin Firth below Gary Oldman and Eddie Redmayne? I can only assume that's because you haven't given 'The King's Speech' a re-watch, because I personally think that is insanely low. Firth was great in that film, unfairly misremembered as being milquetoast and run-of-the-mill because the film itself is perceived that way.

[pony]

the second I read "the wolfman (2010)" cate popped in my head saying "that's gross".. I had no idea that moment was etched in my mind like that :)
thanks for the lists, nat!

[Peter W]

I'm still angry that Birdman won over Boyhood.

[Jesus Alonso]

Rank of Best Pictures 2000-2018 with inclusion of the 2018 nominees

1. The King's Speech
2. Moonlight
3. Chicago
4. 12 Years a Slave
5. BlacKkKlansman
6. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
7. No Country for Old Men
8. The Shape of Water
9. Roma
10. The Favourite
11. Gladiator
12. Green Book
13. The Departed
14. The Artist
15. Spotlight
16. Bohemian Rhapsody
17. Slumdog Millionaire
18. Birdman
19. The Hurt Locker
20. Black Panther
21. A Star is Born
22. Argo
23. Million Dollar Baby
24. Vice
25. A Beautiful Mind
26. Crash

[NATHANIEL R]

Morgan -- why would the team's awards (which I do not vote on as the 'boss' lol) negate my own views? I dont understand the reasoning. It's like saying I should have to stand by every decision in the BFCA or GALECA because I'm a member of those organizations. We are all entitled to our individual viewpoints.

[brookesboy]

Jamie—please tell me you’re kidding about Moonlight. Calling it “very amateurish” is the most insane thing I’ve seen posted here in a long time. It’s one of the top films of this century.

[hickory]

The Hurt Locker, Cate Blanchett, Sean Penn, Viola Davis and Christian Bale - on top of my list.
The King's Speech, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Alicia Vikander, and Christoph Waltz - bottom.

[Pete]

Meryl should be ranked last for Iron Lady. She's awful, simply awful. At the other end of the spectrum, Cate Blanchett has been voted tops on many polls (not just here) for Blue Jasmine, a performance for the ages. She's incredible!

[Duncan]

@Pete: double amen!! Meryl is an embarrassment in that movie while Cate is a tour de force in BJ.

[NATHANIEL R]

Jorge -- the past years of The Film Bitch are linked on the lower left sidebar under "Film Bitch History"

[hernanhugo]

In terms of movies:

1) The hurt locker
2) Moonlight
3) Birdman
4) The shape of water
-not even closer to a masterpiece, but really good-
5) Spotlight
6) Argo
7) 12 years a Slave
8) Slumdog Millonaire
- "important" and good movies
9) The artist
10) The King's speech
-funny good movies.

Female lead (really good most of them)
1) C. Blanchett
2) Natalie Portman
3) Julianne Moore
4) Frances McDormand
5) Emma Stone
6) Brie Larson
-top of the game, at least 4 perfomance are going to be "remember" for a long time-
7) Sandra Bullock
8) Meryl Streep
9) Jennifer Lawrence
10) Kate Winslet, The Reader (2008) - I'd nominated her for Revolution Road, which would be after Emma Stone in that list.

Male lead (not as strong as females)
1) S. Penn
2) D. D. Lewis (probably the only 2 I think are going to be "remember" some decades further)
3) J. Bridges
4) J. Dujardin
5) C. Affleck (good casting, though)
6) L .DiCaprio
7) M. McConaughey
8) G. Oldman
9) E. Redmayne
10) C. Firth

[Matt]

If we're going to remove speeches from the ceremony telecast, can we just stop the producers of Best Picture? I don't want to hear them.

[chasm301]

1. The King''s Speech
2. The Artist
3. Moonlight.
4. Spotlight
5. 12 Years a Slave
6. The Shape of Water
7. Birdman
8. Argo

1. Natalie Portman.
2. Cate Blanchett
3. Emma Stone
4. Jennifer Lawrence
5. Brie Larson
6. Frances MacDonald
7. Julianne Moore
8. Kate Winslet
9. Meryl Streep and her conCESSions
10. Sandra Bullock

[AdamL]

You had JK Simmons as lead in Whiplash? That’s surely a minority view. Is that not another overcorrection a la Heath Ledger? Myles Teller is clearly the lead and Simmons does a great job as support.. and it’s quite clearly supporting in terms of lines, screentime, dynamic between himself and the protagonist and more...

[Jonathan]

01. BIRDMAN (OR THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)

02. SPOTLIGHT

03. THE ARTIST

04. 12 YEARS A SLAVE

05. THE SHAPE OF WATER

06. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

07. ARGO

08. MOONLIGHT

09. THE HURT LOCKER

10. THE KING'S SPEECH

[Jakey]

I always found it so interesting that Bullock did GRAVITY the year after the Oscar win, because she is absolutely amazing in that movie (she was last year's winner, it was the year of Cate). There is nothing "Sandra Bullock" in that performance at all.

Happy to see Mo'Nique at #1. I have seen that movie more times than anyone should. I was always hoping Mariah Carey would sneak in and get a nom that year.

[Steve]

Moonlight, Larson, Day-Lewis, Monique, Bale for me; but it could change depending on the day.

I could get behind a lot of your category fraud cases....except for Bale in The Fighter. He’s not in as much as that movie as you might remember.

[Jamie]

Be careful anyone who doesn't have Moonlight at #1. You'd better justify it hard! Apparently it has been decided that it's one of the best movies of the new century.

[brookesboy]

Yes, it has. There's a reason why so many people love this movie.

[Rob]

@Jamie. People love Moonlight, you got a problem with that? Too bad.