Now I’ll admit when it comes to movies, I’m a little out of my depth. I’d say I’m a fairly average cinephile. I see most of the big blockbusters and award winners, but some solid flicks fall through the cracks with me most years.
As a result, I wouldn’t ordinarily be the one to ideate any sort of movie blog, but sometimes blog brain takes over. It has been an even 25 years of filmmaking since the turn of the century, after all. It’s an even number! The Oscars were this past weekend! It makes sense, no?
Anyway, I brought on some help from The Camp’s Tasso Annos and Will Everett to rank all 25 Best Picture winners this century. It’s not pretty. It’s not clean. The rankings came together in the span of about an hour this afternoon. BUT WE DON’T CARE!
A few highlights before getting to the full list:
Last Place: Nomadland
It might be COVID-induced fog. It could be that 2020 was an understandably underwhelming year for film. Either way, Nomadland takes the shit seat in our rankings. Interestingly, none of us had it ranked last, but the three rankings combined were low enough to condemn it to the cellar.
Lord of the Rings Falls Short
For a film some believe to be one of the best movies ever made, I was surprised to see Return of the King all the way down at 13th. It’s highest ranking was 3rd, in fairness, but I guess only one of the three of us is a LOTR guy. Tough luck.
Argo Edges Out Moonlight in the Top Five
Both are stellar movies. However, one person (cough, TASSO, cough) was pretty disrespectful toward Barry Jenkins’s 2016 masterpiece, leaving a clear path for Argo to land the fifth spot. It sort of leads me to conclude there may be something wrong with Tasso more than there is anything wrong with Moonlight.
A Tie for First Place
The Departed and Oppenheimer both finished with an average ranking of 2.33. All three of us have deep admiration for both films, clearly. However, with its two first-place votes, Oppenheimer is the king. Again, Tasso is the odd man out. What is going on with that man?
Here are the full rankings. If you disagree, you can actually argue with us. Please don’t argue with a wall. That may not be a good mental health move.
25. Nomadland (2020) 
24. The Shape of Water (2017) 
23. Crash (2005) 
22. Anora (2024) 
21. CODA (2021) 
20. 12 Years a Slave (2013) 
19. Green Book (2018) 
18. Million Dollar Baby (2004) 
17. The Artist (2011) 
16. A Beautiful Mind (2001) 
15. Chicago (2002) 
14. The King’s Speech (2010) 
13. Birdman (2014) 
12. Gladiator (2000) 
11. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 
10. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) 
9. The Hurt Locker (2009) 
8. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) 
7. No Country for Old Men (2007) 
6. Moonlight (2016) 
5. Argo (2012) 
4. Parasite (2019) 
3. Spotlight (2015) 
2. The Departed (2006) 
1. Oppenheimer (2023)
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Comments
One response to “Ranking a Quarter-Century of Movies That Won Best Picture”
Hi big fan of the blog. I’m sorely disappointed to miss out on the perspective of the Camp’s 4th writer. I’m certain he would have provided a perspective with the intimate appreciation for modern cinema that Ms. Annos lacks. Again, big fan.