Another Oscars season is in the books, and Sean Baker’s Anora has taken home the Academy Award for Best Picture, marking the first time since Parasite that a Palme d’Or winner has also won the Academy’s top prize. It’s a testament to how much the Oscars have evolved in the last decade. As the voting body has expanded internationally, traditional awards-bait films have struggled, while more indie, prestigious, and often international selections have thrived.
Looking back at the last 10 Best Picture winners, it’s clear that the Academy has made some bold (and mostly justifiable) choices. While there’s always debate over what should have won, I’ve found that, more often than not, the winners hold up. The real issue tends to lie in what gets nominated rather than what ultimately takes home the gold (huge nomination numbers for Emilia Pérez and Wicked this year felt less than inspiring).
That said, not all winners are created equal. Here’s how I’d rank the last 10 Best Picture winners, from worst to best—a lineup that, for the most part, represents a solid era for the Academy.
10. Green Book (2018)
9. The Shape of Water (2017)
8. Nomadland (2020)
7. CODA (2021)
6. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
To put into words how exhilarating Everything Everywhere All at Once is isn’t easy to do. A film unlike any other, it pushes every filmmaking possibility to the brink in 2022. Many films come and go with the wind, but Everything Everywhere All at Once will be in our culture for years – even decades. The phrase “modern classic” doesn’t apply to films very frequently, but this is one of those instances where it feels justified.
Read our review of Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
5. Moonlight (2016)
4. Anora (2024)
Anora is a film that announces Sean Baker as one of cinema’s pinnacle filmmakers. It’s a starry movie that puts you through the ringer and makes you feel just about every emotion possible. It’s grandiose filmmaking at a very high degree of execution. Baker likes to explore similar themes and character types with each of his films, and he’s never been so clear as to why he finds these particular stories so fascinating.
Read our review of Anora (2024)
3. Spotlight (2015)
2. Parasite (2019)
Every few years, I revisit Parasite and find myself wondering if I’ve been underrating it. It’s a movie that feels so omnipresent in conversations about the best movies of the 21st century that it’s easy to take its greatness for granted. But every rewatch reminds me exactly why Bong Joon-ho’s international juggernaut remains one of the most important films of the last decade—both as a razor-sharp thriller and a scathing critique of class dynamics that continues to feel disturbingly relevant.
Read our review of Parasite (2019)
1. Oppenheimer (2023)
Oppenheimer is undoubtedly one of the best movies directed by Christopher Nolan, who puts any doubt to rest that he wouldn’t be capable of capturing a story of this magnitude. Cillian Murphy gives an iconic performance that intensifies each moment rolling along this breakneck biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer.