18 Oscar Nominated Movies That'll Make You Say "Wait...What?"

    Some of them even won!

    Ben Henry
    by Ben Henry

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. The Devil Wears Prada

    20th Century Fox

    The Devil Wears Prada is iconic, and even the Oscars thought as much. They nominated the movie for two awards, including one of its biggest — Best Actress. However, Meryl Streep lost out to Helen Mirren, whose portrayal of Queen Elizabeth was enough to seal the deal.

    2. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

    20th Century Fox

    Borat — yes, Borat — was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2007. The noughties were a wild time to be alive.

    3. Bridget Jones's Diary

    United International Pictures

    She might have lost out to Halle Berry, but Bridget Jones — aka Renee Zellweger — was nominated for Best Actress in 2002.

    4. Babe

    Universal Pictures

    Babe was nominated for SEVEN Oscars back in 1996. It only won one though, for Best Visual Effects.

    5. Babe: Pig in the City

    Universal Pictures

    Not only did Babe win, its sequel, Babe: Pig in the City, got nominated for an Oscar three years later! This time, it was up for Best Original Song, but lost to Whitney and Mariah’s "When You Believe".

    6. Harry Potter

    Warner Bros.

    Despite never actually winning one, the original Harry Potter franchise was nominated for 12 Academy Awards altogether. The Sorcerer's Stone and Deathly Hallows: Part 2 were nominated for the most, with three nods each. The only movies in the series to not receive a nomination were Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix.

    7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

    Warner Bros.

    Harry Potter's extended universe managed what its original franchise couldn't, winning an Oscar in 2017. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them scooped the award for Best Costume Design.

    8. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

    Warner Bros.

    The South Park song "Blame Canada" was nominated for an Oscar in 2000. However, it lost out to Tarzan's "You’ll Be in My Heart" which I think we can all agree is way more deserving.

    9. Fifty Shades of Grey

    Universal Pictures

    Despite its books and movies getting dragged from pillar to post by what seemed the entire world, Fifty Shades of Grey did manage a nomination for Best Original Song — "Earned It" — in 2016.

    10. The Nutty Professor

    Universal Pictures

    What with Eddie Murphy playing seven different characters, it probably shouldn't be surprising that The Nutty Professor won an Oscar for Best Makeup in 1997.

    11. Men in Black

    Columbia Pictures

    In 1998, the Oscars had one overwhelming favourite — Titanic. But Men in Black, which was nominated for three awards, actually pipped James Cameron's blockbuster to the post in one category, taking home the statue for Best Makeup.

    12. Stuart Little

    Sony Pictures Releasing

    Iconic mouse rights movie Stuart Little got a nomination at the Oscars for Best Visual Effects in 2000, which I think is fair considering the mouse can talk.

    13. How The Grinch Stole Christmas

    Universal Pictures

    The Grinch didn't only steal Christmas, it snuck an Oscar home too. In 2001, the movie was nominated in three categories, winning Best Makeup.

    14. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

    DreamWorks

    Jim Carrey has actually been a part of two movies that won for Best Makeup. Four years after How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events scooped the Oscar too.

    15. 8 Mile

    Universal Pictures

    Yes, Eminem has an Oscar. He won Best Original Song in 2003 for "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile, the movie based loosely around his life.

    16. 102 Dalmatians

    Buena Vista Pictures

    101 Dalmatians might not have been nominated for an Oscar, but its sequel, 102 Dalmatians was. Yep, in 2001 it was up for Best Costume Design, which I’m sure Peta would've been ecstatic about. Fun Fact: Glenn Close, who played the iconic villain Cruella de Vil, is a favourite for Best Actress at the 2019 Academy Awards.

    17. Shrek

    Dreamworks

    Shrek fought off some strong competition in 2002, beating out Monsters Inc. to win for Best Animated Feature Film.

    18. Dreamgirls

    DreamWorks

    Now, you're probably not surprised that Dreamgirls was not only nominated, but won two awards, including Jennifer Hudson's win for Best Supporting Actress. But something you might not know is that Dreamgirls was nominated not once, not twice, but three times in the SAME category — Best Original Song. However, although there were only two other nominees, it didn't win. The award instead went to "I Need To Wake Up" from the movie An Inconvenient Truth.