The most Oscar-nominated movies with zero wins
A nomination at the Academy Awards is one of the most coveted and respected nods in Hollywood, providing films and filmmakers with a stamp of approval that marks them out as among the best of the best. It’s a claim to success perhaps only surpassed by a win, the opportunity to waltz across the stage in Beverly Hills to accept your very own gleaming golden statue, to be formally crowned the best.
Many films that sweep nominations will also secure their fair share of victories. In recent memory, Everything Everywhere All at Once gathered an impressive 11 nominations and took home over half of them, with seven wins, while Parasite took home four of the six awards it was nominated for. But for two unfortunate films, even a mammoth number of nominations didn’t transpire in wins on the night.
There are two films that are tied with holding the most Oscar nominations without winning anything at all: Herbert Ross’s 1977 drama The Turning Point and Steven Spielberg’s adaption of The Color Purple, released in 1985. Each film collected 11 Academy Award nominations but failed to secure a single win.
The Turning Point, a tale of ballet and family, collected awards across the board in acting, production, and sound, even securing a nomination for ‘Best Picture’. But when the 1978 Academy Awards rolled around, Ross and his cast and crew lost out to Annie Hall, Julia, and even Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Less than a decade later, the record held by The Turning Point was matched by Spielberg’s The Color Purple, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. The film follows the story of Celie Harris-Johnson, played by Goldberg, through a life of abuse and resilience. Though the film received some backlash for placing a white director at its helm, the Academy Awards awarded the film 11 nominations.
Goldberg received a nomination for ‘Best Actress’, while Winfrey and Margaret Avery both secured nominations for their supporting roles. Like The Turning Point, The Color Purple also received a ‘Best Picture’ nomination but, again, failed to secure a single win on the night. The award went to Sydney Pollack’s Out of Africa.
Last year, The Color Purple received a rebooted adaption with a Ghanaian director at its helm, while Winfrey and Spielberg took on producer roles. Though the film hasn’t received quite as many Academy Award nominations as Spielberg’s did, Danielle Brooks has received a nod for her supporting performance in the film. Perhaps she will finally secure a win for The Color Purple.
