The 75th annual Academy Awards were hosted in 2003 and honored films from the previous year in 2002. Some films released that year were Enough, Tuck Everlasting, Blue Crush, and Signs. None of those films were nominated for the coveted Best Picture award that year, though.
The films that were nominated for the big award were: The Pianist, The Hours, The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, Gangs of New York, and Chicago, which won the Best Picture award. Looking back, there are a lot of films from that year that deserved a nomination and could have possibly taken a spot from one of the films that did make the list.
Should Have Been: John Q
John Q is a thriller starring Denzel Washington and directed by Nick Cassavetes. The film tells the story of a father named John, play by Washington, whose son is diagnosed with a heart condition who can't get the treatment he needs because their HMO health insurance won't cover it. John goes to drastic measures to get his son the help he needs and Washington delivers an incredible performance in this film, though it wasn't nominated for any awards in the year it was eligible.
Should Have Been: We Were Soldiers
This war drama, set in Vietnam, was directed by Randall Wallace and stars Mel Gibson. The film specifically focuses on the Battle of Ia Drang, which took place on November 14, 1965. Upon its release, the film received a lot of praise from both critics and movie-goers, but received zero nominations during the award season for which it was eligible. It may have been its release date or lack of campaigning by the filmmakers in charge, but such an important story should have been honored.
Should Have Been: Signs
This is another feature film starring Mel Gibson that was snubbed by the Academy, despite being a massive box office success and gaining immense praise from critics, going on to be one of the most talked about movies in the year it was released.
The science fiction film, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, was recognized for awards in horror and science fiction categories, but was overwhelmingly left out of the major award season in 2003.
Nominated: The Pianist
The Pianist is a biographical war feature about Władysław Szpilman, a Polish-Jewish pianist and composer, and a survivor of the Holocaust. The film was praised for both its performances and the filmmaking from the film's director, Roman Polanski. This nomination is more problematic due to the man behind the movie. Had this film been made by someone else, it would most likely still be something fans watch today, but from the revelations of the #MeToo movement, Polanski isn't a director that deserves this kind of praise or honor.
Should Have Been: Frida
This biographical feature film about the life of Mexican surrealist artist, Frida Kahlo stars Salma Hayek in the title role, for which she received a Best Actress nomination. The film, directed by female filmmaker Julie Taymor, was incredibly well-received by critics and did very well at the box office.
Despite its success, the film was left out of the majority of the major categories at the 75th award ceremony. It was nominated for six awards total, winning two, Best Makeup and Best Original Score, but both the female director and the film as a whole were snubbed.
Should Have Been: Murder By Numbers
Sandra Bullock, Ryan Gosling, and Michael Pitt star in this psychological thriller loosely based on the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case from the 1920s. The performances from this A-list cast in this film are incredible and the film itself leaves movie-goers on the edge of their seat for the entire two hours, but like most films in this genre, this drama was completely left out of award season and was considered just another box office success for Bullock's films.
Nominated: The Hours
The Hours, starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman is the type of movie that always receives praise and a lot of nominations from the Academy. This film boasts an incredible cast, tells an interesting story in a different way, and is based on the lives of real people, making it a shoo-in for award season.
Though the film seems perfect on the surface, it's one most movie lovers have forgotten about in the years since its release and doesn't seem to have the longevity that most would have assumed it'd have given all of the nominations and awards it received in 2003.
Should Have Been: Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can was produced by Steven Spielberg and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. The film also boasts an impressive supporting cast with actors like Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen. The film has a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and it still a favorite among movie lovers and critics today. Christopher Walken was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor for his work in this film and the score was also nominated, but those were the only two nominations this film received, despite its undeniable success with critics and the box office.
Should Have Been: Unfaithful
This thriller stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane as a married couple whose relationship begins to unravel when Lane's character starts having an affair with a man she met by chance. Diane Lane was praised for her performance in this film and was nominated in the Best Actress category in 2003. The film itself, though a box office success, didn't receive much attention as a whole. Critics seemed to love the film, but even that wasn't enough to garner the praise from the Academy that it deserved.
Should Have Been: My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is an independent romantic comedy, written by the film's star, Nia Vardalos about a woman from a very big, Greek family, who falls in love with a man who is not Greek. The film was a massive success and for years was the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. Vardalos was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 2003 Oscars, but to a lot of fans' surprise, that was the only nomination this film received.