There is often a disconnect between Best Picture winners and average moviegoer, this is not by accident though as many people who choose best picture are looking at technical aspects that audiences simply do not look for when watching a film. The audience still sees the "film language" it is just a lot more subconsciously than it is with the people who are there to analyze the film.
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The scores on Rotten Tomatoes from fans can be really helpful with bridging that gap when it comes to looking at films recognized by the academy. This list takes a look at the Best Picture winners of the last decade and which one's audiences liked the most.
The Shape Of Water: 2017 (72% Audience Score)
The lowest score out of all of the films goes to Guillermo Del Toro which is not a surprise to many. A filmmaker who has always been extremely divisive with critics and audiences alike, the film is about A woman and her co-worker discovering a classified experiment. No spoilers here at all but it is definitely a very strange film that would make sense to divide fans a little bit more than these other Best Picture winners.
That is Del Toro for you though, he marches to the beat of his own drum and will always make what he wants to make and if you are a fan of his and have not seen this then go give it a watch.
Birdman: 2014 (77% Audience Score)
A film with some of the most ambitious technical work to date in the film industry starring Michael Keaton as an actor once famous for playing a superhero whose trying to get his career and life back on track.
Tour-de-force performances from Keaton and Edward Norton power this film forward, many of the fans that did not like this one seemed impressed with the technical aspects but did felt the plot was lacking. One thing that cannot be debated is this film got Keaton's career back on track and every fan is thankful for his impressive performance and for more Keaton!
Moonlight: 2016 (79% Audience Score)
A24 may be a powerhouse studio that many films come out of that audiences and critics alike pay attention to now, while the studio had other successful films before this one even films that had taken home Academy Awards. This was the first film that took home Best Picture and solidified them as a real big player in the room with all of the other studios, pumping out real deal films consistently.
Moonlight tells the story of a man trying to find out who he really is through three defining chapters in his life, dealing with a wide range of human emotions. As with many A24 films, it divided many fans, though it is a beautiful exercise in raw human emotion.
The Artist: 2011 (87% Audience Score)
There is no way that a silent film released in a day and age we live in is not going to at least get a little bit of divisiveness. The expectation was probably very low when in production for this film and yet it won over most critics and fans.
An extremely well-made film that reflected on where cinema has ended up now when it used to take only so little to entertain us and yet those before we seemed to have so much talent using every skill in their arsenal. The Artist tells the tale of a silent film superstar who fears losing his career with the invention of "the talkies."
Parasite: 2019 (90% Audience Score)
The most recent Best Picture winner is a terrific display of technical skill as well as writing skills so as not to steer the audience into rooting for any particular character. Fans seem to be pretty much in agreement that Parasite was deserving of the award it was given. Telling the story of two families, one who is extremely wealthy and one who is very poor but rich in street smarts and how their lives intersect.
The only gripe that many viewers had with this film winning the award for best picture were the ones hoping that Joker would win, but with Joaquin Phoenix winning Best Actor those fans seemed to have quieted down.
Argo: 2012 (90% Audience Score)
Ben Affleck directing a film that he also stars in based on a true story about how a group of Canadians tries to help with the rescue of six Americans during the Iranian Revolution in the late '70s. While the film, like many that are based on true stories, got some flack initially about several inaccuracies it did get a lot of love from critics and audiences alike.
A movie that has much to love from a technical standpoint, as well as a storytelling standpoint, is never lacking on intensity. There is not a moment that you get to breathe even when the characters are just talking you feel an overwhelming sense of urgency as a member of the audience.
12 Years A Slave: 2013 (90% Audience Score)
Solomon Northup was kidnapped and forced to work on a plantation in New Orleans, this tale is gripping and extremely hard to watch. Think of this film as the grounded and reality-based alternative to Django Unchained which functioned more like a sadistic fairy-tale rooted in revenge.
This story can be just as hard to watch but for reasons completely different, it hits you in more of a human way than Tarantino's stylistic approach does. Steve McQueen does a superb job handling the material with confidence and making sure it is handled properly while also educating the viewer on the harsh subject matter.
Green Book: 2018 (91% Audience Score)
One of the only films on this list that has a higher Audience Score than it does Critic Rating which sits at 78%. Green Book tells the tale of an Italian-American driver and his Black world-class Pianist he must drive down south relying on the "Green Book" that outlines where African Americans can feel safe at establishments.
Another film with tricky subject matter that is handled very beautifully by director Peter Farrelly. This film stars Mahershala Ali who also starred in previously mentioned winner Moonlight and shows the range of the actor is completely different films with different subject matter.
The King's Speech: 2010 (92% Audience Score)
For most viewers, this tale is all about overcoming any hardship and that is why it is so inspiring. Following the death of King George V, Bertie is forced onto the throne and must overcome his stammer to deliver a speech that will rally his country.
There is not much to say about this film other than it is as good as every fan that has seen it says. Applause all around from cast to crew to a marketing team.
Spotlight: 2015 (93% Audience Score)
Top audience score goes to this film based on the true events about the team that investigated the cover-ups from the Catholic church in Chicago leading to the truth being revealed around the world about cover-ups. A movie about possibly the biggest investigation in the history of the world that was unsolved and there is no surprise that this is agreed upon by audiences and critics to be a powerhouse film.
Showing as accurately as possible the way this team brought to justice so many and how it leads to even more priests being brought to justice was really a service to those who had saved so many from this happening again.