Despite what many people say, movies are not dead. Yes, Hollywood has increasingly relied on mega-blockbusters, but that's because no one goes to see the mid-budget dramas. Sure, some make for huge and surprising breakouts, but for the most part, these are incredibly risky ventures.
And while movies of this ilk are getting made less and less, they are most certainly still out there. One only needs to look at the Oscars to see that. The Academy has awarded some great and notable movies throughout the decade - but were general audiences receptive?
The Shape Of Water (2017) - 7.3
Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water was the big winner of the 90th Academy Awards. It was nominated for 13 awards and took home four - both of which were the most for the night. Its wins included the coveted Best Picture, Best Director for del Toro, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score for Alexandre Desplat's music.
However, it seems as if general audiences were far less receptive to the movie than professional critics and the Academy. It sits at a disappointing 7.3 on IMDb, making it the lowest-rated Best Picture winner of the 2010s.
Hugo (2011) - 7.5
Martin Scorsese's Hugo was a big winner at the 84th Academy Awards, taking home five awards. This tied with The Artist for the most of the night, although The Artist went on to win Best Picture. Amazingly, Hugo earned the most nominations with 11.
The movie ended up taking home a ton of technical awards, including Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography. Regardless, it remains one of Scorsese's most little-known movies and sits at a solid, if a little disappointing, 7.5 on IMDb.
Birdman (2014) - 7.7
Birdman was the big winner of the 87th Academy Awards, taking home four awards. This tied it with The Grand Budapest Hotel, but Birdman edged it out in the public consciousness with the Best Picture win.
Both movies also received nine nominations. Along with Best Picture, Birdman also won Best Director for Alejandro González Iñárritu, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. It also proved a solid success with general audiences, scoring 7.7 on IMDb and grossing over $100 million at the worldwide box office.
Gravity (2013) - 7.7
Believe it or not, Gravity was the most awarded movie of the 2010s. It took home seven awards at the 86th Academy Awards and was nominated for ten. It was the only movie of the 2010s to win more than six awards. In fact, it's the most awarded movie since Slumdog Millionaire took home eight in 2009.
The movie's wins included Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Original Score, Editing, Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Director for Alfonso Cuarón. Best Picture went to 12 Years a Slave, making Gravity the second most-awarded movie without winning Best Picture - the first being Cabaret, which won 8.
The Artist (2011) - 7.9
As previously stated, The Artist tied with Hugo with five Academy Award wins, including Best Picture. While Hugo won most of the technical awards, The Artist won the more "serious" and esteemed ones. Alongside Best Picture, The Artist also won Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Jean Dujardin, and Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius.
This made The Artist the first French-produced film to win Best Picture, and Dujardin was the first French actor to ever win the Best Actor award. General audiences adore it as well, although it didn't quite break the 8.0 mark.
The King's Speech (2010) - 8.0
Breaking the 8.0 barrier is The King's Speech, which took home four awards at the 83rd Academy Awards. It tied with Inception for the most awards of the night, but The King's Speech took home Best Picture.
And, like Hugo and The Artist, Inception took home most of the technical awards while The King's Speech won the more coveted ones. These include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for Colin Firth as King George VI. It was also a huge hit with general audiences, scoring an 8.0 on IMDb and grossing $424 million.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2010) - 8.0
Bohemian Rhapsody is an odd movie. It's obviously well adored by general audiences, judging by the 8.0 IMDb score and $903 million worldwide gross. It also took home four awards at the 91st Academy Awards - Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Actor for Rami Malek.
However, it was widely criticized by critics and diehard Queen fans alike. The latter called it an inaccurate and overly-maudlin portrayal of the band's story, and critics found it imperfect and messy, resulting in a disappointing 60% Rotten Tomatoes score and 49 Metascore.
La La Land (2016) - 8.0
La La Land was the big winner of the infamous 89th Academy Awards, winning a very respectable six awards. These included Best Production Design, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Actress for Emma Stone, and Best Director for Damien Chazelle.
Perhaps more impressive was the movie's 14 nominations, making the most nominated movie of all time alongside All About Eve and Titanic. It was also a huge hit with audiences, scoring an 8.0 on IMDb and grossing nearly $450 million at the worldwide box office.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - 8.1
Everyone was surprised at the quality of Mad Max: Fury Road. Some call it one of the greatest action movies of all time, and it took home six awards at the 88th Academy Awards (beating out The Revenant and Spotlight, which won Best Picture).
Most of its awards were obviously technical in nature, winning Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Film Editing. It also grossed a solid, if somewhat underwhelming, $375 million at the worldwide box office.
Parasite (2019) - 8.6
The highest-rated movie on IMDb, by a landslide at that, is 2019's Parasite. Sitting at 8.6, Parasite is currently the 29th highest rated movie on the site.
The movie was a monumental success, winning the esteemed Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best International Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. The latter win made Parasite the first non-English film in Academy history to win Best Picture.