25 best movies that never won an Oscar

2. The Sixth Sense

Here’s an interesting thought experiment: Does the not-always-great, sometimes-depressingly-bad (looking at you, The Last Airbender) directorial output of M. Night Shyamalan affect how you feel about the The Sixth Sense? Or do you still think of it as the clever, ultra-atmospheric thriller with a bonkers twist that made Shyamalan a household name?

Either way, that doesn’t change the fact the Academy didn’t give it even a shred of love beyond a few nominations at the 2000s Oscars. The Sixth Sense was up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Haley Joel Osment), Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette), Original Screenplay and Film Editing, yet somehow it went home statue-less.

Just like Fight Club and Being John Malkovich, The Sixth Sense was powerless against the unstoppable awards-season force that was American Beauty. The only awards it lost to something other than that film were Best Supporting Actress to Angelina Jolie’s Girl, Interrupted performance, Best Supporting Actor to Michael Caine in The Cider House Rules and Film Editing to The Matrix (which, all of that is fair).

Considering how poorly American Beauty has aged because of its lead actor’s misdeeds, maybe The Sixth Sense would pull out a victory or two if given another shot at this year’s Oscars. But again, it’s hard to feel too bad for Shyamalan given that over the years he has proven not to be the visionary many thought he was at the time.