25 best movies that never won an Oscar

21. Lady Bird

Despite the fact that fish sex movie that no one ever talks about anymore won the 2018 Best Picture Oscar, that year will mostly be remembered for the incredible trifecta of Get Out, Phantom Thread and Lady Bird. Get Out and Phantom Thread at least picked up awards for Best Original Screenplay and Costume Design, but unfortunately Lady Bird went home Oscar-less.

Lady Bird was nominated for five awards: Best Picture, Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf), Best Director (Greta Gerwig) and Best Original Screenplay. It was at least equally deserving of Best Picture and Best Director as The Shape of Water, and Ronan could’ve easily beaten Three Billboards‘ Frances McDormand for Best Actress. It lost fair and square to Get Out for Original Screenplay.

The one that we’re all going to look back in a decade and scratch our heads about is how Metcalf lost Best Supporting Actress to I, Tonya‘s Allison Janney. Sure, Janney’s performance was great, more bombastic and included a parrot. But Metcalf was understated perfection as an eternally put-upon mother of a teenage girl. We’ll always wonder what could have been.

At least the Golden Globes paid proper tribute to Lady Bird, giving it awards for Best Picture — Musical or Comedy and Ronan Best Actress in that same categorical designation. But it’s a shame a film as nearly universally beloved as Lady Bird — it stands at 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes  — could end the 2018 Oscars with no golden statues.