All 10 Best Picture nominees at the 2024 Oscars ranked worst to best

We've made it to the 96th Academy Awards and while cinephiles around the country are counting down the hours until they can see which films win the most coveted awards, others are trying to catch up and watch as many nominated movies as they can this weekend. 2023 was a fantastic year for movies, and though not all of our favorites received Oscar nominations, the collection of 10 Best Picture nominations is very strong.

Oppenheimer might be expected to win the award for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but that doesn't everyone agrees it's the best movie of 2023. At least, I don't. Ahead of the ceremony this Sunday evening, let's discuss all 10 nominees and rank them from worst to best. As with all of our rankings here at Bam Smack Pow, this list is completely subjective and just my personal opinion on the nominations. Don't agree? Feel free to tweet at us at @BamSmackPow with your ranking!

10. Maestro

Maestro is the one Best Picture nominee that was tough for me to get through. There are certainly good things about it, though, so let's start with the positive. Carey Mulligan gives a fantastic performance as Felicia Montealegre and Bradley Cooper is solid as Leonard Bernstein. As a director, you can't say Cooper isn't talented.

But with a long list of characters and multiple time jumps, Maestro doesn't give itself the chance to go deep enough into key moments in Bernstein's life. Unfortunately, I felt bored during most of the movie, and I have to admit I rolled my eyes on multiple instances before the credits started to roll.

This isn't a badly made movie by any means, it just left no impact on me.

STREAMING ON NETFLIX

9. Killers of the Flower Moon

Ah, Killers of the Flower Moon. I wanted to love this movie so badly! It was just one of my most anticipated movies of the year, and unfortunately, it fell very short for me.

Again, let's start with the positive. The cinematography and sound are fantastic in Killers of the Flower Moon, as are the performances from Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart and the other actors portraying the Osage natives. The premise is incredibly compelling and the overall message is very important.

However, I can't help but wish Martin Scorsese served as a producer rather than a director on the film, allowing a Native American person to helm the adaptation. The most unfortunate part about the film is that we get so much perspective from Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his uncle (Robert DeNiro) that we almost lose sight of the victims. And on top of that, the scenes between Ernest and William are straight-up boring.

Killers of the Flower Moon is supposed to start a conversation about systematic racism and white terrorism, but I don't think it was enough for Scorsese to just change the POV from the FBI (as it is in the book) to Ernest and Mollie Burkhart. It should have taken more of a focus on Mollie and the Osage people.

STREAMING ON APPLE TV+