The Academy is not infallible and the Oscars were stolen from these actors and films to give it to others who did not deserve it as much as they did.
Every actor, director, and producer would like to win an Oscar for his work and although they don't always get it, every year they get a new opportunity to do so. But, sometimes, things don't go as they should (because of social pressure, bad decisions, or being politically correct) and all your effort is "rewarded" only with a nomination (which is also important) and not with the victory that is expected. deserve.
Every year, the Academy (which is not a secret organization, but a group of actors, members of the press, and experts who decide who deserves a nomination) analyzes the best films that hit the theaters (and now streaming too). to discover who are the actors, producers, directors, costume designers, etc..., who did the best job and should be recognized for taking cinema to a new level. It's usually easy to predict who's going to get a nomination and who has the best chance of winning, but sometimes the Academy makes some very strange decisions and ends up giving the award to the wrong people and the wrong movies.
Most Oscar nominees do deserve credit for what they've accomplished, but that doesn't mean everyone should win, and on some occasions the award has gone to actors who didn't quite deserve it, leaving the true winners with empty hands. Of course, this is just an opinion (don't stone us please), but it's an opinion shared by many critics and pundits who were left disappointed when their “roosters” (ie their favorites to win) didn't receive the award.
The Academy is not infallible or perfect, it is made up of humans who can make mistakes, and these are 6 occasions in which those mistakes have stolen the award from those who truly deserved it.
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone
Lawrence does have an Oscar, but she has it for the wrong movie. The actress won "Best Actress" for Silver Linings Playbook, but she really should have won for her first film, Winter's Bone, in which she made her work more different and compelling from her, and still didn't overact every time she came on stage. That year, the Oscar went to Natalie Portman for Black Swan, but Lawrence also deserved the recognition and it would have made much more sense to give it to him at that time than in Silver Linings.
Moonlight for Best Picture
This Barry Jenkins movie won in 2017 which left many disappointed. Moonlight's victory left Lion, Arrival, and Fences without a well-deserved Oscar. This film won solely for the theme it touched on and its relationship to the social context, but there were definitely others that deserved it more.
Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List
In 1993, Fiennes made one of the best movie villains and everyone thought that would get him an Oscar, but in the end, the Academy decided to give the "Best Supporting Actor" award to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive. Jones's performance was incredible, but it didn't even measure up to the chilling villain Fiennes, who really should have won.
Al Pacino in The Godfather
Everything was wrong with the Al Pacino nomination from the start. First, they nominated him in the "Supporting Actor" category and not in the "Lead Actor" category even though he was the lead in the film). They gave his place to Marlon Brando, who appeared briefly in the film, and his Oscar to Joel Gray for Cabaret. Brando's role was iconic, but Pacino did a great job showing his character's transformation from war hero to mob criminal.
Edward Norton in American History X
We don't know if the Academy hates him or what, but Edward Norton has been ignored on more than one occasion, especially when he appeared in American History X and gave us one of the most iconic characters in cinema.
Amy Adams in Nocturnal Animals, Arrival, The Master, and The Fighter
Amy Adams is one of those actresses who has come close to the Oscar on several occasions, but she doesn't get it. Like Leonardo DiCaprio, Adams has given several Oscar-worthy performances, but the Academy keeps ignoring her and giving her award to someone else.
Other Academy mistakes at Oscar:
Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love
Dench wasn't exactly robbed of his Oscar, but he got it for the wrong role. Judi won the "Supporting Actress" Oscar for appearing in Shakespeare in Love for five minutes.
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant
DiCaprio's case is similar to that of Judi Dench, they gave him his Oscar because it was his turn and not really because that was his best role.
