15 Oscar-Baiting Films That Hilariously Failed To Win

3. Australia

The moment the first trailer for Baz Luhrmann's Australia dropped, it was clear that it was ready-made Oscar bait: with its period setting, fancy costumes, impressive visuals, two likeable leads (Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman) and Baz Luhrmann directing in his usual style-over-substance fashion, what was there not to like? Well, as it turned out, the 165-minute Australia was an outrageously over-indulgent melodrama that bored for most of its run-time, certainly giving neither Jackman nor Kidman material suiting their talents, resulting in the film being almost completely shut out of the awards circuit. Its sole Oscar nomination was for Lurhmann's costume designer wife, Catherine Martin, and the majority of its other honours were, unsurprisingly, from various Australian awards bodies looking out for their homeboy. One of the most laughable works of Oscar bait ever conceived, Australia is flat-out awful, if rather nice to look at.