Every Best Picture Oscar Winner Ranked Worst To Best

Danny Boyle has always thrived creating stories about the darker aspects of the human experience, which is just one of many reasons why his Best Picture win for Slumdog Millionaire feels so unexpected.

A surprise winner the Academy couldn’t hide their love for (it scored eight Oscars), Boyle’s thrilling tale about fate and romance is syrupy and simplistic, but it’s also undeniably hopeful and crowd-pleasing in a way that makes its win feel slightly obvious in hindsight. In a stronger year, though, it wouldn’t have stood a chance.