"Oscar bait" is a term of abuse for certain movies that try too hard to appeal to Academy voters. They tend to tackle significant themes seen as "worthy", alongside prestigious production values and star-studded casts delivering "serious" performances. While some films triumph in this endeavor, many falter, feeling hollow, overwrought, or simply boring.

Oscar season is swiftly approaching, so now is as good a time as any to look back at some of the worst Oscar bait movies ever. Whether undone by lackluster writing, uninspired direction, or misplaced performances,

"I’m not like you. I can’t just push it all away." 's with , but the same cannot be said for its lightweight follow-up. focuses on the strained relationship between Peter (), a successful businessman, and his teenage son Nicholas (), who struggles with depression. Unfortunately, , becoming mawkish and melodramatic. Despite a strong cast, including and, it feels heavy-handed in its approach to mental health.

The characters often act in frustrating ways, particularly the parents, to the point that it can be hard to take them seriously. Similarly, on the acting front, McGrath's performance is not quite up to the admittedly challenging task the film sets before him. While the movie engages with worthwhile ideas, it goes so in a lackluster way, going through the motions and ticking Oscar voter boxes but without reaching for anything greater.

"I was meant to be great." features as journalist and as , a homeless man with extraordinary musical talent. Based on a true story, the film explores their unlikely friendship as Steve attempts to help Ayers rebuild his life while grappling with his own motivations. co-stars as , Steve's boss (and ex-wife).

The movie clearly aims to inspire, but ultimately doesn't delve deeply enough into its subject matter to really leave a lasting impression. It was directed by the usually stellar, who made and , though his direction is arguably at its weakest here. He oscillates between heartfelt and overly sentimental, failing to elevate the generic script. Understandably, The Soloist failed to grip audiences or Academy voters, bombing at the box office with a $38m haul against a $60m budget.

"The most powerful weapon on Earth is the human soul on fire." 's attempts to chronicle the life of (), the enigmatic and controversial first director of the FBI. Spanning decades, the film delves into Hoover’s professional achievements, personal struggles, and complex relationships, particularly with his loyal secretary Helen Gandy () and his second-in-command Clyde Tolson ().

While the man himself led a unique and intriguing life, . Eastwood's direction feels overly restrained, and the film’s nonlinear structure often muddles the narrative. Plus, while DiCaprio delivers a committed performance (one he once called the "most challenging" of his career), the film somehow never really unveils the man's mysteries. We don't feel like we get to know Hoover at all. For this reason, J. Edgar feels like a massive missed opportunity. And that's without even getting started on the cheesy makeup.

"Sometimes you have to look through the cloud to see the blue sky." is an adaptation of 's terrific Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (she also wrote cult favorite ), but it falls far short of its source material. leads the cast as Theo Decker, whose life is forever changed after surviving a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Despite having a lot of great stuff to work with,

The film feels disjointed, with underdeveloped characters and pacing issues that undercut its emotional impact. Despite a ridiculously stacked cast, including , , and , the whole thing seems empty, perfunctory. Fans must have fumed to see such a great book turned into such mediocre cinema. The author reportedly hated the movie so much that she fired her agent over it, vowing never to sell the rights to her work again.

"Pain is a rocket fuel." 's filmography has been rather hit or miss of late, and this one falls square in the miss category. tells the true story of Mark Hogancamp (), a man recovering from a brutal assault by creating a miniature WWII village populated by dolls representing himself and people in his life. The film weaves between Hogancamp's real-world struggles and the imaginative adventures of his alter-ego within the village.

This is a fascinating premise, but the execution stumbles. , with the transitions between Hogancamp’s fantasy world and reality often feeling jarring. Carell delivers a heartfelt performance, giving the role his all, but even his efforts aren’t enough to save the film from its clumsy plotting and meandering pace. Welcome to Marwen had the potential to be great, considering the star power and the director's visual flair, but the finished product is underwhelming.

"Friendship is the only thing that matters." is another movie with a star-studded cast but not that much actual meat on its bones. Set during the interwar period, the story follows three friends, played by , , and , who are drawn into a murder investigation that uncovers a sinister political plot. The sets and costumes are sumptuous, but .

The supporting cast is bursting at the seams with big names, ranging from and to and , but never orchestrates them into anything especially engaging. The dialogue is also surprisingly flat, to the point that the charm of the performers doesn't even add much zest to it. For all these reasons, Amsterdam was a thermonuclear box office bomb, grossing just $31.2m against a budget of at least $80m.

"Love, time, and death. These three abstractions connect every single human being on Earth." centers on Howard Inlet (), a grieving advertising executive who copes with the loss of his daughter by writing letters to abstract concepts: Love, Time, and Death. When these concepts take physical form, played by , , and , Howard embarks on a journey of healing and rediscovery.

which feels like it was straining to win an Oscar at all costs. Everything is incredibly try-hard, and a lot of the dialogue is painfully saccharine. Many of the characters are simply annoying, making it hard to see how some of the actors accepted these roles. Only Mirren is properly enjoyable here. Most critics ripped Collateral Beauty to shreds, but it still managed to make a solid profit.

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity." Another tedious biopic, dramatizes the life and career of legendary aviator (), focusing on her pioneering spirit, personal relationships, and mysterious disappearance during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Swank is solid in the part, butThere simply isn't much tension.

Rather than delivering a compelling character study, Amelia plays it safe, offering a by-the-numbers recounting of Earhart's achievements, marriage, and romance with (). As a result, Amelia feels like quite a slog, and is more of a dry history lesson than a compelling drama. At least the movie doesn't embrace any of the wackier conspiracy theories about what happened to the pilot, but that's not saying much. Finally, the story inevitably ends without resolution, as Earhart's fate remains a mystery.

"You don’t perform surgery in a fishbowl." has parallels with Amelia in that both are superficial, mostly boring biopics about fascinating people. Naomi Watts stars as Princess Diana in her final years, focusing on her relationship with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews) and her navigation of public scrutiny. The People's Princess was a vivid and unforgettable person, but director Oliver Hirschbiegel struggles to balance the intimate and public aspects of his subject's life.

Many of the problems start with the script. It's overly romanticized and half-baked, lacking the depth or nuance needed to make this kind of project work. It seems content to traffic in guesswork and cardboard cutout characterization, taking creative liberties that are bound to rankle many royalists. The only positive element here is Watts's performance, which is earnest and impressive, especially given how little the script gives her to work with and the inherent difficulty of playing such a beloved, larger-than-life figure.

"A cat is not a dog." Claiming the top spot on this list is the flaming dumpster fire that is Cats. Working from Andrew Lloyd Webber's legendary musical, it follows the Jellicle cats as they gather for the Ball, where they compete for the chance to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn. What follows is a mess of incoherent storytelling and unsettling visual effects.

The human-cat hybrids, created using shaky CGI, became a source of mockery, overshadowing the performances by Judi Dench, Idris Elba, and Taylor Swift. Some major visual glitches made it into the theatrical release, like Dench's cat having the wrong number of fingers. Imagery problems aside, the plot is just not that compelling, serving only as a weak means of stringing the songs together. This greatly displeased Webber himself, who complained that "the problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided that he didn't want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show."

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