Oscars Hall of Shame: The Bad-Movie Pasts of the Nominees

This award season has brought about Michael Keaton's comeback, though Keaton's hall of shame entry came at a time when Keaton was still an ultrapopular leading man. In 1996's Multiplicity, Keaton was deemed so appealing that several of him could carry a movie. But like the fourth clone, his charm gets watered down. Not only was Multiplicity a critical failure, it was also a bomb at the box office by only earning back half of what it cost to make.

Adam Sandler comedies have generally declined in quality since the millennium, and the devilish Little Nicky is an important signifier in that journey. Arquette had the misfortune of being cast as the love interest, but don't worry — we're sure she won't be thinking of this movie when she goes up to accept her Oscar.

It seemed like The Fifth Estate, about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, would be timely and sharp, but the sharpest thing about the film was its nosedive at the box office — it had the worst opening of 2013. Cumberbatch, nominated for his first Oscar for The Imitation Game, couldn't save the film, though that white wig lives on in infamy.

This one's a twofer, because best supporting actor nominee Ruffalo and best actress nominee Witherspoon were once the leads in the most atrocious of romantic comedies of all time. Somehow these two charm bombs just don't have chemistry, and worse: one of them is a ghost.

Steve Carell's Oscar-nominated turn in Foxcatcher was a departure from his usual oeuvre of dependably funny comedies. However, there are a handful of stinkers in his career, like this 2013 movie that cast him as a washed-up magician. We can't blame Carell, though — he really committed with that wig and costume.

Part of the reason we're so excited about this Summer's Jurassic World is that we have forgiven the existence of the first two sequels. They weren't terrible, but they were nowhere near the quality of the original '90s classic and such obvious cash grabs. Best actress nominee Moore found herself mired in the mess of the second one, but luckily the actress made it out alive — and may nab her first Oscar for Still Alice.

Birdman's Emma Stone was coming off Superbad when she appeared in this movie, a limp comedy about a band fronted by Rainn Wilson. The movie made just over $8 million — about half of what it cost to make — and, curiously, was beaten out on its opening weekend by another Stone movie, The House Bunny.

This is the third year in a row that Bradley Cooper has been up for an Oscar, but let's just say the actor's golden period was preceded by some truly questionable choices. Case in point: Failure to Launch, the abysmal romantic comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey. At least McConaughey also made out OK, with an Oscar to show for it.