Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick dominated the box office in 2022, grossing over a billion and becoming instant fan favorites. As it turns out, they were also critical hits, receiving multiple Oscar nominations, including two very well-deserved Best Picture acknowledgments.
Like these two juggernauts, several action movies received enough critical and audience support to become Oscar darlings. While the action genre seldom receives Academy recognition outside a few below-the-line categories, these select and privileged films scored the Oscar jackpot, earning numerous nominations, including the coveted Best Picture.
1 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938)
Errol Flynn became the face of swashbuckling romances thanks to films like The Adventures of Robin Hood. Flynn plays the titular role opposite future Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian and Claude Rains as Prince John.
A critical and commercial smash, The Adventures of Robin Hood received four nominations at the 11th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, then known as Outstanding Production. While it didn't claim the top prize, the film walked away with its three other nominations: Art Direction, Editing, and Score. The Adventures of Robin Hood remains widely regarded today.
2 'The French Connection' (1971)
William Friedkin's neo-noir action thriller The French Connection is among the most iconic films of the 1970s. Gene Hackman stars as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, who, alongside his partner Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, chases after notorious French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier.
An old-school action movie guaranteed to have audiences on edge, The French Connection was critically and commercially successful. The film dominated at the box office and received eight Oscar nominations. It ultimately walked away with Best Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay, and Editing, making it the most awarded film of the ceremony.
3 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981)
The Indiana Jones franchise began in 1981 with the now-iconic Raiders of the Lost Ark. Directed by Steven Spielberg; the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, an archeologist and adventurer on a quest to find the legendary Ark of the Covenant, which pits him against Nazi forces.
Now considered among the all-time best films, Raiders was the highest-grossing film of 1981. It received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Raiders won five statuettes, the most out of any film at the 1982 Oscars, including a Special Achievement award for Sound Effects Editing.
4 'The Fugitive' (1993)
Harrison Ford is one of Hollywood's leading action men, so, of course, he's been the star of more than one Oscar-nominated action vehicle. In 1993's The Fugitive, Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, a man who escapes custody after being framed for his wife's murder and sentenced to death.
One of the best action movies of the '90s, The Fugitive was the third highest-grossing film of 1993. It received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. However, it only won one: Best Supporting Actor for Tommy Lee Jones.
5 'The Matrix' (1999)
Few films were as revolutionary as the Wachowski sisters' The Matrix. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss star in a story about a computer hacker who discovers humanity is trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality controlled by machines.
The Matrix was a massive box office success and earned near-universal acclaim from critics, who called it one of the best and most innovative sci-fi pieces in film history. It won every category it was nominated for at the 2000 Oscars: Visual Effects, Editing, Sound, and Sound Editing. However, The Matrix should've been nominated for Best Picture, especially considering three of the films that did make the Oscar 5 have aged like milk.
6 'Gladiator' (2000)
Ridley Scott's Gladiator stars Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a General of the Felix Legions sold into slavery after being betrayed by the ambitious would-be emperor Commodus. Forced to become a gladiator, Maximus fights his way through the arena to avenge his family's murders.
The second highest-grossing film of 2000, Gladiator, received positive reviews from critics, who praised its high production values and the performances of Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. It earned twelve Oscar nominations at the 2001 ceremony, winning five, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe. Gladiator is widely considered one of the best sword-and-sandal films and is credited with revitalizing the genre at a time when it had fallen out of fashion.
7 'District 9' (2009)
2009 saw the release of Neill Blomkamp's feature film directorial debut, District 9. The plot centers on alien Christopher Johnson, who, along with his son, attempts to escape Earth with the help of a bureaucrat.
District 9 is one of the best non-horror found footage films. It was a surprise box office success, earning over $200 million against a production budget of only $30 million. District 9 also received critical acclaim, with many considering it among the best sci-fi films of the new millennium. It earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture; however, it didn't win any category.
8 'Inception' (2010)
With films like Inception, Christopher Nolan cemented himself as the master of auteur-driven blockbusters. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a fugitive thief specializing in stealing information by entering peoples' subconscious and conducting the heist in their dreams.
Inception was a box office smash, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 2010. Critics praised its striking visual effects and nearly every major aspect of its production. The film received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won four: Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. However, Nolan was infamously snubbed in Best Director.
9 'Mad Max: Fury Road' (2015)
George Miller returned to his post-apocalyptic wasteland in 2015 with Mad Max: Fury Road, a quasi-reboot of the franchise that launched his career. Tom Hardy stars as Max Rockatansky, who joins forces with Imperator Furiosa, played by an outstanding Charlize Theron, to take down a tyrannical cult leader.
Mad Max: Fury Road was a massive critical success, eventually becoming one of the action films that defined the 2010s. Ir received ten Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and went home with six, the most out of any other movie at the ceremony. A spin-off centered on a young Furiosa is currently in production.
10 'Black Panther' (2018)
The first MCU movie to receive a Best Picture nomination, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther stars an ensemble led by the late Chadwick Boseman. The story follows the eponymous character as he faces Killmonger, a radical who wants Wakanda to lead a global revolution.
Although the superhero genre is unique and distinctive, action is a crucial part of its DNA; thus, Black Panther can be considered an action piece. The film was a critical and commercial smash, grossing over $1 billion and earning seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. It eventually walked away with three, including Original Score. The sequel, released in late 2022, also received several Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Angela Bassett.