Victims of the Oscar Curse
AMC Movie List

Victims of the Oscar Curse

First they're hot, then (suddenly) they're not. Who's career suffered the worst after winning an Academy Award?

rank title points votes your vote
1 Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Having failed to capitalize on the runaway success of his award-winning Jerry McGuire character, Gooding has faded mostly into obscurity. 410 740
2 Halle Berry
Who knew the nuanced Oscar winner at the heart of Monster's Ball had so many horrible movies (Catwoman, for one) ahead of her? 191 683
3 Helen Hunt
Though Hunt won Best Actress for As Good As It Gets, her career never recovered from Pay It Forward and other bad moves. 163 637
4 Mira Sorvino
Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite proved Sorvino's comedic chops, but she unwisely switched gears and went the subpar action flick route, to her detriment. 109 501
5 F. Murray Abraham
His big-screen career failed to take off following his acclaimed turn as Salieri in Milos Foreman's Amadeus, after which he starred in a string of turkeys. 88 516
6 Louise Fletcher
Fletcher will forever be remembered as the tyrannical Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but followed it up with poor choices like Mama Dracula. 75 481
7 Roberto Benigni
The world fell in love with this Life Is Beautiful star in 1997, but he's been out of the spotlight ever since his lame follow-up movie, Pinocchio. 46 498
8 Gwyneth Paltrow
Following the wonderful Shakespeare In Love, Paltrow settled into mediocre mode, starrring in a slew of unforgettable pics. -4 608
9 Luise Rainer
The Oscar Curse originator scored back-to-back statuettes in 1936, before experiencing a spectacular career flameout. -20 414
10 Kevin Spacey
Spacey's Oscar-winning turn as suburbanite Lester Burnham was followed by flops like Pay It Forward and K-Pax. -24 670