Is ‘The Lone Ranger’ The Worst Oscar-Nominated Film Of The Past 20 Years?

Of the many reasons to get unjustifiably mad at this morning’s Oscars nominations, the best is: Inside Llewyn Davis received as many nominations as The Lone Ranger. That’s right — in the eyes of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 2013’s best movie is as esteemed as one of the year’s worst.

Anyway, the schadenfreude-tastic The Lone Ranger currently holds a 31% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which actually seems relatively high (how many of these so-called “critics” are actually the small team of blind Keith Richards impersonators who style every Johnny Depp every morning?). Still, that’s a ridiculously low score for an Oscar-nominated film — even The Reader managed a 61%. But is it the worst? Surprisingly, no. Here are five Academy-recognized movies since 1993 with equal or lower Rotten Tomatoes scores.

Poetic Justice — Best Original Song — 31%

102 Dalmatians — Best Costume Design — 31%

Beethoven’s 2nd — Best Original Song — 27%

Pearl Harbor — Best Original Song/Best Sound Editing/Best Sound Mixing/Best Visual Effects — 25%

Norbit — Best Makeup — 9%

Cuba Gooding Jr. is in both Pearl Harbor and Norbit. Such a snub that Boat Trip couldn’t join them.

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