The top Oscars movies – ranked based purely on their memes

This year's awards season has hardly been the most fruitful or engaging.

The whole period has unfortunately been dominated, once again, by discussions of racism and sexism, as actors of colour were widely ignored by the respective voting bodies, while female directors received next to no recognition.

It's been quite a depressing state of affairs in all honesty as it has distracted from some fine pieces of cinema, but that being said it has hardly been a vintage year for big awards contenders.

Away from all the criticism at least we can say that we have had one thing to enjoy and that is, as always, memes.

Movie memes are always a jovial source of entertainment. Whether they are mocking the movie or celebrating it, it can be hard not to chuckle.

Now thanks to many movies being available on streaming services shortly after their cinema release, the quality and overall amount of memes have improved hugely, opening us to a whole world of comedy.

With that in mind, it got us thinking about the Oscars... If this Sunday's ceremony was decided on memes, which of the movies nominated for Best Picture would win?

Rather than pick an outright winner we opted for a ranking, which we sincerely hope the Academy observe before placing their final vote.

Warning: There may be some spoilers ahead.

9. Ford v Ferrari

Has anyone apart from your uncle and Jeremy Clarkson seen this movie?

We're gonna bet no as to the best of our knowledge we haven't seen a single notable meme from James Mangold's flick starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, meaning it finishes dead last in our rankings.

8. 1917

Despite it being the frontrunner to pick up the best picture and sweeping the board at the Golden Globes and Baftas, 1917 has produced a poor set of memes, which is probably down to the fact that memes about the First World War are thankfully not a thing.

The fact that it didn't finish joint last with Ford v Ferrari is down to us managing to find this 'film bro' meme from the movie on Reddit, which should tell you everything you need to know.

Oh and let's not forget the time Michael Caine called it the 'best war movie' and broke Christopher 'director of Dunkirk' Nolan's heart.

7. Little Women

Greta Gerwig's charming adaptation of Little Women might have won of the hearts of (almost) everyone that has seen it, but it didn't set the meme world alight.

In fact, the only meme worth speaking of from the film were those that were made after the poster, that everyone hated, was released.

6. Jojo Rabbit

Few films have been as divisive this year as Taiki Waititi's Jojo Rabbit, a comedy about the Third Reich and the Holocaust which isn't quite as clever as it thinks - mainly as it can't actually tackle it's subject matter because it's too busy trying to make fun of Nazis rather than showing how evil they actually are.

In terms of memes, the movie has mostly produced scathing takes on the film's failings and the general discourse surrounding it.

Unforgivably, the classic Downfall meme (a superior film) was revived to promote the film which is a big no-no from us.

5. Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood

On a lesser year, Quentin Tarantino's latest movie might have ranked higher on this list but it just wasn't meant to be for the controversial auteur's tribute to 1960s Hollywood.

That being said the memes related to the film were not bad at all, especially the poster.

We would also recommend this compilation of Leonardo DiCaprio saying 'fucking hippies' from the 'No Context OUATIH' account.

4. Parasite

South Korea's Parasite is the surprise hit of this year's awards season, as Bong Joon-ho's movie has managed to transcend the usual stereotypes and misgivings that some people can have about foreign language films to hang in there with the big boys.

Although it is sure to receive the Oscar for best foreign-language film, it is also in contention for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, film editing and production design.

Meme wise, it's not quite top tier but Bong Joon-ho's efforts over the Awards season has seen him become a God-like figure for cinephiles.

3. Marriage Story

An emotional heartfelt drama about divorce doesn't sound like prime meme content but against all odds (thanks to a timely release on Netflix) it became a meme sensation.

The standout meme from its prolonged viral status came from a explosive scene where Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson exchanged verbal bars with each other.

Elsewhere, the memes came from people who were just overcome with tears due to the emotional rollercoaster that the film sent them on.

2. Joker

Love it or hate it, the undisputed best part of Joker was not Joaquin Phoenix's performance but the dozens of memes it produced.

We'll start with the 'did you catch the reference' memes, which spawned from one person's misguided belief that the movie was making a nod to The Dark Knight.

Then how about 'the rise of the Joker?'

Who can forget those weird tracksuit ones, which were highly critical of how millennials have essentially failed.

Then there was this one which basically highlighted just how futile the endeavour of chasing recognition through memes really is.

1. The Irishman

We might have given this award to Joker but to be honest but it has already won more than it should have so we are giving the gong to Martin Scorsese's epic retelling of the life and times of mobster Frank Sheeran.

You would think that at 77 years of age Martin Scorsese wouldn't be capable of producing a film that would appeal to the meme audience but you should never doubt a genius.

Initially, the memes started out with people appearing to mock the great director by seemingly watching the Netflix movie on devices that were not appropriate for a film of such prestige.

Then we had 'A lot can happen in a lifetime' which worked as a strange assessment of Robert DeNiro's career and was indirectlt started by The Irishman account.

Due to the film's extensive running time, people tried to put together 'episode guides' so others could watch it in segments, but that only prompted more jokes.

Others weren't too fond of the de-ageing effects used on the stars throughout the movie.

We'll leave you with this which really should have been the theme tune to the movie. (*Sound ON*)

More: How to correctly predict the Oscars, according to research​