History Main / ConsolationAward

* "Let It Go", the most popular song from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen}}'', lost the Best Original Song award at the Golden Globes to "Ordinary Love" from ''Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom'', but later won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

** At the 2013 ceremony of both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' was the winner despite getting weaker critical responses than all of its competitors (''WesternAnimation/{{Frankenweenie}}'', ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'' ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', and ''WesternAnimation/ThePiratesBandOfMisfits''). There was big controversy surrounding ''Brave'' and the fact that their first female director, Brenda Chapman, got fired from the project. The fact that she went on stage to accept the award with the crew made it ''too'' coincidental. Others saw the victory as the Academy was kissing Pixar's asses. The next year, ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' came out and won both the Globe and the Oscar which some consider a consolation award for ''Wreck-It Ralph''.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* A common criticism of the Best Animated Feature category in the Oscars is that it was made as [[AnimationAgeGhetto a consolation prize for animated films]] (or, alternately, that it was created after ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' nearly won Best Picture and the Academy wanted to prevent an animated film from winning that award). This came to a head in 2008 when ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' won the Best Animated Feature award but wasn't nominated for Best Picture, despite being one of the best-reviewed films of the year. Despite this, the Academy said that an animated film can be nominated in both categories. In the years ahead, the amount of films eligible for nomination for Best Picture doubled and ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' got nominated consecutively.
** Also, the award used to be voted upon by Academy members each year. It wasn't until the 2012 ceremony that it became a permanent category.
** At the 2013 ceremony of both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' was the winner despite getting weaker critical responses than [[WesternAnimation/{{Frankenweenie}} all]] [[WesternAnimation/ParaNorman of]] [[Disney/WreckItRalph its]] [[WesternAnimation/ThePiratesBandOfMisfits competitors.]] There was big controversy surrounding ''Brave'' and the fact that their first female director, Brenda Chapman, got fired from the project. The fact that she went on stage to accept the award with the crew made it ''too'' coincidental. Others saw the victory as the Academy was kissing Pixar's asses. The next year, ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' came out and won both the Globe and the Oscar which some consider a consolation award for ''Wreck It Ralph''.

* By the time 2008 rolled around, Creator/KateWinslet had been nominated six times and had yet to win an Oscar. What makes people believe that this occurred is that she won Best Actress for ''Literature/TheReader,'' even though she won the Golden Globe for Best ''Supporting'' Actress for the same role. (Interestingly, she also won Best Lead Actress at the Golden Globes that year, but for ''Revolutionary Road''.)

** Kidman's win also came at the expense of Julianne Moore's performance in ''Far From Heaven'', which had previously won the Best Actress prize at the Broadcast Film Critics Choice, Los Angeles Film Critics, and National Board of Review Awards and came in second place at the New York Film Critics Circle. Creator/JulianneMoore's win for ''Film/StillAlice'' in 2014 was seen in large part consolation for not having won for ''Film/FarFromHeaven'' or ''Film/BoogieNights'' (as she lost the latter prize to Kim Basinger in ''Film/LAConfidential''), as many feel Creator/ReeseWitherspoon should've won for her performance in ''Film/{{Wild}}''.

* Creator/RussellCrowe's win for ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' might have been a consolation award for not winning for ''Film/TheInsider'', which was generally thought to be a stronger performance but like Denzel with ''Film/TheHurricane'', lost to Creator/KevinSpacey in ''Film/AmericanBeauty''. (then an even more lauded performance by Crowe in ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' lost to Denzel in ''Training Day'')
* Creator/ElizabethTaylor's 1960 Oscar for ''[=Butterfield 8=]'', a film that's forgotten, and she didn't even want to do (she called it "a piece of garbage"). She was nominated in 1957 for ''Raintree County'', in 1958 for ''Theatre/CatOnAHotTinRoof'' and in 1959 for ''Film/SuddenlyLastSummer'', of which the latter two are considered classics. It's widely thought that she won by a vote of sympathy, because of her recent near-fatal illness - Taylor herself agreed with this in her book ''Elizabeth Takes Off''.

* Creator/BetteDavis herself said that her Oscar for ''Dangerous'' was a consolation prize for ''Literature/OfHumanBondage'', for which she was not nominated.

* Although the Primetime Emmys are known less for consolation awards than other organizations (as decisions were, until 2015, made by select groups of people in panels rather than by the Academy as a whole, unlike with the Oscars), Creator/PeterDinklage's second Emmy win for ''Series/GameOfThrones'' was seen by this by some. His work in Season 5, although still considered good, was far less active than it had been in previous years, and several of the other nominees in his category were nominated for much more showy work (notably Jonathan Banks from ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', whom Dinklage cited in his acceptance speech). It was theorized by some that he won both for being the most popular actor associated with the show and for losing the award for his performance in Season 4's "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS4E6TheLawsOfGodsAndMen The Laws of Gods and Men]]" the year before.

* Music/PinkFloyd's sole Grammy was awarded in 1994 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Marooned", despite being one of the most popular rock bands of all time.

* Creator/PeterOToole has been nominated eight times for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, making him the most-nominated actor never to win the award. In 2003, he instead received an Academy Honorary Award for his entire body of work and his lifelong contribution to film. Well gee, thanks a lot, Academy. O'Toole received another Best Actor nomination afterwards for ''Film/{{Venus}}'', only to lose to Creator/ForestWhitaker for ''Film/TheLastKingOfScotland''.

[[folder:Film]]

** This trope's DistaffCounterpart to O'Toole is Creator/DeborahKerr, who earned six Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role over a twelve year period from 1950-1961, and lost all six, coming up short on her last try to Elizabeth Taylor's consolation Oscar for ''Butterfield 8'' (see below). She also received four BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominations for Best Actress in her native Great Britain and lost all four of those too, making her the most-nominated performer never to win Best Actress in TWO countries. Both the British and American Academies finally and belatedly presented her with Honorary Awards for lifetime achievement in the 1990s, more than two decades after she had effectively retired from acting.

* On the subject of Golden Age stars, while Creator/HumphreyBogart gave his usual quality performance in ''Film/TheAfricanQueen'' opposite fellow screen legend Creator/KatharineHepburn, it is universally agreed that his Oscar for that film was ''actually'' for his work in ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon'' and ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', for which he was ignored.

* When Music/{{Cher}} won the 1987 best actress Oscar for film ''Film/{{Moonstruck}}'' some commentators felt this award was being given to her to make up for her snub for not winning best actress for ''Film/{{Mask}}'' a few years earlier. While the film ''Moonstruck'' recieved critical praise that year and her performance was also praised, it was not seen as the best of all the nominees that year.

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

[[folder:Television]]
* It is quite common for the Gold Logie (an Australian television award) to be awarded to someone who is retiring or at least moving on from a long-term role. A good example is John Wood, who was nominated every year from 1997 until he finally won in 2006 (the year ''Series/BlueHeelers'' was cancelled). Similarly, Kate Ritchie won the award shortly after leaving ''Series/HomeAndAway''.
* Grant Denyer followed this pattern in 2018, winning the Gold Logie shortly after the announcement that his version of ''Series/FamilyFeud'' was cancelled, with a lot of help from self-appointed campaign manager Tom Gleeson. The following year, Tom was nominated for his hosting of ''Hard Quiz'', and he tried the same tactic of not having a show, by [[BlatantLies claiming]] that ''Hard Quiz'' wasn't coming back even though they were still holding auditions, as was pointed out more than once in his appearances on ''Series/TheWeeklyWithCharliePickering''. His explanation was that he was intending to "bring it back" if he won, which he did.
* While she didn't win the award, Kate Bell was nominated for the Silver Logie for Best New Female Talent in 2010 for a guest role in ''Series/HomeAndAway'', seemingly because both TV Week and its ''readers'' (she had to be shortlisted by the magazine and then nominated by a reader poll) forgot about her regular role in ''Series/BlueWaterHigh'' in 2005 and 2008. Considering the name of the award, it overlaps with AwardCategoryFraud.
* Although the Primetime Emmys are known less for consolation awards than other organizations (as decisions were, until 2015, made by select groups of people in panels rather than by the Academy as a whole, unlike with the Oscars), Creator/PeterDinklage's second Emmy win for ''Series/GameOfThrones'' was seen by this by some. His work in Season 5, although still considered good, was far less active than it had been in previous years, and several of the other nominees in his category were nominated for much more showy work (notably Jonathan Banks from ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', whom Dinklage cited in his acceptance speech). It was theorized by some that he won both for being the most popular actor associated with the show and for losing the award for his performance in Season 4's "[[{{Recap/GameOfThronesS4E6TheLawsOfGodsAndMen}} The Laws of Gods and Men]]" the year before.
* ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' has often been accused of this regarding the Miss Congeniality award and the ''All-Stars'' seasons:
** On paper, Miss Congeniality is where the viewers are invited to vote online for the nicest contestant of the season, but some years the award goes to the fan-favorite who didn't make it to the finale, whether they were particularly congenial or not. Season 7 Miss Congeniality Katya even admitted that if the vote were up to the contestants themselves like in {{beauty contest}}s, Jaidynn Dior Fierce would have won.
** As for ''All-Stars'', the first All-Stars season was seen by many as an excuse to give Chad Michaels a crown, who was bitter about losing Season 4 to Sharon Needles. Later seasons have basically become "Second Chance for the Crown," as season winners are normally not brought back, hence the controversy over whether or not Season 1 winner Bebe Zahara Benet should have been eligible for ''All-Stars 3''.
[[/folder]]

* Despite being one of the most beloved cartoon characters ever, no WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon ever won the Oscar until 1958's ''Knighty Knight Bugs''. A fine cartoon, but hardly Bugs' finest moment, especially compared to the previous year's ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'', which was submitted for nomination but ultimately rejected. (In fact, Bugs wasn't even a nominee for the previous ''sixteen'' years.)

* Creator/SpikeLee, a director who made some critically acclaimed films based on social commentary about race, such as ''Film/DoTheRightThing'' and ''Film/MalcolmX'', received an honorary Oscar in 2016 for his whole body of work, after being nominated multiple times and losing in the past. However, he didn't attend the ceremony that year, and still criticized the institution of Hollywood for its lack of diversity after accepting the award.

** On paper, Miss Congeniality is where the viewers are invited to vote online for the nicest contestant of the season, but some years the award goes to the fan-favorite who didn't make it to the finale, whether they were particularly congenial or not. Season 7 Miss Congeniality Katya even admitted that if the vote were up to the contestants themselves like in {{beauty pageant}}s, Jaidynn Dior Fierce would have won.

** To make matters worse, even at the time critics such as Siskel and Ebert were calling out the Academy for not at least nominating Creator/JeffGoldblum in that category for ''Film/TheFly1986'' because of the [[SciFiGhetto ghettoization of sci-fi and horror films]], and decades on that particular performance is better remembered/regarded than those of the five nominees.

* When Music/{{Cher}} won the 1987 best actress Oscar for film Film/{{Moonstruck}} some commentators felt this award was being given to her to make up for her snub for not winning best actress for the film “Mask” a few years earlier. While the film Moonstruck recieved critical praise that year and her performance was also praised, it was not seen as the best of all the nominees that year.

* Grant Denyer followed this pattern in 2018, winning the Gold Logie shortly after the announcement that his version of ''Series/FamilyFeud'' was cancelled, with a lot of help from self-appointed campaign manager Tom Gleeson. The following year, Tom tried the same tactic after being nominated by [[BlatantLies claiming]] that ''Hard Quiz'' wasn't coming back, despite that they were still holding auditions, as was pointed out more than once in his appearances on ''Series/TheWeeklyWithCharliePickering''.

** Wrestling/HughMorrus in WCW stands out as one - he was a classic "jobber" for years, making other people look good on the way up, and eventually got a "feel good" US title reign in 2000.

* Within ''minutes'' of her 2012 Best Actress win, the general consensus was that Creator/MerylStreep won for ''Film/TheIronLady'' as compensation for... oh, everything she's ever done since ''Film/SophiesChoice'' (her last Oscar win, nearly 30 years and 17 nominations ago). It's been said that Meryl is simply beyond awards, and she's usually excluded simply to give the rest of the gender a chance. Unfortunately, the fact that she won over Viola Davis (who really should have won for ''Theatre/{{Doubt}}'' four years earlier) means that many people are crying racism. There were even accusations that Octavia Spencer's win for Best Supporting Actress was a deliberate step by the Academy to stave off such cries, though that may be taking the conspiracy theories a bit too far.

** On paper, Miss Congeniality is where the viewers are invited to vote online for the nicest contestant of the season, and technically all contestants are eligible, including the finalists. Some years, the prize ''was'' awarded to the nicest queen, like Season 2's Pandora Boxxx and Season 8's Cynthia Lee Fontaine. Other years, the chosen queen wasn't particularly congenial and it was just fans saying "She should have been in the top 3 dammit!", like Season 7's Katya[[note]]Who later admitted that if the vote were up to the contestants themselves like in {{beauty pageant}}s, Jaidynn Dior Fierce would have won.[[/note]] and ''especially'' Season 9's Valentina. Some years it managed to be both, such as Season 4 with Latrice Royale and Season 6 with [=BenDeLeCreme=].

** On paper, Miss Congeniality is where the viewers are invited to vote online for the nicest contestant of the season, and technically all contestants are eligible, including the finalists. While some years the prize ''was'' awarded to the nicest queen (Season 2's Pandora Boxxx, Season 8's Cynthia Lee Fontaine), other years it was basically fans saying "She should have been in the top 3 dammit!", such as Season 7's Katya[[note]]Who later admitted that if the vote were up to the contestants themselves like in {{beauty pageant}}s, Jaidynn Dior Fierce would have won.[[/note]] and ''especially'' Season 9's Valentina. Some years it managed to be both, such as Season 4 with Latrice Royale and Season 6 with [=BenDeLeCreme=].

* ''Series/RupaulsDradgRace'' has often been accused of this regarding the Miss Congeniality award and the ''All-Stars'' seasons:

* On the subject of Golden Age stars, while Creator/HumphreyBogart (Bacall's husband) gave his usual quality performance in ''Film/TheAfricanQueen'' opposite fellow screen legend Creator/KatharineHepburn, it is universally agreed that his Oscar for that film was ''actually'' for his work in ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon'' and ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', for which he was ignored.

* Aversion: In 1996, it was thought of as certain that legendary Golden Age of Hollywood star Creator/LaurenBacall, who had never been ''nominated'' for an Oscar before, would win the Best Supporting Actress award for the poorly-reviewed Barbra Streisand vehicle ''The Mirror Has Two Faces''. When she '''didn't''' win, instead losing to Creator/JulietteBinoche for ''Film/TheEnglishPatient'' (which swept that year's awards), it was a huge shock; Binoche claimed when she accepted the award that she didn't even prepare a speech in the expectation that Bacall would win. (Bacall would receive an honorary Oscar in 2009.)

* Inverted with Ellen Burstyn; she won an Oscar in 1975 for her part in ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore''; even though her role in ''Film/RequiemForADream'' is her most highly regarded today while the former film is largely forgotten. Potentially played straight, though, in that her win might have been partially due to her not winning for ''Film/TheExorcist'' the year before.

* It is quite common for the Gold Logie (an Australian television award) to be awarded to someone who is retiring or at least moving on from a long-term role. A good example is John Wood, who was nominated every year from 1997 until he finally won in 2006 (the year ''Series/BlueHeelers'' was cancelled). Similarly, Kate Ritchie won the award shortly after leaving ''Series/HomeAndAway''. Subverted the following year when Ian Smith, who had just left ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'' after more than 20 years, was beaten by Rebecca Gibney for her role in ''Packed to the Rafters''.

* Creator/HenryFonda finally won a Best Actor Oscar for ''Film/OnGoldenPond'' -- the last movie he ever made.
** Notably, this came just a year after he won an Honorary Oscar (like Paul Newman below).

* Creator/ElizabethTaylor's 1960 Oscar for ''[=Butterfield 8=]'', a film that's forgotten, and she didn't even want to do (she called it "a piece of garbage"). She was nominated in 1957 for ''Raintree County'', in 1958 for ''Film/CatOnAHotTinRoof'' and in 1959 for ''Film/SuddenlyLastSummer'', of which the latter two are considered classics. It's widely thought that she won by a vote of sympathy, because of her recent near-fatal illness - Taylor herself agreed with this in her book ''Elizabeth Takes Off''.

* When Music/{{Cher}} won the 1987 best actress Oscar for film Film/{{Moonstruck}} some commentators felt this award was being given to her to make up for her snub for not winning best actress for the film film/Mask a few years earlier. While the film Moonstruck recieved critical praise that year and her performance was also praised, it was not seen as the best of all the nominees that year.

* Despite being one of the most beloved cartoon characters ever, no WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon ever won the Oscar until 1958's ''Knighty Knight Bugs''. A fine cartoon, but hardly Bugs' finest moment, especially compared to the previous year's ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'', which was submitted for nomination but ultimately rejected. (In fact, Bugs wasn't even a nominee for the previous ''sixteen'' years.) On the same token none of Creator/ChuckJones' most famous classic and influential cartoons have ever won an Oscar (although he did win for "The Dot and the Line", a film otherwise only known to die-hard animation fans). In 1996 he was given an honorary award to make up for all those years.

* Despite being one of the most beloved cartoon characters ever, no WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon ever won the Oscar until 1958's ''Knighty Knight Bugs''. A fine cartoon, but hardly Bugs' finest moment, especially compared to the previous year's ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'', which was submitted for nomination but ultimately rejected. (In fact, Bugs wasn't even a nominee for the previous ''sixteen'' years.) On the same token none of Creator/ChuckJones' most famous classic and influential cartoons have ever won an Oscar. In 1996 he was given an honorary award to make up for all those years.