As in movies what everyone was saying 'ohhhhh, this is gonna be an awards contender for sure...' but then nothing happened?
Babylon
Armageddon Time
Empire of Light
Amsterdam
White Noise
Babylon and Amsterdam seems like very strong contenders there.
Hollywood *loves* movies about Hollywood. Meta films like these...
Sunset Boulevard
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
The Artist
L.A. Confidential
Mulholland Drive
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
La La Land
Babylon being more-or-less immediately forgotten is odd given that fact.
Some films might flop at the box office but gain some long-term notoriety based on awards season, either giving them a short-term second wind or a long-term legacy where people keep coming back to them because Wikipedia said it won some awards. Doubling insulting to have no life and no afterlife.