Selma is 100 percent historically accurate, The Imitation Game not so much

"Based on historical events" are four words that cause audiences to enter a film with caution. For starters, the word 'based' suggests a casualness, that these events will be embellished to make a film that bit more entertaining.

Such caution need not apply to Selma - Ava DuVernay's fascinating biopic focused on civil rights leader Martin Luther King; it has been deemed 100% historically accurate.

The study was conducted by data-based site Information is Beautiful who looked at the veracity of scenes taken from 14 fact-based Oscar contenders since 2010.

While every single scene from Selma was considered accurate, other films didn't fare as well - namely Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game.

Apparently, only 41.4% of scenes from the film are accurate - ironic considering Graham Moore's screenplay picked up the film's only Oscar in 2015.

Another film that got found out by the study was Clint Eastwood's American Sniper which was deemed 56.9% "real."

Higher were awarded to Bridge of Spies (89.9%), 12 Years a Slave (88.1%), Spotlight (81.6%) and - perhaps shockingly - The Wolf of Wall Street (74.6%).

It's financial crisis film The Big Short that finished in second behind Selma with 91.4% - although we're unsure whether Margot Robbie has ever really explained difficult finance terms while drinking champagne in a bubble bath.

Other films included Rush (81.9%), Captain Phillips (81.4%), The Social Network (76.1%), The King's Speech (73.4%), Philomena (69.8%) and Dallas Buyers Club (61.4%).

Historical-based films expected to compete in the approaching awards season include Lion, Hacksaw Ridge and Jackie, the biopic of Jackie Kennedy starring Natalie Portman.