The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to put it's new "Best Popular Movie" category on hold after a lot of people pointed out a significant flaw: It's a silly idea.
A lot of the criticism aimed at the idea labeled it a kind of ratings grab, acknowledging that recent Academy honorees were movies that nobody went to, so nobody cared to watch them win or lose the Academy opinion poll. With the new category, Academy members could keep rewarding stuff they liked and offer the television-watching (and movie attending) masses a bone by sending a statue home with one of those movies they liked.
Whether the problem is that Hollywood forgot how to make top-quality movies that also attracted people to the theaters or Academy voters have for their own reasons been drawn to movies that didn't interest anyone who had to pay for tickets is a question beyond my ability to research. Either way, the performance category Oscars are still what they have always been: An opinion poll among a small group of people with their own tastes and interests. Until those interests intersect more with those of the people who buy the tickets and might watch the show, that "might" is going to stick around no matter how many gimmick categories the Academy dreams up.
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