The Oscars have always been a bit of a popularity contest, but a new award for “outstanding achievement in popular film” is set to shake things up a bit.
It’s unclear yet whether the new award will be given out at the next show, in 2019, or even what the voting criteria is going to be, but the new gong will likely mean good news for films like Black Panther and The Greatest Showman.
Criticised in the past for ignoring blockbusters and genre films, the move will hopefully mean a more balanced view of the American film industry – although the Best Picture nominations are unlikely to change. It’s likely to be a contraversial desicion though, as rewarding “popularity” (which presumably means ticket sales) hasn’t traditionally been the role of the Oscars.
The change is one of three new tweaks that the Academy have made to their annual award show – including moving the date forward a few weeks (which will no doubt have a knock-on affect on the BAFTA ceremony) and shortening the TV broadcast to three hours to make the event more accessible for viewers around the world.