Turns out the Academy’s latest decision wasn’t so popular after all. On Thursday, the Oscars’ governing body announced that it will not add a new category, outstanding achievement in popular film, to the 2019 ceremony after all. The decision was made following a meeting of the board of governors on Tuesday. The decision was announced just one month after the category was first revealed.
“There has been a wide range of reactions to the introduction of a new award, and we recognize the need for further discussion with our members,” Academy C.E.O. Dawn Hudson said in a statement. “We have made changes to the Oscars over the years—including this year—and we will continue to evolve while also respecting the incredible legacy of the last 90 years.”
The new category was part of a handful of changes the Academy planned to make to the next Oscars ceremony. Though the popular-film category is gone (for now, anyway), the Academy still plans to shorten the Oscars telecast, move up the ceremony date, and present certain awards during commercial breaks. While each change sparked a bit of debate, it was the best-popular-film category that catalyzed the most robust reaction—one that was immediately negative. Critics blasted the planned prize as a sorry consolation award for blockbusters that missed out on a best-picture nomination.
Many also interpreted the concept of a popular-film Oscar as a reactionary award designed to celebrate comic-book adaptations—particularly Black Panther, a groundbreaking Marvel movie that could become the first superhero film to nab a best-picture nom in 2019. Regardless, Disney strategists made it plenty clear that they were keeping their eyes on best picture, despite the apparent insurgence of a new Oscar category. Star Chadwick Boseman has already begun laying groundwork on the campaign trail: “I dare any movie to try to compare to the [level of] difficulty of this one,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “And the fact that so many people liked it—if you just say it’s [merely] popular, that’s elitist.”
The category was also confusing on its face, as the Academy neglected to define, in that initial announcement, what constitutes a “popular” film. Is it a film that passes a certain threshold at the box office? A studio tentpole? A mainstream work that doesn’t posses the usual sheen of a prestige movie? Furthermore, do movies that make hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide even need their own special category? If so, why not incorporate and recognize them as best-picture contenders? Without a definition, the category inspired more questions than answers.
And it didn’t help that there were reports accusing Disney, which owns ABC—the network that airs the Oscars—of pushing the Academy to create a new category as a means to draw more viewers into the ceremony’s telecast. Oscar-night viewership has dwindled over the years, with this year’s ratings hitting an all-time low. Knowing all this, the best-popular-film category earned the instant reputation of being a second-rate best-picture trophy, and a thoroughly corporate one at that. While there have been plenty of vital debates about the divide between Oscar tastemakers and the mainstream moviegoing majority, the new category didn’t seem to quell any of those concerns—but now, at least, the Academy has given itself another year to win this popularity contest once and for all.
