New Popular Film Oscars Category Dropped by Academy

In a not truly surprising move, the Academy of Motion Pictures has chosen to drop the newly minted “popular film” category from the 91st Annual Academy Awards oscars ceremony.

The announcement initially of this new category was met with outright disbelief by many in the industry; why the need to present such a one-sided award when the ceremony is meant to celebrate the best achievements in cinema over the year, not the ‘most popular’.

Following a meeting of the board of governors, the new category will NOT be introduced at the upcoming Oscars. Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said:

“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. 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.”

Chadwick Boseman, star of Disney’s record-breaking Black Panther, commented on the situation recently, unhappy (as most fans were) that the category was seen as a possible attempt to pull the film from Best Picture contention.

“A good movie is a good movie and clearly it doesn’t matter how much money a movie makes in order for it to be ‘a good movie’ [in the minds of Academy members] because if [it did], the movies that get nominated and win [which have tended in recent years to not be blockbusters] wouldn’t get nominated; and if it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter on both sides.” The actor adds, “For my money, the only thing that matters is the level of difficulty.”