It’s a way of involving the public in the most prestigious ceremony in cinema. The Oscarssupreme awards of the 7th American art, announced on Monday the creation of an audience prize which will celebrate in March the most popular film of the season and which will be chosen by a vote organized on Twitter.
The goal is likely to attract a new audience of faithful as audiences for the televised ceremony have only dropped in recent years. The announcement also comes after nominations were unveiled last week that snubbed big Hollywood productions like « Spider-Man : No Way Home » or the last James Bondfilms that almost single-handedly saved the box office during a year of health restrictions.
Up to twenty votes per day
Specialists fear that this absence will further distance the general public from the Oscars ceremony, the 94th edition of which is being held on March 27 in Los Angeles (California, United States). Hence this idea of promoting this new Oscar category by calling on fans to vote on Twitter for their favorite film of 2021 using the hashtag #OscarsFanFavorite, or directly on the Academy of Oscars website.
Audiences for the ceremony have plummeted in recent years, with only ten million viewers last year for an edition which, Covid-19 pandemic obliges, has especially awarded independent films like “Nomadland” by Chloe Zhao. This figure was down 56% compared to the previous edition, itself at an all-time low.
For Meryl Johnson, vice president of the Academy of Oscars in charge of digital marketing, the creation of an audience award will allow moviegoers to “participate in the spectacle in real time, to create a community and to be part of the experience like never before”. Fans are allowed to vote up to 20 times per day and voting will close on March 3. Three lucky winners will be invited to present an Oscar during the 2023 edition.