When the Academy announced that it would be making some changes to their signature Oscars ceremony in order to increase ratings, let’s just say it wasn’t met with a lot of praise. One of the changes included a shorter telecast, which meant we wouldn’t get to see some of the smaller Academy Awards being handed out. But the biggest change and the one that has been met with the most resistance is the introduction of the “Popular Award.”

There was no word on how a best popular film would be determined and how one would earn itself a nomination, but it looks like that award will not happen anytime soon. That’s because the Academy has decided to postpone it, at least for now.

More on the story below.

Per THR, the Academy’s Board of Governors has said that while they will shelve the idea, for now, as they would be considering more input in how to introduce the new award into the show. Which will probably be met with resistance again.

Can’t say that this wasn’t expected. Many were unhappy with the planned slimming of the telecast and were appalled at the fact that the film’s biggest annual awards ceremony would even need such an category. What’s worse, the Academy never clarified what the criteria was to earn a nomination for the popular award. Was it determined by a Rotten Tomatoes’ score or box office gross? And who would vote for it, members or the public? These are some of the questions that were never answered or it wasn’t a well thought out award and was made just to get bigger ratings.

Such an award would have hurt the chances of some other films like Black Panther or Crazy Rich Asians from deserving top honors. If the award were to happen, they would have been handed what amounts to as a participation award. But know that the award is being put on hold, these two films now have a greater chance of getting a nomination they deserve, at least we can hope.

[Source: THR]