SMASHING MOVE BY OSCARS!
New category for blockbusters
The academy is changing up the script.
The governing body of the Academy Awards announced three significant changes that will impact the award show moving forward — including the introduction of a new category that's “designed around achievement in popular film.”
With this addition, the Oscars now seem poised to honor mainstream blockbusters that have frequently been ignored in the award show's most-coveted categories, despite them often outgrossing the nomination films at the box office.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” for example, is the third-highest-grossing film of all time after taking home over $2 billion, yet its five Oscar nominations in 2016 were all for behind-thescenes honors such as best sound editing, best sound mixing and best original score.
The biggest blockbusters of 2018 include “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” which has grossed over $125 million domestically since its July 27 premiere; “Black Panther,” which grossed $1.34 billion worldwide; and “Avengers: Infinity War,” which is the fourth-highestgrossing film in history after eclipsing the $2 billion plateau.
The Motion Picture Academy also announced Wednesday that the Oscars telecast will be reduced to three hours. The show has typically run for much longer than that, including this year's when the show lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes.
To achieve this, only some of the categories will be announced live, and others will be announced during commercial breaks, according to a letter sent to academy board members that was obtained by Deadline.
The third change announced by the academy is that the 2020 Oscars will take place on Feb. 9 — two weeks earlier than originally announced. The award show in the past has typically taken place in late February or early March.
John Bailey was also reelected as the president of the academy on Tuesday.