Ratings for the Oscars continue to decline, and many cite the Academy's inability to connect with modern audiences as being the primary issue. The ceremony has become increasingly snobbish in recent years, though, with members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences essentially patting each other on the backs for a job well done rather than recognising the movies people love.
Academy member Oprah Winfrey recently insinuated that this is because we're all too dumb to know what makes a good movie, and that will be put to the test with the new "Fan Favorite" category.
Twitter users will be given the opportunity to choose what they feel was the best movie from the past year, but there's bad news for those hoping to hijack the voting process on behalf of Zack Snyder's Justice League. The rules stipulate that, "An entrant's Favorite Movie can be any of the eligible movies for The 94th Academy Awards -- all movies are displayed on the Oscars website. Home movies or films which are/were not eligible CANNOT be used as Favorite Movie."
The Academy also provided a list of eligible movies (don't worry, Spider-Man: No Way Home is among them), and Zack Snyder's Justice League is not listed.
There's speculation online that the Academy may have deliberately made this decision due to the risk of the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse movement taking control of the vote However, there's a similar risk with Spider-Man: No Way Home given the anger and disappointment surrounding the movie being snubbed for "Best Picture," so the Academy is unlikely to get the result they want either way!
It was recently confirmed that Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes will host this year's Oscars despite speculation that Spider-Man: No Way Home star Tom Holland might be involved.
We'll find out what happens when the Oscars are held on March 27.