KUALA LUMPUR: In light of an increasingly apparent drop in viewership over the years, the Oscars will now include a new "fan favourite" prize for the year's most popular film as voted by Twitter users.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently made the announcement for the upcoming 94th Academy Awards that will be aired on March 27 as an effort to woo interest back to the once not-to-be-missed event.
Several highly popular people-pleasing blockbusters such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and No Time To Die did not garner any Oscar nominations in major categories, which has fuelled fears that movie fans would skip the show.
But with the new inclusion, any film released in 2021 can be voted for using the Twitter hashtag #OscarsFanFavorite or through the Academy's website, which raises hopes that traditionally overlooked films could still be honoured during the event.
It was reported that TV ratings for the Oscars had been on a major decline with last year's 10 million viewership representing a 56 per cent drop from 2020.
As Oscars voters have increasingly drifted away from more mainstream fare, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has toyed with various reforms to boost the ceremony's popularity.
Although the new "fan favourite" award will not be a formal Oscar category, the Academy's vice president of digital marketing, Meryl Johnson, said that it would "help build an engaged and excited digital audience leading up to this year's ceremony".
She added that the move would also allow fans to "engage with the show in real-time, find a community and be a part of the experience in ways they've never been able to before."
Movie fans will be able to vote up to 20 times per day until March 3, and three randomly selected winners will be invited to present an Oscar at next year's ceremony.
A separate poll will ask voters to choose their favourite "movie cheer moment." The five most popular choices ― billed as scenes where "audiences couldn't help but erupt into cheers in theatres" ― will be shown during the Oscars.
Meanwhile, it was reported that actors Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes would be co-hosting the upcoming ceremony.
The latest Oscars is set to be held at the event's traditional Dolby Theatre venue in Hollywood, after the pandemic-affected 2021 Academy Awards had taken place at a Los Angeles train station.
The show is being held later than usual, in order to avoid clashing with this month's Winter Olympics and Super Bowl in Los Angeles.