SUNDAY TIMES WEB DESK: Other box-office hits among the eight nominees for the movie industry’s top prize included musical remake “A Star is Born” and rock biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The inclusion of popular films contrasted with the past few years when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences favored independent dramas with small audiences and snubbed commercial successes such as “Wonder Woman.”
The academy attempted to address the issue in August by proposing a new popular film category. But the idea was quickly scrapped after criticism that it would create a two-tier system of popular and less mainstream films.
Tuesday’s nominations showed popular films had broken into the best picture race. The field reflected “the perfect intersection of art and commerce,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at measurement firm Comscore.
“The academy is clearly honoring blockbuster films this year,” he said, “and is acknowledging their contributions to the art of filmmaking and thus recognizing the level of talent involved.”