The Gap Between Oscars Voters and Viewers

The Academy Awards have been the most prestigious awards in Hollywood since 1929, recognizing the very best films of each year. The Awards, also known as the Oscars, are voted on by a body of around 10,000 Hollywood workers, including actors, directors, writers, and more. However, the voting body (The Academy) of the awards comprises merely a miniscule fraction of the total viewers of these films. This has caused ongoing controversy, with many renowned film critics, such as Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert, and Jonathan Rosenbaum being disdainful of them. Overall, the Oscars’ neglect of blockbusters, controversial voting body, and tendencies of succumbing to campaigning tactics have made the awards a point of contention in the film scene over the years. 

A particular fallacy of the Oscars is their neglect of blockbusters. These films, especially within the comic-book genre, typically only receive technical awards, if a nomination at all. Often seen as formulaic and “theme park rides” (Anonymous Academy voter, 2023), comic-book films, and to a lesser extent, blockbusters, have almost always been overlooked in terms of acting, directing, and cinematography. The unfair prejudice against easily the most popular genre in Hollywood to favor more “prestigious” works, such as dramas, biopics, and historical films, has created distaste from the millions of fans of blockbusters. Notably, The Dark Knight (2008), a film nearly universally cited as the greatest comic-book film ever, was omitted from a Best Picture nomination in the 2009 awards. This caused outrage from fans and prompted the Academy to increase the number of Best Picture nominees from five to 10 in 2010. Additionally, in all of the Academy’s history, only six Best Picture winners have grossed over a billion dollars (adjusted for inflation). While this trend was challenged in 2024, with Oppenheimer (2023) winning Best Picture and becoming the second highest grossing R-Rated film at the time, the Academy immediately reverted to their status quo in 2025 by picking Anora (2024) to win Best Picture, a film that grossed less than 60 million. 

Another issue with the Academy is their very limited and controversial voting body of actors, directors, and other Hollywood members. While the voting body has expanded and diversified in recent years, only around 10,000 members vote on films millions have seen. The inclusion of a critics and an audience body would allow for the people watching the films and reviewing them to get a say in the award shows they watch, while not dominating the results. Regarding the 2025 Oscars, in an anonymous survey conducted by Variety, many gave very subjective reasons for their picks. For instance, two voters did not vote for Ralph Fiennes in Conclave (2024) to win best actor because they mistakenly believed he had “won before” for his role in Schindler’s List (1993). One of them even voted for Adrien Brody in The Brutalist (2024) to win despite the fact that he actually had won for his role in The Pianist (2002), highlighting how the Academy not only chooses their winners for the wrong reasons, but also many voters’ lack of knowledge. Choosing the biggest awards in Hollywood based on past winners undermines their current performance and the performances competing with them, a flaw the Academy desperately needs to change. In an article written by Entertainment Weekly, four anonymous voters revealed they didn't watch Dune: Part Two (2024) because it was “too long” or lack of interest in the first one. This omission of a film that should be a Best Picture frontrunner shows how out of touch the Academy is. If the Academy hosted mandatory screenings for the nominees, this issue could be significantly mitigated by making sure every film gets a fair chance. 

Academy tendencies, such as their bias against films released earlier in the year, and their susceptibility to campaigns have also hurt their reputation in the past. Like the aforementioned Dune: Part Two, the film was also overlooked because of the Academy’s bias against films released earlier in the year. While a few films, such as Parasite (2019) have won Best Picture despite being released earlier in the year, the timing of these films makes it harder to campaign effectively for them. If mandatory screenings come to fruition, placing them near the voting deadline would also remove recency bias and allow for a more fair voting process. The process of voting is also unfair due to the focus on the campaign of films makes the awards feel like a greedy production instead of a celebration of film. With strategic planning, certain individuals can shift public favor in the eyes of a film that wasn’t originally a frontrunner, but became one through corrupt, political-esque tactics. This was especially clear in 1999, where Harvey Weinstein aggressively campaigned for Shakespeare in Love (1998) and eventually won Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan (1998), the clear favorite amongst critics, audiences, and even other directors. Through aggressive voter targeting, undermining other nominees, and outspending any other studio on ads, he manufactured the most prestigious award in Hollywood and reshaped studio mindsets on Oscar campaigning. To make matters worse, history repeated itself. In 2011, Harvey Weinstein aggressively campaigned once more, this time for The King’s Speech (2010). The Academy once again fell for this bait, choosing the film to win best picture over the far more acclaimed The Social Network (2010), which certainly would have won had it not been for Weinstein’s excessive campaigns, with many voters later realizing they voted incorrectly due to being swept up in the marketing for The King’s Speech. To prevent such occurrences from arising once more, the Academy could limit the marketing campaign budgets and create a defined set of rules on fair promotion of films. The Academy has frequently chosen Best Picture winners that are eventually frowned upon, such as Citizen Kane (1941) losing to How Green Was My Valley (1941) and again in 1995 with Forrest Gump (1994) beating The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Pulp Fiction (1994). While there have been instances where the Academy has had the agreement of the public, such as Casablanca (1942), The Godfather (1972), Schindler’s List (1993), and Parasite, the snubs outnumber the definitive wins, working against the Oscars’ credibility. 

Despite being the most prestigious award show in Hollywood, the Academy Awards has garnered a fair amount of criticism for its strange tendencies, controversial voters, and omission of blockbusters in the 97 years since its inception. Many don't even care anymore about the awards, and with the digital age of streaming and scrolling, it will be harder than ever to maintain a substantial audience for this show. On the other hand, the Academy’s yearly expansion bodes well for the future and hints at less controversy in the upcoming years, unifying the voting body, and the viewers. With a few changes, such as limiting their prejudice against blockbusters, expanding their voting body to critics and audiences, mandatory screenings close to the voting date, and restrictions on campaigning, the Academy can retake its status among the people. If the Academy truly wishes to preserve its legacy, it must start rewarding excellence, wherever that appears.