New Oscar Rules Criticized as 'Incredibly Stupid'

This isn't the first time the Academy has tried to create a separate award for blockbusters. In 2018, a "Best Popular Film" category was announced for the 91st Academy Awards but was postponed after widespread backlash from critics and Academy members who argued it would create a "ghetto" for popular films and discourage voters from considering them for Best Picture. The original attempt at a two-tiered system for top films dates back to the very first Academy Awards in 1929. For that single year, the ceremony handed out awards for both "Outstanding Picture" and "Most Artistic or Unique Production," a distinction that was quickly dropped. The push for a popular film category is largely seen as a response to declining viewership for the Oscars telecast. Ratings often correlate with the box-office success of the Best Picture nominees, with the 1998 ceremony, when "Titanic" won, remaining the most-watched broadcast on record. The 90th Academy Awards, which preceded the initial "Popular Film" announcement, saw ratings drop to an all-time low of 26.5 million viewers. While no "Popular Film" category has been implemented for the 98th ceremony, the Academy did introduce a significant new rule: members must now watch all nominated films in a category to be eligible to vote in that category's final round. This replaces the previous honor system and has been met with online surprise that it wasn't already a requirement. Other major changes for the 98th Oscars, which will air on March 15, 2026, include the debut of a competitive award for Achievement in Casting. This is the first new competitive category added since Best Animated Feature was introduced in 2001. The Academy also issued a clarification regarding the use of Generative AI. The new rules state that the use of AI tools will neither help nor harm a film's chances. Voters will be instructed to judge the achievement based on "the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship."