Last week, in a naked attempt to court more viewers uninterested in their artistic nominations, the Oscars announced a new, strange category: It’s called #OscarsFanFavorite, and it gives social media addicts the chance to fête a movie that actually made some money. Perhaps it can go to movie theatergoers obvious favorite: a little movie called Spider-Man: No Way Home, which has now outgrossed even Avatar (not adjusted for inflation, that is). Or maybe it will backfire even amusing fashion.
That might be the case, as Deadline reports that right now, the leading horse is Cinderella, Amazon’s much-mocked musical take on the classic fairy tale, featuring Camila Cabello, James Corden, and Billy Porter as the “Fabulous Godmother.” It’s not exactly a critical darling. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a mere 43%. But audiences don’t seem that smitten with it either, with an audience score of only 60%.
So does young social media secretly love it? Or re a bunch of chuckleheads bombing the system because they think it’ll be funny when the snicker-inducing Cinderella movie is more successful at the Oscars than the award-gobbling South Korean drama Drive My Car? Whatever the case, given the silliness of the category, people on Twitter thought it was apropos.
The result this idea deserves. https://t.co/W5WvTREKYY
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) February 20, 2022
Absolutely what we deserve. https://t.co/5PJvqtNKJT
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) February 20, 2022
This #OscarsFanFavorite is going to be a disaster. I am so excited to see the chaos it will cause! https://t.co/w81l0mEpHr
— Mat Brunet (AniMat) (@AniMat505) February 20, 2022
this is incredible, i really hope it wins just cause it would be absolutely hilarious and everyone would lose their minds https://t.co/fEK6YKloVP
— Luke (@qLxke_) February 20, 2022
This is what happens when the Oscars try to be the People’s Choice Awards or MTV Movie Awards. https://t.co/ODvUXXcuAi
— IDK (@bustedsunsets) February 20, 2022
Introduce a fan favourite poll for best picture to appease people who think the Oscars is a farce, then end up making it look even more of a joke than it already is. https://t.co/ekOMPqw7L9
— DatNoFact (@datnofact) February 20, 2022
Ask stupid little questions get stupid little answers https://t.co/ISjFlAy6iP
— sam greisman (@SAMGREIS) February 20, 2022
Welp… https://t.co/gdBpavqGy4
— Daniel Richtman #BlackLivesMatter (@DanielRPK) February 20, 2022
Only a fiasco like this could prevent this ridiculous poll from happening again. https://t.co/yYBjmARVV4
— Ronaldo Trancoso Jr (@ronaldotrancoso) February 20, 2022
Then again, it’s not too late to deep six a category that seems about as respected as the quickly aborted Popular Movie mishegoss from 2018.
(Via Deadline)