If you were confused as to why a barely seen Johnny Depp film and a Netflix zombie movie were featured during the 2022 Oscars telecast, you’re not alone.
Nearly four years after the Academy proposed and then promptly scuttled a new “Popular Film Oscar” category, Oscar producers aimed to engage with fans of more “populist” films by introducing two fan-voted “awards” that would be handed out during the telecast: the “Oscars Fan Favorite” contest and the “Oscars Cheer Moment.” It seemed to be a thinly veiled attempt to highlight high-grossing films like “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which was only nominated in the Best Visual Effects category.