The 94th Academy Awards included its fair share of unsettling surprises, but a new report has unveiled some foul play regarding the victories for Zack Snyder's Justice League and Army of the Dead in two of the ceremony's newly added award categories.
The 94th Academy Awards introduced the brand-new categories ahead of this year's awards ceremony to combat steadily depleting ratings. The ceremony posted its lowest viewership ever in 2021 with 9.8 million viewers and looked to these new categories and other elements to bring excitement back to a once-thriving production. For the first time, Twitter users voted for their favorite film in the "Fan Favorite" category and their favorite movie moment in the "Cheer Moment" category.
Snyder eventually took home the prize in both categories, seeing his film Army of the Dead win the "Fan Favorite" vote and Zack Snyder's Justice League win the "Cheer Moment" vote for The Flash's phenomenal run through the Speed Force. According to The Wrap, the award ceremony's "Fan Favorite" and "Cheer Moment" categories may have been rigged in favor of notable director Zack Snyder. The report revealed that automated online bots were the most active contributors to both voting categories and cast thousands of fake votes in favor of the emblematic director.
Snyder and his representatives have yet to comment on the new findings, while the Academy is firmly standing its ground, highlighting the measures taken to ensure votes were accurate and fair. The Academy has plans to potentially bring these new fan favorite Oscars categories back for next year's award ceremony, but plans may change if further findings indicate that an element of fairness was taken out of the equation for audiences and makers of the fan-nominated films. The newly added categories were debated heavily before the awards ceremony because of their veiled attempt to include some notable projects in the telecast.
Spider-Man: No Way Home was the highest-grossing film of 2021 and single-handedly reignited the pandemic-affected domestic and international box office. The Marvel Studios and Sony film has earned $1.8 billion across the globe but was only able to generate one Oscar nomination in the Best Visual Effect category. Many were upset and angered to see Spider-Man: No Way Home disregarded so heavily, which many believe prompted the creation of the fan award categories. However, the plan backfired, as the web-slinging hero came in fourth place in the "Fan Favorite" category.
The Academy Awards have been declining due to their lack of relevance and connection to everyday moviegoers. The 2022 ceremony ratings did somewhat rise from the previous year, but it still posted the second-lowest ratings in history. A rigged voting system is not a recipe for increasing viewership, especially when it robs audiences of a voice they believed to have. However, the Academy is standing firm that the outcomes from both categories were accurate, so it'll be interesting to see how things develop later on down the road.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is now available on HBO Max.
Source: The Wrap