The move is presumably intended to attract a new following of devotees as audiences for the televised ceremony have only plummeted in recent years.
The announcement also comes after the nominations unveiled last week which snubbed big Hollywood productions like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" or the latest James Bond, films that almost single-handedly saved the box office for a while. year of health restrictions.
Specialists fear that this absence will further distance the general public from the Oscars ceremony, the 94th edition of which is being held on March 27 in Los Angeles.
Hence this idea of promoting this new Oscar category by calling on fans to vote on Twitter for their favorite film of 2021 using the hashtag #OscarsFanFavorite, or directly on the Academy of Oscars website.
Audiences for the ceremony have collapsed in recent years, with only ten million viewers last year for an edition which, due to the pandemic, mainly awarded independent films like "Nomadland" by Chloé Zhao.
This figure was down 56% compared to the previous edition, itself at an all-time low.
For Meryl Johnson, vice president of the Academy of Oscars in charge of digital marketing, the creation of an audience award will allow moviegoers to "participate in the spectacle in real time, to create a community and to be part of the experience like never before".
Fans are allowed to vote up to 20 times per day and voting will close on March 3.
Three lucky winners will be invited to present an Oscar during the 2023 edition.
© 2022 AFP