LOS ANGELES — The most unpopular move the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may have ever made was reversed on Thursday: The next Academy Awards will not add a category for achievement in “popular” films after all.

But the concept may not be completely dead.

“There has been a wide range of reactions to the introduction of a new award, and we recognize the need for further discussion with our members,” Dawn Hudson, the academy’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Ms. Hudson emphasized in a subsequent telephone interview that the academy was not abandoning its effort to “honor excellence across a wider scope of films.”

“We’ve had a lot of positive comments from members about that principle,” she added.

The creation of the category, announced last month and rooted in an attempt to increase ratings for the Oscars telecast, prompted swift and severe blowback from the public and some members of the academy. In rushing out the news, the academy did not provide details about what would constitute a “popular” film, further inflaming the situation.