Rewriting Oscar history: Who won best popular film?

Brian Truitt | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Academy adds new Oscars category: popular film The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said Wednesday it is creating a new category to honor “achievement in popular film.”

For better or for worse, the Academy Awards are making a bold move and adding a category for outstanding achievement in popular film, giving huge blockbusters a chance at a major win on Oscars night.

It makes one wonder: Had this category been around for a while, which popular films would have taken home Oscar glory?

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Let’s look back at the last decade, from 2008 – when “The Dark Knight” was such a critical and box-office hit that its best-picture snub compelled the Academy to expand the category – through 2017, and imagine which movies would have made the cut for best popular film and which ones (in bold) would have conquered the field. (While the Academy is still figuring out its criteria, we’re taking into account box-office performance, critical reception and pop-culture awareness.)

2008

“The Dark Knight”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”

“Iron Man”

“Twilight”

“WALL-E”

Christopher Nolan’s hugely influential second "Batman" film was the gold standard for superhero films until the Marvel Cinematic Universe hit its stride and snagged an Oscar for Heath Ledger. “Dark Knight” wins this going away.

2009

“Avatar”

“The Hangover”

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

“Star Trek”

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”

“The Hangover” and “Star Trek” were both successful kickoffs to new movie series, but "Avatar" racked up the biggest haul of all time that awards season. “Titanic” won best picture when it became the box-office champ, so “Avatar” (which also got a best-picture nod) would easily win an Oscar for top blockbuster.

2010

“Alice in Wonderland”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”

“Inception”

“Iron Man 2”

“Toy Story 3”

The third “Toy Story” installment snagged two wins at the 2011 Oscars, for best animated feature and original song. Add in a popular film category, and that count rises to three for the powerhouse Pixar flick.

2011

"Bridesmaids"

“Fast Five”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”

“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”

History is made as the “Fast and Furious” franchise gets its first Oscar nomination ever. Unfortunately for Vin Diesel and Co., the Academy likes to honor bodies of work and – akin to “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” winning best picture – the eighth and final “Harry Potter” earns the prize.

2012

“The Avengers”

“The Dark Knight Rises”

“The Hunger Games”

“Skyfall”

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

Sorry, James Bond, Katniss Everdeen, Bilbo Baggins and Batman: The super team-up of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is unlike any comic-book movie to date and gets an Oscar for the effort.

2013

“The Conjuring”

“Frozen”

“Gravity”

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

“Iron Man 3”

“Frozen” takes best animated feature and original song but doesn’t snag best popular film, which goes to “Gravity,” an also-ran in best picture. Voters see a chance to honor an original sci-fi movie with big stars (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) that's a success across the board with audiences and critics.

2014

“American Sniper”

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

“Guardians of the Galaxy”

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”

“The Lego Movie”

“American Sniper” had a lot of heat going into the 2015 Oscars, even nabbing a best-picture nomination. It may be a little too serious for this category, though, and “Guardians of the Galaxy” gets the win for heart, humor and the way a talking raccoon and alien tree captured pop culture’s imagination.

2015

“Avengers: Age of Ultron”

“Creed”

“Jurassic World”

"Mad Max: Fury Road"

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

The first “Star Wars” film in a decade took over Hollywood as a full-fledged phenomenon and conquers this category easily, with new Jedi heroine Rey foiling rampaging dinosaurs, the Avengers, Mad Max and a returning Rocky Balboa.

2016

“Captain America: Civil War”

“Deadpool”

“Moana”

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

"Suicide Squad"

While “Civil War” has the A-list star power, “Deadpool” was clever enough to position itself as a left-field Oscars contender even without this category. With it? Fox launches the craziest awards-season campaign ever, and Ryan Reynolds accepts the award for best popular film in costumed character, dropping a pair of bleeped-out f-bombs.

2017

“Beauty and the Beast”

“It”

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

“Get Out”

“Wonder Woman”

The horror genre gets a boost with nods for Stephen King’s clown-fueled fright fest as well as Jordan Peele’s best-picture contender, and “Star Wars” gets a third nomination in as many years. “Wonder Woman” had a massive cultural impact in terms of female representation and girl power, though, enough that there’s no question that Gal Gadot’s heroine deserves the honor.