Another Oscars MISFIRE: Hollywood set to reward little-seen cinema, when crowds ... trends now
The organizers of the Oscars want this weekend's gala to have more mainstream appeal and draw a crowd, after watching viewer numbers tumble this past decade.
To that end, more box-office smashes like Top Gun: Maverick have been nominated in the best picture category of the 95th Academy Awards than has been the case in recent years.
Still, that does not mean the producers of a fan favorite will grace the stage to collect the top award at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
A DailyMail.com analysis shows a gulf between the hit movies that crowds adore, and the little-seen films that bookmakers predict will come out of the envelope at the end of the night.
We compared a recent YouGov survey of some 2,000 US moviegoers against the favorites to win the best picture gong, according to sportsbooks FanDuel and DraftKings.
Our chart shows how US popcorn-munchers remains profoundly at odds with the nearly 9,500 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
American theatergoers say Top Gun: Maverick should win the best picture at Sunday night's Academy Awards. Pictured: Tom Cruise reprising his role as a bad boy fighter pilot
It shows that most regular theatergoers want the top prize to go to Top Gun: Maverick, last year's box office smash featuring Tom Cruise reprising his role as a bad boy fighter pilot.
Instead, the bookmakers say academy members will most likely select Everything Everywhere All At Once, an absurdist sci-fi indie romp about a Chinese-American immigrant family.
The same goes for second place. Real-world audiences are keen on James Cameron's computer-generated blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water, the most expensive movie of all time.
Instead, the bookies say the second most likely winner is The Banshees of Inisherin.
The tragicomedy, set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland in the 1920s, barely scraped into last year's top 100 box office earners.
The pattern continues. The bookies' third most-likely winner, however, is the acclaimed anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front, a foreign language film in German and French.
Which Oscar nominee should win best picture?
All Quiet on the Western Front 517 votes Avatar: The Way of Water 153 votes The Banshees of Inisherin 814 votes Elvis 485 votes Everything Everywhere All at Once 525 votes The Fabelmans 77 votes Tár 72 votes Top Gun: Maverick 1353 votes Triangle of Sadness 73 votes Women Talking 47 votesNow share your opinion
Our chart shows how US popcorn-munchers remains profoundly at odds with the nearly 9,500 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The stark difference between the high-grossing public faves and what the academy rewards has been a growing issue in recent years.
Like other awards shows, the Oscars has steadily lost viewers, particularly among younger people who are
