Avatar, the People's Champ?

I found this interesting article at Business Wire - me

Americans Believe Avatar Should Win Best Picture Oscar on Sunday

Morgan Freeman and Sandra Bullock on top for acting Oscars

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--There are the dresses and the pageantry, as well as waiting to see what people will say during their acceptance speeches. But at the end of the night it comes down to three awards – best actor, best actress and best picture. There is also the new twist of having 10 movies nominated for best picture instead of the normal five.

“Who should win the Oscar for Best Actress?”

This year, one in five Americans (18%) believes that Avatar should win the Academy Award for best picture while 15% say the Oscar should go to The Blind Side. One in ten U.S. adults (9%) say The Hurt Locker should win best picture, 6% say the award should go to Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, and 5% each say the Oscar should go to Up and Inglourious Basterds. Small percentages believe the Oscar should go to Up in the Air (2%) or District 9 (2%) and less than 1% believe it should go to A Serious Man or An Education. One-third of Americans (33%) are not sure who the best picture Oscar should go to this year and 5% say it should go to none of the nominated films.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,073 adults surveyed online between March 2 and 4, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

There is a gender divide for best picture. One in five men (20%) say Avatar should win the Oscar while one in five women (20%) believe it should go to The Blind Side.

Best Actor and Actress
When it comes to the best actor statue, just over one in five Americans (21%) say Morgan Freeman should win for his performance in Invictus while just under that (18%) say the Oscar should go to Jeff Bridges for his performance in Crazy Heart. One in ten U.S. adults (11%) believe George Clooney should win for Up in the Air, 6% say Jeremy Renner should win for The Hurt Locker and 1% believe Colin Firth should take the Oscar for his performance in A Single Man. Almost two in five Americans (38%), however, say they are not sure who should win the best actor Oscar.

For best actress, there is a clear front-runner as almost two in five Americans (37%) say Sandra Bullock should win the Academy Award for her performance in The Blind Side. For her performance as master chef Julia Child in Julie & Julia, 16% believe Meryl Streep should win the Oscar. One in ten (11%) believe Gabourey Sidibe should win for her performance in Precious: based on the novel Push by Sapphire, followed by Helen Mirren in The Last Station (2%) and Carey Mulligan in An Education (1%). Three in ten Americans (30%) are not sure who should win the Academy Award for best actress.

Who will be watching?
One thing the Academy Awards have struggled with over the past few years is who should host the show. This year, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host the Awards. Over one-third of Americans (35%) believe they will be better compared to previous hosts while 36% say they will be neither better nor worse. Less than one in ten (8%) think they will be worse than the hosts from pervious telecasts.

There is also always the question of who is watching. As the shows drag on and on and producers struggle to find ways to keep the show entertaining, there is concern about lost viewers. Just over half of Americans (53%) say they will not watch the Oscars this year while 47% say they will. Women are more likely than men to say they will watch the award show (52% versus 43%).

So what?
These questions ask who Americans believe should win the Academy Awards and fan favorites and box office receipts play a large role in these choices. Avatar is critically acclaimed and has struck box-office gold so it may be like James Cameron’s previous blockbuster, Titanic, and also win the Oscar. But never count the underdogs out as the Academy has been known to produce surprises each and every year.

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