There’s a healthy and reasonable impulse behind this Best Popular Film category: Honoring larger movies that audiences see.
And adding a Best Popular Film category does allow the opportunity to include more movies on the show and in the competition.
If there are ten Best Picture nominees and then five additional Best Popular Film nominees, you’re now approaching ten percent of all of a year’s wide releases getting Best Picture nominations.
You don’t need to include The Fugitive in your Best Picture Ballot; instead, you can nominate it for Best Popular Film, and then vote for a smaller film in its place.