Brightness
It makes sense that Disney would; after the Fox deal they own so much of the industry they’re practically guaranteed to dominate the category. It’s basically free awards and publicity for them.
This also raises my respect for Marvel that they’re ignoring the free award and want their films to be judged for their actual merit.
PSN ID: FateSeraph | Switch friendcode: SW-0145-8835-0610 Congratulations! She/They
It was not Disney pushing for it, it was ABC. Frankly, Disney should really rethink the current leadership. It hasn't done ABC any favours so far.
Announcement by the Academy: the Best Popular Film category will not debut at the 2019 Oscars.
Edited by Tuckerscreator on Sep 8th 2018 at 1:31:47 AM
Now tell us that you've scrapped this ridiculous idea.
Damn. I kinda wanted to see a brouhaha when "Black Panther" won that category.
With all the memes about women choosing a bear over a man, Hollywood might wanna get on an 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' adaptation
At least with that category they would be upfront about separating the elite with good taste (i.e. them) from the lowly mass of consumer sheep.
But the “consumer sheep” provide views and ratings, which is where the pay comes from, so you mustn’t fully alienate them. 
Edited by Tuckerscreator on Sep 15th 2018 at 1:17:04 AM
I'd rather they go the other way, accept lower ratings and start airing the Oscars on a cable channel.
I hope Hereditary, A Quiet Place, and especially Annihilation get some love this coming Oscars.
Availability of the movie has always been a hurdle. It is still like running a business, you may offer a great product/service that the public would adore but if you don't advertise, choose the wrong location to set up shop, refuse to spend any more than you absolutely have to and/or antagonize your neighbors, you are going to fail. The broader the standards as to what qualifies, all that will do is divide the vote and make it so that fewer movies reach the minimum requirement for nomination. An organization as vast as the Academy shouldn't be expected to acknowledge home movies made in someone's backyard. And given the amount of money required to make even the smallest film Oscar worthy, I do not feel bad expecting them to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars on a minimum theatrical run (kind of reminds me of the South Park PSA about stealing songs from millionaire rock stars, preventing them from buying another island).
As for Marvel rejecting the Popular Movie category, that's almost hilarious because Disney was the one pushing for it and, more than likely, was trying to get Marvel movies more nominations.