The Blockbuster Entertainment Awards was a film awards ceremony, founded by Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., that ran from 1995 until 2001, and ended with the decision to cancel the 2002 awards following concerns after the September 11 attacks. They were produced each year by Ken Ehrlich.[1][2]
Formation and first awards
The awards were first held on June 3, 1995, at the Pantages Theatre[3] and broadcast on June 6.[4] The idea for the awards show came from Blockbuster marketing executive Brian Woods,[5] who worked on the project for about two years.[6] Blockbuster reportedly saw creating the awards as a way of promoting both the company and also the performers whose records and films were sold in their stores.
We wanted to have entertainers who are truly public favorites, like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone or Jean-Claude Van Damme, people who do big box office and big business in home video, but are not in the foreseeable future likely to be nominated for an Academy Award.
CBS signed a contract to screen the awards in late 1994, and Ken Ehrlich was hired to produce the show. Winners were determined by votes cast by customers in Blockbuster stores. The ballot consisted of the year's three top-grossing films, videos, and music albums[5] in 33 categories.[6] Over 1.5 million votes were cast and approximately 10 million people watched the awards on television. The music and video industry "turned out in full force" for the event, which was hosted by Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin. Celebrities attending included Bill Pullman, George Clooney, Kurt Russell, Steve Martin, Jennifer Tilly, Melanie Griffith, Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard, and David Spade.[4]Jim Carrey, who won three awards, was one of the few winners who thanked voters for his award, stating: "I'm thankful for this award, even if you rented my tapes just to show the guy behind the counter that you rent more than porn videos." Eileen Fitzpatrick of Billboard magazine stated that the awards show was "surprisingly entertaining", and applauded Blockbuster for "raising the status of home video". Fitzpatrick questioned the idea of handing out awards for films in both theatrical and video releases, saying it did not make much sense, as almost all films nominated had been out on video for several months. This caused confusion for recipients, many of whom did not understand what award they were getting. Sandra Bullock had just received the award for Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Actress in Video for the film Speed, when she was named the winner for the same film in the theatrical category, and "literally didn't know whether she was coming on or going off the stage."[7]
Subsequent awards
The second Blockbuster Entertainment Awards were held on March 6, 1996[8] at the Pantages Theatre.[9]Kelsey Grammer hosted the awards. As Blockbuster was owned by Viacom, who also owned Paramount Pictures, MTV, Big Ticket Television and Worldvision Enterprises, producer Ken Ehrlich stated the awards "bent over backward" to avoid any connections with Paramount, in order to give the awards more credibility. Paramount productions were nominated for only 5 of the 49 nominations, though coverage of the awards switched from CBS to the United Paramount Network.[10] Unlike the first awards, which were taped and aired later, the 2nd awards were aired live.[11]
The 3rd Blockbuster Entertainment Awards were held on March 11, 1997, at the Pantages Theatre. Over 11 million votes were cast, which made it the largest publicly voted awards presentation in history at the time.[12]
The 5th Blockbuster Entertainment Awards were held on June 16, 1999[13] at the Shrine Auditorium.[14][15] Approximately 6.5 million people watched the awards on television.[16]Harry Connick, Jr. described his nomination for Best Actor for the critically panned film Hope Floats as "absolutely insane".[17]
These were the categories presented at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.
Movies
Favorite Actor - Action/Adventure
Favorite Actress - Action/Adventure
Favorite Actor - Comedy
Favorite Actress - Comedy
Favorite Actor - Drama
Favorite Actress - Drama
Favorite Actor - Horror
Favorite Actress - Horror
Favorite Actor - Science Fiction
Favorite Actress - Science Fiction
Favorite Actor - Suspense
Favorite Actress - Suspense
Favorite Actor - Newcomer
Favorite Actress - Newcomer
Family Animated Favorite
Family Favorite
Family Favorite Film
Favorite Family Film
Favorite Supporting Actor - Action/Adventure
Favorite Supporting Actress - Action/Adventure
Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy
Favorite Supporting Actress - Comedy
Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama
Favorite Supporting Actress - Drama
Favorite Supporting Actor - Horror
Favorite Supporting Actress - Horror
Favorite Supporting Actor - Science Fiction
Favorite Supporting Actress - Science Fiction
Favorite Supporting Actor - Suspense
Favorite Supporting Actress - Suspense
Favorite Actor - Drama/Romance
Favorite Actress - Drama/Romance
Favorite Actor - Comedy/Romance
Favorite Actress - Comedy/Romance
Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama/Romance
Favorite Supporting Actress - Drama/Romance
Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy/Romance
Favorite Supporting Actress - Comedy/Romance
Favorite Comedy Team
Favorite Action Team
Favorite Actor - Action
Favorite Actress - Action
Favorite Actor - Action/Science Fiction
Favorite Supporting Actor - Action/Science Fiction
Favorite Villain
Filmmaker Award
World Artist Award
Music
Favorite CD
Favorite Duo/Group - Country
Favorite Female - Country
Favorite Male - Country
Favorite Female - R&B
Favorite Group - R&B
Favorite Male - Rap
Favorite Group - Rap
Favorite Group - Classic Rock
Favorite Group - Modern Rock
Favorite Soundtrack
Favorite Group - Pop
Favorite Female - Pop
Favorite Group - New Artist
Favorite Male - New Artist
Favorite Female - New Artist
Favorite Male Artist - Pop
Favorite Artist - Rap
Favorite Latino Artist
Favorite Latino Group
Favorite Single
Favorite Song from a Movie
Favorite Artist - Comedy
Favorite Female Artist of the Year
Favorite Male Artist of the Year
Favorite Group of the Year
Video Games
Favorite Video Game
Favorite PlayStation Game
Favorite PlayStation 2 Game
Favorite Nintendo 64 Game
Favorite Game Boy Game
Favorite Dreamcast Game
Cancellation
In November 2001, after having run for seven consecutive years, Blockbuster announced they were canceling the awards following concerns after the September 11 attacks, stating: "Due to the uncertainty of the times, we can't predict consumer response to our show, nor audience behavior—especially media viewing habits—all of which are being affected by world events."[22][23] Blockbuster stated their decision to cancel the awards was influenced by the fact that the 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards had to be rescheduled twice following security concerns after the September 11 attacks, and that when they did air, their ratings were 22% lower than the previous year.[16]
Ratings
Viewership and ratings per Blockbuster Entertainment Awards broadcast