This year 2,796 Box Office Mojo readers participated in the Best Picture fantasy vote. Each user chose their top five movies from 2008, ranking from them from one to five. Nominees were determined as close as possible to the preferential voting system used by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is illustrated below. For a full explanation of how nominees are determined, click here.
Users were given ballots to fill out their top 5 choices of releaases, ranking from them from 1 to 5. Below is a chart showing the nominee outcomes using four different methods of tabulation. Definitions:
Preferential Voting is the method used by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For a full explanation of this process and method, click here.
Weighted Average means each movie selected on a ballot is assigned a point value, the first choice is worth 5 points, second choice 4 points, etc.... The totals are then added up for the result.
Overall Average means each movie selected on a ballot receives one point and the totals are added up for the result.
General Poll means each user's first choice movie is their only vote.
Note: Under the preferential voting system, ballots are redistributed in a process of elimination until five nominees are determined or only six movies remain (in which case the sixth movie is eliminated and the remaining five are the nominees).
To view a step-by-step breakdown of this process, click here.