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6/30/2009 3:34 AM

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In the last couple of years, there have been increasing accusations that the Academy Awards have been out of step with the tastes of average moviegoers.

While the rank-and-file flocked to "The Dark Knight" last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated small-scale dramas like "The Reader" and "Frost/Nixon" for Best Picture and ignored "The Dark Knight," with the exception of an acting nod for the late Heath Ledger and nominations in some technical categories.

Well, with the word last week that the Academy will expand the field to 10 Best Picture nominees starting with the ceremony next March, there's a greater chance that crowd-pleasers like "The Dark Knight" and other blockbusters will have a place at the table on Hollywood's biggest night. There's also the likelihood that high-profile documentaries, comedies and foreign films could end up being nominated.

"Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize," according to Academy president Sid Ganis.

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This isn't without precedent; from 1936 to 1943, the Academy named 10 Best Picture nominees each year. Those were the years when the "dream factory" was working at full crank and Hollywood pumped out hundreds of movies. And when you look back on a year like 1939, usually considered the greatest in Hollywood's history, having any less than 10 Best Picture nominees would have seemed ridiculous when you consider the crop they had to work with: "Stagecoach," "Love Affair," "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," "Dark Victory," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Of Mice and Men," "Ninotchka," "Wuthering Heights," "The Wizard of Oz" and the winner, "Gone With the Wind."

Increasing the number of Best Picture nominees could prove to be a mixed blessing. It'll raise the profile of worthy films that would otherwise have a hard time finding an audience, and also give movies that usually don't fit the profile of a Best Picture nominee a chance at the top trophy, such as the critically-acclaimed animated film "Up."

By the same token, there's also every likelihood that the Best Picture category could become cluttered with big-and-bombastic effects extravaganzas that are being honored more for their performance at the box office than their actual quality.

"Transformers 2" for Best Picture? Let's hope not.

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