Blockbuster Fans Vote “Argo” to Win Best Picture at the 2013 Academy Awards

Consumers cast ballots on BlockbusterAwards.com and compete with Melissa Rivers in the Blockbuster Awards Night “Fan”-tasy Movie League

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With Hollywood’s biggest night just days away, BLOCKBUSTER^® is offering an inside peek at who 2013 Academy Awards® fans want to see take home golden statuettes on February 24. Fans from across the world have cast ballots on BlockbusterAwards.com® – an interactive website designed for people to host, manage and participate in a fantasy league celebrating the Academy Awards – and now BLOCKBUSTER is opening the envelopes to share the nominees currently leading in the hearts of consumers.

“Although I like Christoph Waltz for Best Supporting Actor, the votes are close and even if he doesn’t pull off the win, I know we’ll see him nominated again down the road”

“With thousands of pools already created, the Blockbuster Awards Night Movie League provides an excellent read on the feelings of movie fans across the nation,” said Mitch Weinraub, Blockbuster vice president of product marketing. “It is interesting to see the fan favorites, but it’s not over just yet. We are seeing shifts in numbers each day as we draw closer to the big night.”

Popular reality TV star, host and producer Melissa Rivers is hosting her online Awards Night league on BlockbusterAwards.com and has invited consumers to join to compete against her. Currently, the statistics reveal she is at odds with the overwhelming majority of consumers who have chosen “Argo” for Best Picture. “I have to disagree with the fan favorite here and stick with ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ – which I cannot believe fans selected as a tie with ‘Les Miserables’ in third place after ‘Lincoln’!” said Melissa Rivers. “With this update, I’m thinking I’ll pull off an easy victory against folks competing against me! I’m challenging everyone to prove me wrong by joining my pool! Remember, if history at the Oscars has taught us anything, we will see the love story pull off the victory. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper gave fantastic performances, although I agree with most voters that Daniel Day-Lewis will take the Best Actor category.”

The breakdown in consumer votes on BlockbusterAwards.com for Best Picture is as follows:

Best Picture

• “Argo”: 39%
• “Lincoln”: 22%
• “Les Miserables”: 10%
• “Silver Linings Playbook”: 10%
• “Life of Pi”: 7%
• “Django Unchained”: 5%
• “Zero Dark Thirty”: 5%
• “Beasts of the Southern Wild”: 2%

Consumers are aligned with Melissa Rivers in both the Actor and Actress in a Leading Role categories, selecting Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence to win. The widest margin of votes on the ballot currently is between Daniel Day-Lewis and the tie with Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper:

Actor in a Leading Role	Actress in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis: 67%	Jennifer Lawrence: 47%
Hugh Jackman: 12%	Jessica Chastain: 29%
Bradley Cooper: 12%	Naomi Watts: 9%
Denzel Washington: 8%	Quvenzhane Wallis: 8%
Joaquin Phoenix: 1%	Emmanuelle Riva: 6%

“I see consumers have taken my advice here – my scientific formula for selecting best and supporting actors and actresses,” said Rivers. “You take the best dressed and best performance from each category and when merged together, you get the real winner. For example, Naomi Watts has great style and fashion sense and Jessica Chastain gave a strong performance in ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ but when you combine the two, Jennifer Lawrence is Best Actress in a Leading Role.”

Consumers are in fact in agreement with Rivers and her formula for selecting Academy Award nominees; the Actor and Actress in a Supporting Roles categories are as follows:

Actor in a Supporting Role	Actress in a Supporting Role
Tommy Lee Jones: 32%	Anne Hathaway: 68%
Christoph Waltz: 30%	Sally Field: 20%
Robert DeNiro: 19%	Jacki Weaver: 5%
Alan Arkin: 11%	Amy Adams: 4%
Phillip Seymour Hoffman: 8%	Helen Hunt: 3%

“Although I like Christoph Waltz for Best Supporting Actor, the votes are close and even if he doesn’t pull off the win, I know we’ll see him nominated again down the road,” said Rivers. “I think we can all agree on Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress and there won’t be a surprise in that category. Actor in a Supporting Role though, we shall see – could make for an upset because Robert DeNiro was strong in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’.”

Both Rivers and consumers want to see Adele dressed for another Hollywood win for “Skyfall.” Consumer votes for Best Original Song are as follows:

Best Original Song

“Skyfall” – Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth: 66%

“Suddenly” – Claude-Michael Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boulil: 24%

“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” - Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane: 5%

“Pi’s Lullaby” – Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri: 3%

“Before My Time” – J. Ralph: 1%

BLOCKBUSTER will update its blog at http://bit.ly/BlockbusterAwardsStats with the latest consumer votes for each of the 2013 Academy Awards categories twice daily from now until February 24.

During the live broadcast of the event, BlockbusterAwards.com will update with real-time stats based on individual picks and pools. Participants can track their results from their home computer, iPhone, iPad or Android device. Follow along for the results of Melissa Rivers’ celebrity pool and enjoy the friendly competition and reveal of the night’s big winners.

Visit www.BlockbusterAwards.com to sign up and join or host a league. The Blockbuster Awards Night Ballot is free to anyone who wishes to participate; a pre-existing Blockbuster account is not required.

About Blockbuster

Blockbuster L.L.C., a subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), is a leader in the movie and game industry in digital and disc rentals and sales. Blockbuster provides convenient access to family entertainment through a variety of channels – by mail via www.blockbuster.com, in nearly 800 stores across the U.S., via digital movie downloads using a PC, Blu-ray player, connected TV or portable device and via Blockbuster@Home through DISH – making it easy and convenient to access family entertainment. Stores offer a variety of memberships for every type of movie lover, as well as games for all major gaming devices, including Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360. Focused on ease and convenience, it is no wonder that Blockbuster serves millions of customers nationally and internationally. Visit www.blockbuster.com.

About DISH

DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), through its subsidiary DISH Network L.L.C., provides approximately 14.056 million satellite TV customers, as of Dec. 31, 2012, with the highest quality programming and technology with the most choices at the best value, including HD Free for Life. Subscribers enjoy the largest high definition line-up with more than 200 national HD channels, the most international channels, and award-winning HD and DVR technology. DISH Network Corporation's subsidiary, Blockbuster L.L.C., delivers family entertainment to millions of customers around the world. DISH Network Corporation is a Fortune 200 company. Visit www.dish.com.