'Predict the Oscars' contest names winners at Meadowview and Paramount theaters

Speeches were made, "selfies" taken, pizza shared and the 2014 Oscars ceremony has now come to a close. After hours of sorting and counting, Classic Cinemas announces the winners of the annual "Predict the Oscars" contest.

Bourbonnais resident Craig Graveline takes home the prize for the Meadowview Theatre and Charlene Phillips was selected at the Paramount Theatre. Both patrons will receive a yearlong movie pass for one valid at any Classic Cinemas theater, and two passes to the Brookfield Zoo.

"This year's group of Oscar winners was a bit 'more predictable' than others, which opened the field for more patrons to receive prizes for their correct predictions," explained Classic Cinemas Vice President Chris Johnson. "We were quite impressed by the number of patrons who participated in our annual Oscar contest, and are pleased that movies continue to engage, enlighten and entertain our loyal customers."

This year, winners range from 27 to 80 years old, and over 7,608 ballots were cast during the six-week contest. In order to win, customers needed to predict all seven categories correctly: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Animated Film.

Graveline, 53, first visited the Meadowview Theatre in 1967 with his mother to see "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." He later recalls seeing the premiere of the 1970 classic, "Airport" at the Meadowview as well. After watching the 2014 Oscars with his brother, Graveline knew he had guessed all the categories correct but didn't expect to win. He only entered one ballot into the contest.

"I saw all the movies, but I sure didn't expect to win the one-year pass because I figured this year there would be a lot of people that had a lot of the categories right."

Classic Cinemas received 255 correct ballots this year, and each of the 13 theaters selected one winner from the correct ballots at that location. The remaining correct ballots entered at the Meadowview and Paramount Theatres will receive a pair of movie passes to any Classic Cinemas location and a pair of tickets to the Brookfield Zoo.