In December 1998, BBC Ceefax invited viewers to pick their Movie of the Year by dialling a premium‑rate number. The poll appeared on page 533, complete with festive pixel holly and a list of the year’s biggest hits: Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Sliding Doors, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, The Truman Show, Good Will Hunting, Antz, and The Mask of Zorro.
Each film had its own 0891 number, and calls cost a maximum of 10p - a small price for the thrill of taking part in a national vote via your television remote.
Though the results of the poll are unknown, the box‑office figures tell their own story. Titanic dominated globally, grossing over $2 billion and sweeping the Oscars. Saving Private Ryan followed with $482 million worldwide, while The Truman Show earned $264 million and critical acclaim for its prescient look at reality television. British cinema shone too: Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels became a cult classic, and Sliding Doors turned Gwyneth Paltrow into a household name.
Ceefax’s Poll 98, and others like them, made teletext interactive, a precursor to online voting and social media engagement.