I’m clueless about how the winners of the People’s Choice Awards are determined, and I’m not sure I really want to know. Not unlike the American Music Awards, the whole thing comes off as little more than the entertainment world’s version of a high-school popularity contest.

But the film industry can always learn lessons when these shows come along.

A few takeaways, aside from that whole no-accounting-for-taste thing:

Four wins for Twilight: New Moon — 1)Even long past those ginormous box-office returns, “Twilight” fever remains in full force, meaning no end on the horizon for the movies and tie-in products; 2)The teenybopper crowd has the power to break a movie big; 3)Vampire fever lives.

Breakout Actress: Miley Cyrus (for Hannah Montana: The Movie, over the likes of, oh, never mind) — See No. 2, above.

Actress: Sandra Bullock & Comedy Movie: The Proposal — 1)Time to bid adieu to that whole notion about actresses of a certain age no longer getting the good roles or pulling in filmgoers (also see Meryl Streep, but not in these awards) and 2)When it comes to second acts in the lives of American actors, determination and persistence sometimes pay off big.

Independent Movie: Inglourious Basterds — 1)You can always count on a Nazi to make a good villain, even more than 60 years after Hitler’s atrocities and 2)Celebrity can help even the most independent-minded directors (like Quentin Tarantino) find audiences for their movies.

Actor: Johnny Depp (Public Enemies, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) — See No. 2, above, and substitute “actors” for “directors.”

Action Star: Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins) — Some (handsome) guys have all the luck.

Family Movie: Up — Sometimes even high-quality animation wins out.

Comedic Star: Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol) — Go figure.