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The Oscars ceremony is considered a monumental event in the entertainment industry but has suffered from declining viewership over the years. Last year marked all-time lows for the ceremony, which hoped to improve based on the program's alterations. The 94th Academy Awards drew a noticeable increase in viewership, but the final outing, unfortunately, sits as the second-lowest ever recorded for the ceremony.
The Academy Awards has faced its fair share of criticism, ultimately leading to the collapsing viewership. The ceremony's biggest outing of the 21st century came in 2014, which drew 43.7 million viewers. Numbers for the Oscars have decreased since then, and several factors have played a role in the decline. Notable celebrities boycotted the 2016 ceremony due to the absence of Black nominees in the acting categories. Fast-forward three years later, and the ceremony would be without a host for consecutive years until this most recent ceremony. Relevance equally became an issue, as many felt the ceremony lost touch with the moviegoing audience, with some ranting over the exclusion of Spider-Man: No Way Home from the Best Picture category. The Oscars have faced several challenges, which have caused disinterest to boil.
Last year was an all-time worst for the Academy Awards, which drew a disappointing 10.4 million viewers. This year proved to be significantly better, as the ceremony drew 15.4 million viewers, a 56% increase from last year. While promising, the number sits as the second-worst outing for the ceremony in its illustrious history, pointing to a continued issue of audience disinterest in the ceremony. The 94th Academy Awards had some exciting moments, but it also featured one of the most shocking televised moments in the show's history, which involved Oscar winner Will Smith and comedian Chris Rock. Smith smacked Rock across the face while on stage in response to a joke the comedian made about the actor's wife.
In an attempt to increase viewership, the Academy decided to alter the program, which included cutting eight categories from the live telecast. The changes were meant to move the ceremony along quicker while focusing on the main stars there to present and accept awards. In addition, the Academy added two fan-centric categories to help appease those upset over specific films' exclusion from the ceremony's nominations. The categories centered around a fan-favorite 2021 film as well a fan-favorite scene year, which went to two Zack Snyder projects. It's clear that changes, alongside the alluring original song performances, sparked some interest, but not enough to ensure the ceremony is moving in the right direction.
The award ceremony did include some notable moments, such as the Best Picture win for Coda and the Best Supporting Actor win for the film's star Troy Kotsur. West Side Story's Ariana DeBose took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and Dune walked away with six total wins, including Best Original Score. The Denis Villeneuve film walked away with the most awards, followed by Coda, which accumulated three wins, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which earned two wins by the night's end. Ultimately, the ceremony had some solid and heartwarming moments, but many continue to feel disinterested in what the ceremony offers. The viewership decline over the last couple of years has been concerning for the Academy, especially as funds put into the production begin to come into question.
It's hard to ignore the attempts to improve the Academy Awards this year, which did attract a better viewership outing than the previous year. Unfortunately, the altercation between Smith and Rock tainted most of the night and diminished moments that deserved more attention than they could receive. It was a tremendous achievement to see Coda become the first film from a streaming service to win Best Picture, but ultimately the moment felt overshadowed. It'll be interesting to see what further changes are proposed for next year's ceremony and if the viewership increases in response to those alterations.
Source: Deadline