Jimmy Kimmel was back to host the 90th Academy Awards but the viewers from the previous years didn’t exactly join him for a second go-round. The Oscar telecast hit a new low in total viewership.
Last night’s ceremony, which aired live from 8 PM – 11:54 PM EST, averaged 26.5 million viewers (Live+same day) . That was down -19% from last year’s 32.9 million viewers, a nine-year low. Usually people blame the decline in viewers on the general lack of knowledge the casual moviegoer has about the films nominated but The Shape of Water, which won Best Picture, is the highest grossing Best Picture winner in five years. Adding to that Get Out, which was also nominated, was a huge hit & Three Billboards also has grossed about $50 million.
Speculation is that a lot of the winners were clear since most dominated the entire awards season so there was no element of surprise to make people watch. The biggest reason, according to some, that the ratings are down is that award shows have become so political lately that turns off people who simply just want to be entertained and talk about the movies.
Regardless of the reason, the telecast hasn’t fallen below 30 million viewers until now so I’m guessing producers will take a long look at what might’ve gone wrong.
