Oscars Ratings Hit All-Time Low As Nobody Wanted To Watch Hollywood’s Elite Talk About Themselves For 3 Hours

oscars ratings all time low

Getty Image


It was no secret that Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony was going to draw abysmal ratings, but to average fewer than 10 million viewers was still a bit of a shock as all-time low ratings are being reported.

According to Variety, Nielsen Lie + Same Day preliminary national numbers showed an average of just 9.85 million viewers tuned in on Sunday night. Last year’s numbers weren’t good either, but these blow those out of the water as this year’s ratings are a new record low. The 9.85 million average is a 58.3%, 13.75 million drop-off from 2020. This year’s ceremony scored a rating of 1.9 among adults 18-49, which is a 64.2% drop from 2020. The awards carded a 5.3 rating in 2020 and a 7.7 rating in 2019 among that same key demographic.

While COVID-19 played a role in these low ratings as the production itself wasn’t nearly what we’re used to seeing, so did the fact that many people around the world simply aren’t paying all that much attention to what’s going on in Hollywood. People have heard enough out of Hollywood throughout the pandemic and last Fall’s election season. A large majority of folks clearly had no interest in watching celebrities pat themselves on the back for three-plus hours while also sharing their thoughts about how bad things are around the United States throughout the ceremony.

It’s safe to say that many were turned off by the ceremony before it even began when it was reported that none of the attendees had to wear masks during live segments of the show all the while preaching to the rest of the world to always wear masks.

Lastly, the Oscars has always had somewhat of a niche fanbase, and given the fact that a majority of the movies that were nominated weren’t seen by as many people this year, that’s another ingredient added to the recipe of disaster.

Overall – based on social media’s reaction, I didn’t watch the ceremony – it was just an overall snooze fest.