Oscars ratings were up 4% for this year’s ceremony with 19.5 million Americans tuning in.
It makes it the most-watched since 2020 and meant that it was the third consecutive year of viewership growth with Covid affecting the logistics of and public interest in awards shows.
But while it was up from 2023’s 18.8m result, it was slightly down in the key 18-49 demographic, which dropped 5% since last year. The night, hosted again by Jimmy Kimmel, kicked off an hour earlier than usual, viewed as a strategy to bolster viewership.
After reaching more than 43 million viewers back in 2014, when 12 Years a Slave won best picture, viewership has fallen. That ceremony, hosted by Ellen Degeneres and featuring a viral selfie, was the most watched since 2000.
Wins were led by Christopher Nolan’s hit biopic Oppenheimer which picked up seven awards including best picture and best actor for Cillian Murphy. The film, which made over $950m at the global box office last summer, is the highest-grossing best picture winner since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2004.
While last year’s highest-grossing film Barbie only picked up one win, for best original song, its presence was felt throughout the night with an opening skit featuring footage from the film and two songs performed during the night, one led by Ryan Gosling.
On the Academy’s official YouTube channel, Gosling’s performance is the most-watched video from the night with over 1.3m views to date. Close behind is Robert Downey Jr’s acceptance speech with 1.2m.
In the UK, broadcast rights went to ITV for the first time with viewers averaging 630,000 for the show which went on until 2.30am GMT.
Earlier this year, the 2024 Golden Globes rose to 10 million viewers, up 50% from the previous year. The Grammys, which took place weeks after, also saw a 34% rise in viewership.