Despite ‘Barbenheimer,’ Oscar Ratings Remain Low (19.5 Million Viewers)

Last year around 19 million people watched the Oscars. This year’s telecast moved up an hour to 7pm, was driven by ‘Barbenheimer’ hype and only managed to bring in 19.5 million viewers— slightly better numbers.

However, this year’s telecast actually fell short in the key 18-49 demographic, with a 3.8 rating. By comparison, the 2023 telecast had a 4.0 rating in final tallies. That means this year’s show was down 5% in the most important demo.

Younger viewers just don’t care enough about the Oscars, or TV, for that matter, to tune in — they can also just watch the highlights on YouTube the day after. Even more concerning, the show is losing its core "loyal" audience, aged 50 and over, who grew up going to the movies, but are now more into streaming content at home.

Sure, Hollywood movies just aren’t as culturally relevant as they used to be. One can remember a time when Best Picture winners such as “Gladiator,” “Titanic,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Forrest Gump,” and “The Lord of the Rings” were actually seen by millions of Americans. Now? “CODA”? “Nomadland”? “EEAAO”? These just aren’t films that cracked popular culture in the same way the others did.

Then again, the problem with using this argument in 2024 is that the two most popular films from last year were nominated and had an immense presence at last night’s ceremony. “Barbeheimer” was a cultural phenomenon, but that, weirdly enough, didn’t translate into a highly-watched Oscar ceremony. So, what’s going on here exactly?

Isn’t it strange how, just ten years ago, in 2014, Oscar ratings reached an impressive 40 million viewers? When compared to last night’s telecast, that’s a loss of 22 million.

Maybe the biggest factor, when it comes to these low ratings, resides in watching the 1% showering the 1% with trophy love and that’s just not something that’s compatible with our current societal zeitgeist. Frankly, it kind of sounds absurd when you think about it. Seeing rich people, at a luxurious event, sprinkling each other with self-congratulatory masturbation just doesn’t add up anymore.

The Oscars are a relic from the past, when seeing celebrities wasn’t an everyday thing. We are a society oversaturated with celebrity content via social media, and thus there’s no excitement in seeing the stars. This is why I keep saying that the only way for an Oscar telecast to ever “work” again is if you hire Ricky Gervais to expose the absurdity of it all.