The 96th Academy Awards saw a modest increase in viewership, with an estimated 19.5 million people tuning in to watch the ceremony on ABC. While this marks the highest number of viewers in four years, it’s only a 4 percent increase from last year’s audience of 18.7 million.
The Academy made some changes this year, including starting the show an hour earlier and featuring nominations for blockbuster movies like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
The viewership peaked in the final half hour, with nearly 22 million people watching as Ryan Gosling performed the song “I’m Just Ken,” Cillian Murphy won best actor for “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan won his first Oscar for directing, and Al Pacino presented the film with the best picture Oscar in a rush.
Despite the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, with “Oppenheimer” grossing nearly a billion dollars internationally and “Barbie” surpassing it, the Oscars didn’t see the massive boost in ratings that the Academy and ABC had hoped for. However, the show still outperformed recent editions of other top awards shows, such as the Grammys, Golden Globes, and Emmy Awards.
In the past, the Oscars were often the second most-watched television program of the year, behind only the Super Bowl. Viewership consistently exceeded 30 million until 2018, with a high of 55 million in 1998 when “Titanic” dominated the awards. However, ratings have declined in recent years, hitting an all-time low of 9.85 million during the pandemic-affected 2021 ceremony.
The Oscars led into the sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” which achieved a series high with 6.9 million viewers thanks to an Oscar-themed episode featuring Bradley Cooper.
The Associated press contributed to this article.