Nielsen is reporting that the 80th annual Academy Awards telecast was the least watched in history (or at least since 1974 when they started tracking the event). This was pretty much expected, as most of the films and contendors were art-house level favorites, and not mainstream efforts like Titanic or Lord of the Rings. Public interest was at an all time low, resulting in 32-million viewers.
The 2003 telecast, was the previous all-time low, clocking in at 33 million viewers. Chicago won best-picture that year. The telecast was down more than 20% compared with last year’s ceremony, which had more than 40 million people watching when Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar for directing The Departed (note: a more mainstream film).
Note: While the photo above of Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody sleeping with Oscar is almost completely unrelated to this post (as Juno was probably the most “mainstream” of any of the films awarded last night), I thought it was funny enough to include in this post.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
that’s because a lot of the movies nominated either no one saw, no one cared, or just plain sucked.
When a mediocre film comes out in an ocean of movies like say…”Meet the Spartans” it looks amazing.
I’m rambling…I admit it.
Point is, the oscars suck, and the movies nominated are either boring…or sucked.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Admit it Peter, you have a crush on Diablo. *insert winky face here*
I caught a little bit of the show last night while totally working out at the gym (not sitting at home sifting through piles of old porn receipts). and thought the show itself was okay. But there’s some truth to what the other Jorge just said, a lot of the movies that were nominated (Outside of Ratatouille and Juno) did nothing for me. There Will Be Old Men felt as long and drawn out as last nights show.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I would’ve watched but I had a hockey game :(
February 25th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Why watch the oscars when there will be a 60 second version up the next day? ;P
February 25th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Nobody trust’s tv anymore. After so long of having ONLY reality television, people are afraid of returning to something big, such as the Oscars. The writers aren’t back in full swing, so why waste your time on a Sunday night for what possibly could be mediocre humor?
February 25th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Awesome!! slashfilm needed more Juno/Cody promotion.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Diablo CODY is a giant whore who did not deserve an oscar.
I hope she never works in this town again!
February 25th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
NO ONE WATCHED BECAUSE JON STEWART IS NOT A HOUSEHOLD NAME, NOR IS HE FUNNY, AND MOSTLY BECAUSE HE IS OBNOXIOUS.
ALSO, THE MOVIE THAT WON IS A VIOLENT, VULGER DISGUSTING FILM WITH A LOUSY ENDING. MOST FILMS SUCK.
HOLLYWOOD IS MOSTLY QUEEERS AND THE GUYS ARE MAINLY SISSIES. wHRE ARE THE “MEN” IN HOLLYWOOD?
February 25th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Jon Stewart is unpopular, unwatched on his program and is not funny. he is not a household name and the host must be or no one will watch. Also, the movie that won the award was violent and vulgar. where are the real men in hollywood..
February 25th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
jon stewart isnt funny and no one knows who he is. you need a big star to host this event and Stewart isnt.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
They need to keep nominating good movies that are also actually entertaining like The Departed and Lord of the Rings. Enough with this There Will Be Blood and Michael Clayton boring nonsense.
February 25th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Jon Stewart is the only reason I would have watched the awards! The academy should be honored to have him. I am just sick of the hollywood glam that americans like to consume their lush life with. I would prefer to watch Jon on the A Daily Show.
February 26th, 2008 at 1:21 am
I watched it because I thought Jon Stewart was going to get political with Obama and Clinton.
February 26th, 2008 at 4:16 am
I would have watched it but I am in the UK and it was only available on a subscription movie channel I don’t have. The BBC stopped bothering to pay for it a few years back
February 26th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Jon doesn’t seem like he fits well at the Oscars, but big deal, I’d probably rather watch The Daily Show than 90% of the Oscars, they’ve been boring socks off for years (decades?). Indie Spirit Awards show ‘em all how it’s done.
I thought this was one one of the best group of films in a while. No Country, TWBB, Clayton, Juno, Into the Wild, Assass of JJ, A Gangster and Bourne Ulty were all extraordinarily good. (Where was Zodiac?) Anyway, disappointed PT Anderson didn’t get a big win… someday!
Die, Leonard. And LMAO @ sari. Insanity!
February 26th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Oh man…i REALLY wish i wouldn’t have read some of those comments just now. Some of that stuff was just plain retarded. I personally believe that the problem lies in the audience and not the show. Americans have become increasingly anti-intellectual. So, dramatic, thought-provoking films like TWBB, No country and Michael Clayton are considered “boring” films. I could go on for a while. SO in short, if you people aren’t interested in art then stick to watching bi-weekly matthew mcconaughey romantic comedy movies and jason statham explosion fests. Stay in the kiddie pool everybody, the deep end is for grown ups…
February 26th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Hey flavorsplash…are you TRYING to sound as pretentious as you possibly can?
February 26th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
I’d have alot more respect for her if she f$#ked herself with the statue (or at least claimed to) and gave “Hollywood” the finger. Eszterhas would have (made Sharon Stone do it).
February 26th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I hope the sentiments expressed here really don’t reflect the true movie-going public. NCFOM and TWBB were the two best films I saw in the past year and they whole-heartedly deserved to be nominated. It should be the BEST movies nominated, not the biggest spectacles.
To that idiot Wilmot Smith: you must be a person of very scant social and political consciousness. John Stewart and his show are both hilarious. People previously featured on his show now have their own shows (Colbert) or are movie stars (Carrell). It’s pretty safe to say he’s a household name. Who do you want to host the Oscars? Carrot top? It’s surprising to me that you access a blog with such rich appreciation for film with these kind of attitudes and opinions.
Selling out is not what the Oscars should be about. Also, besides the “low commercial appeal” of the nominated films, don’t you guys think that the Writer’s Strike was also the likely culprit of the notoriously low ratings for this year’s show?
February 26th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I can’t believe Carrot Top still appears in public.
February 26th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
@sari…just because I can enjoy films that go beyond simply entertainment and escapism doesn’t mean your feelings have to be hurt. Just pointing out that the oscar is for BEST PICTURE, not most entertaining movie.