The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released nominations this week for the upcoming Academy Awards, setting the stage for Hollywood’s most prominent awards show as it continues to face questions about declining television viewership and shifting audience behavior.
The nominations arrive as the Oscars prepare for their March broadcast, with industry observers watching closely to see whether this year’s slate of films and performances can generate renewed interest following a decade-long erosion in ratings.
A Once-Dominant Television Event
For much of the late 20th century, the Oscars were among the most-watched annual television broadcasts in the United States. During the 1980s and 1990s, the ceremony routinely drew audiences exceeding 40 million viewers, with especially high peaks during years dominated by widely popular films.
The 1998 ceremony, when Titanic swept the awards, remains one of the most-watched in history, drawing well over 50 million viewers. Strong viewership carried into the early 2000s, when Oscar broadcasts still regularly attracted audiences in the 30–40 million range.
Ratings Decline Over the Past Decade
That dominance began to fade in the late 2000s and accelerated through the 2010s. By the end of that decade, Oscar viewership had fallen below 30 million viewers for the first time in decades.
The decline culminated in 2021, when the ceremony drew just over 10 million viewers — the lowest recorded audience in the modern Nielsen era — amid pandemic disruptions and a heavily altered broadcast format.
In the years since, ratings have rebounded modestly, stabilizing at approximately 17 to 20 million viewers. While that represents improvement from pandemic lows, it remains far below the ceremony’s historic peaks.
Changing Viewing Habits and Streaming Era Shifts
Media analysts largely attribute the long-term decline to broader changes in television consumption. The rise of streaming platforms, widespread cord-cutting, and on-demand viewing have reduced audiences for nearly all long-form live broadcasts.
Younger viewers, in particular, are less likely to watch multi-hour live events, often opting instead to consume highlights, clips, or commentary through social media after the fact. These trends have affected awards shows across the entertainment industry, not just the Oscars.
A More Political Era
The ratings decline has also coincided with a cultural shift in the tone of the Oscars broadcast. Beginning in the late 2000s, acceptance speeches and onstage moments increasingly featured commentary on domestic politics, social issues, and international affairs.
While political statements at the Oscars are not new, their frequency and visibility have increased in the past decade, drawing heightened attention and debate. The shift also mirrors broader changes within Hollywood and national political discourse during that period.
The Academy and its broadcast partners have not publicly linked political content to ratings performance, though the issue continues to be cited in media analysis and public discussion surrounding the ceremony.
Major Categories and Nominees
This year’s nominations include a slate of films and performances that will shape interest in the upcoming broadcast.
Best Picture
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Bugonia
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F1
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Frankenstein
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Hamnet
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Marty Supreme
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One Battle After Another
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The Secret Agent
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Sentimental Value
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Sinners
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Train Dreams
Best Director
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Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
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Ryan Coogler — Sinners
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Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
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Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
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Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
Best Actor
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Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
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Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
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Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
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Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon (many sources report this nominee)
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Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent
Best Actress
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Jessie Buckley — Hamnet
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Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
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Emma Stone — Bugonia
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Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
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Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue
Looking Ahead
With nominations now public, the focus turns to whether this year’s ceremony can draw a broader audience amid fragmented media consumption and heightened cultural scrutiny.
As Hollywood’s most recognizable awards show prepares for its next broadcast, the Oscars remain a test case for whether legacy television events can adapt to changing viewer behavior while remaining relevant to a mass audience.
For a full list of this year’s nominees, click here.
