Nobody wants to host the Oscars, this we know. But it’s recently come to our attention, that perhaps nobody wants to watch the 91st Academy Awards, either. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oscar viewership has declined every year for the last five years — from 43.7 million viewers in 2014, when Ellen DeGeneres hosted, to a low 26.5 million in 2018 when the show was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. While Hollywood stars, fashion fans, Little Monsters, and film buffs everywhere prepare for the big night on February 24, the average American likely doesn’t even know which films are in the running. Not that the nominations have been announced yet — tune in January 22 for those — but the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards are often a good indicator of what’s to come.
Additionally, a new survey conducted by The Hollywood Reporter and Morning Consult, which polled over two thousand Americans, found that only 20 percent of participants knew which film won best picture in 2018 — Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water. And 58 percent of those surveyed had no idea or didn’t care to wager a guess. Perhaps this is because the highest grossing film that year was Star Wars: The Last Jedi, raking in just over $620 million, while The Shape of Water came in at 46th place with nearly $68 million.
Similarly, for the year 2017, 20 percent of those surveyed thought La La Land earned the best picture title, while 12 percent knew that Moonlight really won. But this we blame on the Academy for royally screwing up, anyway.