Oscars 2021: Viewing figures hit all-time low with 9.85m viewers

The number of people who tuned in to watch the three-hour long ‘wokefest’ that was the Oscars hit an all time low with just 9.85 million viewers. 

The television ratings for the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night is a 58 percent drop compared to last year’s already record-low 23.64 million viewers, according to early Nielsen numbers. 

The huge drop in ratings for Hollywood’s biggest night continues an overall multi-year downward trend for the Academy Awards, which were above 43 million as recently as 2014. 

It comes after the Grammys, Golden Globes and SAG Awards all experienced more than 50 percent declines in viewership this year as well.    

The number of people who tuned in to watch the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night was at an all-time low of 9.85 million viewers. It is a 58 percent drop compared to last year’s already record-low 23.64 million viewers 

The number of people who tuned into watch the Oscars last night has hit an all-time low with just 9.85 million viewers. Pictured above in Regina King presenting the Oscar for Original Screenplay

The number of people who tuned into watch the Oscars last night has hit an all-time low with just 9.85 million viewers. Pictured above in Regina King presenting the Oscar for Original Screenplay

The Oscars broadcast, which aired on ABC, had a small in-person attendance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's ceremony was moved from a Hollywood theater to a glammed-up Los Angeles train station to abide by strict pandemic protocols

The Oscars broadcast, which aired on ABC, had a small in-person attendance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s ceremony was moved from a Hollywood theater to a glammed-up Los Angeles train station to abide by strict pandemic protocols 

According to the latest figures available on Nielsen, CBS’ NCIS show would have attracted more viewer than the Oscars. NCIS attracted 10.2 million viewers based on data the week ending April 5. 

Film fans already had blasted this year’s ceremony as the ‘wokest ever’ after a string of virtue-signaling speeches by stars before Anthony Hopkins was attacked for winning the best actor award above Chadwick Boseman.  

Award host Regina King had kicked off the night by hailing the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, director Travon Free showed off a jacket emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police and Mia Neal then spoke about ‘breaking the glass ceiling’ for trans and minority ethnic people in her acceptance speech for best hair and makeup. 

With movie theaters shut for most of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and several blockbuster films starring big-name actors postponed, a less familiar crop of nominees was competing.

Chloe Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’ was the big winner with the director becoming the second woman and first woman of color to take home the best picture prize.

The Oscars broadcast, which aired on ABC, had a small in-person crowd – just 170 – amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This year’s ceremony was moved from a Hollywood theater to a glammed-up Los Angeles train station to abide by strict pandemic protocols.  

After years of criticism over racial diversity, Zhao became the first Asian woman and only the second woman ever to win best director for Nomadland, British actor Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah and 73-year-old South Korean Youn Yuh-jung won best supporting actress for Minari.  

The Best Picture winner Nomadland grossed just $2.5 million. Pictured: Producer Peter Spears, Frances McDormand, director Chloe Zao, Mollye Asher and Dan Janvey

The Best Picture winner Nomadland grossed just $2.5 million. Pictured: Producer Peter Spears, Frances McDormand, director Chloe Zao, Mollye Asher and Dan Janvey

Boseman - who died of colon cancer aged 43 last August - was widely tipped to win a posthumous award for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Sunday night's Oscars - widely condemned as the most boring in history - ended with further upset after Anthony Hopkins beat Chadwick Boseman to win Best Actor. Hopkins is pictured in The Father

Sunday night’s Oscars – widely condemned as the most boring in history – ended with further upset after Anthony Hopkins beat Chadwick Boseman to win Best Actor 

Many then assumed the night would end with a posthumous award for Chadwick Boseman given the organizers decided to make it the last category even though it typically ends with best picture. 

Anthony Hopkins, however, unexpectedly won the best actor category.

Despite breaking the record for oldest best actor winner at 83 for his portrayal of a man with dementia in The Father, it prompted fury among viewers who declared he had ‘stolen’ it.

‘Chadwick Boseman was robbed,’ one furious viewer tweeted, before another added: ‘The Oscars have proven once again that they have no idea what they’re doing.’ 

Hopkins’ lack of an acceptance speech at the show’s grand finale was also criticized by many viewers as anti-climactic.

‘At 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award, I really didn’t,’ Hopkins said in video posted to his Instagram page from Wales on Monday morning.

‘I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman who was taken from us far too early,’ he added, referring to the late ‘Black Panther’ star who had been expected to win best actor for his final role in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.’   

Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings during the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night. Earlier, as he walked the red carpet, Free also made a political statement, showing off the inside of his jacket which was emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Rayshard Brooks and Daunte Wright

Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings during the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night. Earlier, as he walked the red carpet, Free also made a political statement, showing off the inside of his jacket which was emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Rayshard Brooks and Daunte Wright

Actor Daniel Kaluuya, who won best supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah, poses alongside musicians Dernst Emile II, H.E.R., and Tiara Thomas who won the Oscar for best original song which featured in the film

Actor Daniel Kaluuya, who won best supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah, poses alongside musicians Dernst Emile II, H.E.R., and Tiara Thomas who won the Oscar for best original song which featured in the film

King set the tone for the evening early on by speaking about the Derek Chauvin verdict. 

The 50-year-old said: ‘It has been quite a year, and we are still smack dab in the middle of it. We are mourning the loss of so many.

‘And I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I may have traded in my heels for marching boots.

‘Now, I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you. But as a mother of a black son, I know the fear that so many live with, and no amount of fame or fortune changes. That okay?’ 

Meanwhile, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, and Jamika Wilson also spoke about identity politics as they accepted the award for Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup.  

Neal and Wilson are the first two black women to win the award, with Neal speaking out about breaking barriers as she took to the podium.   

Stars of the film Minari, including Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, relax after the award ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday

Stars of the film Minari, including Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, relax after the award ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday

Mia Neal, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, and Jamika Wilson, winners of the Makeup and Hairstyling award for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom share a moment of emotion backstage at the Oscars

Mia Neal, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, and Jamika Wilson, winners of the Makeup and Hairstyling award for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom share a moment of emotion backstage at the Oscars

Reese Witherspoon poses backstage during the Oscars ceremony at Union Station in Los Angeles on Sunday night

Reese Witherspoon poses backstage during the Oscars ceremony at Union Station in Los Angeles on Sunday night

‘I want to say thank you to our ancestors who put the work in. Who were denied but never gave up. And I also stand here, as we break this glass ceiling with so much excitement for the future,’ she stated to cheers from the crowd. 

‘Because I can picture black trans women standing up here, Asian and Latina sisters, and indigenous women. And it won’t be unusual or groundbreaking one day, it will just be normal’. 

Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings.  

The 35-year-old won Best Live Action Short along with co-director Martin Desmond Roe for their drama Two Distant Strangers – a 29-minute movie that examines the deaths of black Americans during encounters with police.

‘Today, the police will kill three people,’ Free stated as he took to the stage to accept his award. ‘Tomorrow, the police will kill three people. And the day after that, the police will kill three people. Because on average, the police in America every day kill three people. Which amounts to about 1,000 people a year. ‘

He continued: ‘Those people happen to be disproportionately black people. I just ask that you please not be indifferent. Please don’t be indifferent to our pain.

Earlier, as he walked the red carpet, Free also made a political statement, showing off the inside of his jacket which was emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Rayshard Brooks and Daunte Wright.    

93RD ACADEMY AWARDS WINNERS

Best Picture

The Father

Judas and the Black Messiah

Mank

Minari

Nomadland – WINNER

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Golden: Frances McDormand, Chloe Zhao, Mollye Asher and Dan Janvey (seen left to right) as Nomadland won Best Picture

Golden: Frances McDormand, Chloe Zhao, Mollye Asher and Dan Janvey (seen left to right) as Nomadland won Best Picture

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Andra Day – The United States vs Billie Holiday

Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman

Frances McDormand – Nomadland – WINNER

Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy

Olivia Colman – The Father

Amanda Seyfried – Mank

Youn Yuh-jung – Minari – WINNER

Sweet: Youn Yuh-jung won Best Supporting Actress for Minari

Sweet: Youn Yuh-jung won Best Supporting Actress for Minari

Best Music (Original Score)

Da 5 Bloods

Mank

Minari

News of the World

Soul – WINNER

 

Best Animated Short Film

Burrow

Genius Loci

If Anything Happens I Love You – WINNER

Opera

Yes-People

 

Best Live Action Short Film

Feeling Through

The Letter Room

The Present

Two Distant Strangers – WINNER

White Eye

 

Best International Feature Film

Another Round – WINNER

Better Days

Collective

The Man Who Sold His Skin

Quo Vadis, Aida?

Talented: Thomas Vinterberg accepted Best International Film for Another Round

Talented: Thomas Vinterberg accepted Best International Film for Another Round

Best Sound

Greyhound

Mank

News of the World

Soul

Sound of Metal  – WINNER

 

Best Cinematography

Judas and the Black Messiah

Mank – WINNER

News of the World

Nomadland

The Trial of the Chicago 7  

 

Best Music (Original Song)

H.E.R. – Fight for You – Judas and the Black Messiah – WINNER

Hear My Voice – The Trial of the Chicago 7

Husavik – Eurovision Song Contest

Io Si (Seen) – The Life Ahead

Speak Now – One Night in Miami…

H.E.R.  won Best Original Song for Judas and the Black Messiah's  Fight for You

 H.E.R.  won Best Original Song for Judas and the Black Messiah’s  Fight for You

 Best Director  

Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round

David Fincher – Mank

Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

Chloé Zhao – Nomadland – WINNER

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

Trailblazer: Chloe Zhao is the first woman of color to win Best Director

Trailblazer: Chloe Zhao is the first woman of color to win Best Director 

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal 

Anthony Hopkins – The Father – WINNER

Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 

Gary Oldman – Mank

Steven Yeun – Minari 

 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7

Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah – WINNER

Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami…

Paul Raci – Sound of Metal

Lakeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah

 

Best Animated Feature Film

Onward

Over the Moon

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Soul – WINNER

Wolfwalkers

Dynamic: Dana Murray (L) and Pete Docter won Best Animated Feature for Soul

Dynamic: Dana Murray (L) and Pete Docter won Best Animated Feature for Soul

Best Costume Design

Emma

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER

Mank

Mulan

Pinnochio

 

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

The Father – WINNER

Nomadland

One Night in Miami…

The White Tiger

 

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman – WINNER

Shaka King and Will Berson – Judas and the Black Messiah

Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

Darius Marder and Abraham Marder – Sound of Metal

 Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7

Blooming lovely: Emerald Fennell won Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman

Blooming lovely: Emerald Fennell won Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman

Best Documentary Feature

Collective

Crip Camp

The Mole Agent

My Octopus Teacher – WINNER

Time

 

Best Documentary Short Subject

Colette – WINNER

A Concerto Is a Conversation

Do Not Split

Hunger Ward

A Love Song for Latasha

 

Best Film Editing

The Father

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal – WINNER

The Trial of the Chicago 7

 

Best Production Design

The Father

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank – WINNER

News of the World

Tenet

 

Best Visual Effects

Love and Monsters

The Midnight Sky

Mulan

The One and Only Ivan

Tenet – WINNER

 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Emma

Hillbilly Elegy

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER

Mank

Pinocchio

 

 

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