Oscar Viewership Reaches a New Five-Year High
New reports display that viewership from this year’s Oscars was 19.7 million, a 1% increase from last year, marking a five-year high for the Academy Awards.
Despite the lack of blockbuster box-office nominated films, updated Nielsen data reveals that Sunday’s telecast increased by 200,000 viewers from the 2024 figure. This marks a five-year high for the Oscars in total viewers and ratings among audiences ages 18-49. Their ratings rose from an average of 3.82 last year to 4.54, a 19% improvement.
These figures were a surprise as the broadcast predominantly celebrated indie film Anora, which won Best Picture and four other awards. Anora is recognized for having the lowest domestic ticket sales in Best Picture history (outside of the pandemic). However, on the other hand, last year, blockbusters Oppenheimer and Barbie were the main stars. Combined, those two films garnered $2.3 billion the box office compared to Anora’s $15.6 million.
Three Oscars. What about four? Or five? #Oscars
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 3, 2025
Congratulations to ANORA, this year's Best Picture winner! pic.twitter.com/Nt3Q2Ta405
Originally, ABC released that the telecast’s viewership was down 8% to 18 million viewers as a significant portion of those who tuned in on mobile devices and personal computers were not accounted for. However, Nielsen then added these audiences to the tally, bringing the total up 1.6 million people, erasing the decline.
The significant percentage of audiences viewing from their personal devices may be a result of the decision to make the Oscars available to stream on Hulu. This was a first for the ceremony as in prior years it was only available to watch on ABC, which required a paid subscription.
The #Oscars brings in 19.7 Million viewers, hitting a five year high! https://t.co/gIecqMYteJ
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) March 4, 2025
In 2021, the first ceremony after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy Awards saw an all-time low of 10.4 million viewers. Nevertheless, the annual telecast gained consecutive growth for the following four years with 16.6 million viewers in 2022, 18.8 million in 2023, 19.5 million in 2024, and now 19.7 million in 2025.
Looking at these stats raises questions about the new generation of filmmakers and audiences. Do people prefer to watch media on a streaming service on a personal device rather than on a broadcast channel on their television? Are individuals growing more interested in independently produced films like Anora? And in a society that may seem increasingly polarized, do people watch and care more about high-grossing films with big-name actors or projects that promote a specific message about how to navigate the world we live in?
Missed out? You can still catch the Oscars on Hulu.
