2024 Academy Awards ratings increase slightly to 19.5 million viewers

While awards shows lend themselves to some chaos sometimes, the lengthy televised industry events are usually no Super Bowls. And usually, all the Will Smith slappings, La La Land/Moonlight mishaps, Adele Dazeems, and now Al Pacino confusions are the talk at the water cooler the next day, thanks to YouTube clips and social media memes. Despite all the mistakes and awkward things that can happen, the Oscars are almost mostly for the more dedicated cinephiles as general audiences see them as self-congratulatory, self-indulgent, pointless events that have no bearing on reality. With the challenges the show faces to pull in ratings, this recent Oscars telecast was the most-watched since 2020 and has become the third consecutive year for viewership growth.

According to Variety, the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted show would bring in 19.5 million viewers. They report that these figures are “per the time zone adjusted fast national ratings.” The awards show would get a 3.8 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic as it aired from 7:00-10:29 p.m. ET. Variety would point out, “By comparison, the 2023 telecast drew 18.8 million viewers and a 4.0 rating in the final tallies. That means this year’s show was up just shy of 4% in total viewers but down 5% in the key demo.” It was also noted how this year, the ceremony had actually commenced an hour earlier than in the previous year.

The 2021 Academy Awards would receive an all-time low in the ratings with only 10.4 million viewers. However, that year was greatly impacted by the COVID pandemic and the event would attempt to make adjustments amid the climate of social distancing and delayed films. When the pandemic protocols subsided more, ratings for the Oscars would rebound in 2022 with 16.6 million. Things have since seemingly gotten back to normal and last year’s ceremony would continue to grow with 18.8 million viewers in the ratings.

This year would also see such acclaimed films as Oppenheimer, Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon gain much attention and collect accolades early on as possible contenders. Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker who has interestingly been able to put his finger on the pulse of both summer blockbusters and award-worthy dramas, so the Dark Knight director has seen major support from a wide array of fans. Barbie is a movie that could have been a throwaway cash grab, but the team of Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach and Margot Robbie gave the film a life that could compete with Oppenheimer. And Scorsese has been praised by audiences for his latest, many saying he’s as sharp as ever and that his direction helped Lily Gladstone give a breakthrough performance. Add all these up and this year had a recipe for a higher-rated show than the previous years.