The 2024 Oscars were mostly a success, after the Academy introduced some changes to the ceremony, including an earlier start. Thanks to powerful performances such as Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” and emotional moments with previous winners presenters, the show had many highlights and few lows. Did it pay off with the ratings?
Variety reports that the Oscars drew 19.5 million viewers on ABC Sunday night, which represents an increase of 4% in total viewers from previous years. The same outlet reported that in the UK, the show averaged 551,000 viewers on Sunday evening.
At its peak, around 10.16pm, 1.1 million were watching the ceremony, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. In comparison, last year’s Sky averaged 95,000 viewers. Also, Variety reports that in Italy, the Oscars’ viewership peaked at 1.9 million viewers, according to national ratings compiler Auditel.
Oscars 2024 ratings: Comparison with previous years
The numbers in the domestic market are a good sign, as it’s the third-year of growth in audiences. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, this year’s showrunner Raj Kapoor said that the early start was made with the intention of ending the show’s within the East Coast’s primetime slot.
That is because the show has been struggling with audiences in recent years. In 2023, the gala averaged 18.7 million viewers in the US, which was the third-lowest record of the ceremony. In 2022, the 16.6 million viewers were the second lowest figure in the history of the show. The all-time low was in 2021, with 10.6 million US viewers.
Oscars 2024: What are the reviews saying?
While many of the show’s winners were predictable (and there were still several surprises at the 2024 Oscars), the reviews have been favorable for this year’s ceremony. The 96th Academy Awards delivered “an award telecast defined by its playfulness and punctuated by moments of fun, with Ryan Gosling’s contributions worth the price of admission alone,” wrote Bryan Lowry for CNN.
Meanwhile, Dominic Patten of Deadline, wrote that “for the first time in too long (…) the Oscars didn’t just celebrate movies tonight, it celebrated putting on a show about celebrating movies.”
Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that “Jimmy Kimmel held together a slightly manic 2024 Oscars telecast featuring mostly predictable winners, a dazzling musical salute to Barbie’s boy toy and several presenters in fine form.”
Finally, Ben Travers of IndieWire praised the show’s moment of sincerity (Gosling’s performance, John Mulaney’s “Field of Dreams” joke), but lamented that there were some “speed bumps.” However, in general, it was a solid telecast.
The article was updated to include the domestic reports.