“All in all, the worst Oscars ever, and that’s quite an accomplishment.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ scaled back pandemic version of the Oscars on Sunday, could be described as either incredibly refreshing or incredibly awkward; depending on what you thought of Glenn Close doing Da Butt, among other moments.
But the 93rd Academy Awards had one of the lowest viewerships ever recorded. This year’s ceremony drew in 10.4 million, in comparison to last year’s awards show which drew in an average of 23.6 million viewers.

Beating the CBS airing of the Grammys (9.2 million) last month and the Golden Globes (6.9 million) on NBC in February. The Oscars also outperformed last September’s Emmys (6.4 million), which was broadcast on ABC.
This year the Academy Awards also was available online on the Hulu+Live platform, ABC.com, YouTubeTV, the ABC app and a handful of other options.
Why isn’t anyone watching the Oscars anymore?
Why slog through the awards show when snippets can be found on social media? A video of Glenn Close twerking to “Da Butt” from the ceremony went viral on Sunday.
Producers from the ceremony, even reduced its running time to three hours and sixteen minutes.
The most nominated film on Sunday was “Mank.” Despite the film receiving ten nominations and being available on Netflix, most people had never heard of it, let alone watched it. David Fincher’s “Mank,” a love letter to old Hollywood, still won for production design and cinematography.
The Oscars have been on the decline since 1998, when 57.2 million people tuned in to see “Titanic” sweep to best-picture victory.

Frank Olito from Insider said: “They all represent the typical Oscars fare: mostly white casts, actionless plots, and artsy camera work. It seems to me that, year after year, the Academy is nominating movies that only film buffs and industry people can appreciate — not the average American who just wants to see a good movie.”
One viewer said: “All in all, the worst Oscars ever, and that’s quite an accomplishment.”
— Glenn Lambert, Los Angeles
What did you think of the Oscars this year? Did you watch the ceremony unfold on social media? Let us know in the comments below.