The second least watched Oscars ceremony was held this past weekend.
On the evening of March 27, Hollywood’s most esteemed stars gathered at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles to honour this year’s greatest films.
Last year’s Oscars earned the title of the worst ceremony in Academy history, viewership wise.
The low viewership of the 2021 ceremony caused major change to occur within the Academy. Updates ranged from a return to the Dolby Theater to the presence of a host for the first time in three years and a ceremony held at full capacity following lifted Covid-19 restrictions.
While viewership did increase 58 per cent from the following year, the 2022 Oscars fell short.
The ceremony raked in 15.4 million viewers – a seemingly impressive number. That is, until compared to the 40 million viewer average the Academy held for years until 2021.
With strenuous efforts made by the Academy this year in order to redeem themselves, what ultimately went wrong?
Audiences appreciate tradition, therefore returning the ceremony to its historic home of The Dolby Theater and allowing the event to proceed at full capacity were both positive changes that, for the most part, helped viewership increase.
The implementation of a host this year was also a step in the right direction. Comedians Amy Shumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall took on the daunting task.
According to statistics found on Deadline, recent years in which the Oscars operated without a host (2019, 2020 and 2021) viewership had declined.
However, when the ceremony operated with more than one host, viewer enjoyment also decreased. With a 44 per cent enjoyment average on Rotten Tomatoes.
For the first time, the Academy implemented a category that is voted on by audiences rather than Academy members.
The “Fan Favourite Movie of The Year Award” was created in efforts to include films that would otherwise not be recognized by the Academy at the Oscars.
While a voting system seems like a great technique to engage audiences in the ceremony, the category itself felt like a cheap way to bring in action or horror movie devotees.
Along with the controversies and faults surrounding the 94th Academy Awards, this year’s ceremony did bring forth a historic moment.
Best Picture category winner, CODA, made history by being the first film to win Best Picture that featured deaf cast and crew members.
Additionally, Best Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur, from CODA, became the first deaf man to win in the category.
Regardless of the faults made by the Academy this year, the Oscars still honoured the year’s greatest films making for a successful ceremony in the eyes of movie lovers.