The 2026 Oscar telecast ratings are in, and they aren’t great. Somewhat surprisingly, the 98th Academy Awards drew 17.86 million viewers over broadcast network ABC and streamer Hulu. That was down 9% from the 97th ceremony, which drew 19.69 million viewers a year ago, and a four-year low for the ceremony. Conversely, the 2025 telecast was a five-year high for ABC post-pandemic.
There are likely multiple reasons why the ratings were lower this time around. First off, the March 15th date was the latest in-season telecast since the pandemic delayed the 94th ceremony to March 27, 2022. That telecast featured the infamous Will Smith slap, but still only pulled in 16.62 million viewers. Last year’s broadcast was on March 2, 2025, comparably two weeks earlier than this year. That was the earliest in-calendar broadcast since the pre-pandemic ceremony on Feb. 9, 2020, which hit 23.64 million viewers.
The excuse for dropping the 98th ceremony in mid-March was competition from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. But NBC coverage ended on February 22. Why The Academy and ABC couldn’t stick with the first weekend of March is head-scratching.
The other reason viewership may have dipped was the “Wicked” effect. Last year’s ceremony saw Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo performing “Defining Gravity” live for the first time to kick off the telecast. The film also earned 10 Oscar nominations, with many fans potentially believing it had a shot at taking key categories such as Best Picture, Best Actress, or Best Supporting Actress. ABC hyped that opening performance as well as “Wicked” nominations across a majority of its marketing.
While last year’s ceremony had fewer $100 million global hits in play for Best Picture, it had bigger box office hits in the U.S. with “Dune: Part Two” ($282 million domestic ) and “Wicked” ($474 million). This year’s ceremony featured a barely mentioned “F1” ($189.6 million) and “Sinners” ($280 million). Both “Marty Surpreme” and “One Battle After Another” took in $90 million or less domestically. In hindsight, that “Wicked” effect was strong. Oscar producers will have to hope major nominations for “Dune: Part Three,” “The Odyssey,” and a potential Tom Cruise Oscar play for “Digger” spark an uptick in 2027.
The Academy has not revealed the date for the 2027 ceremony as of yet. Nielsen ratings may not be as much of a concern when the ceremony transitions to YouTube in 2029.
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