Los Angeles (AFP)
Audience for the latest Academy Awards collapsed with a score of 9.85 million viewers in the United States, a drop of more than 58% from the previous year and an all-time low, according to the figures communicated by the ABC channel which broadcast the ceremony.
At the start of 2020, before the pandemic that rocked Hollywood and the film industry, the Oscar ceremony drew 23.6 million American spectators, which was already at the time the worst audience score recorded by the 'event.
This very bad result was expected by the experts and is in line with the half-mast figures achieved this season by other film awards, such as the Golden Globes.
With theaters closed for much of 2020 and studios having pushed back big productions, this year's Oscar nominees were visibly unfamiliar with some of the audience, like the winner. of the evening, "Nomadland", an independent film with a modest budget and with a large part of amateur actors playing their own roles.
This drop in audience for the Oscars has been observed regularly in recent years.
In 2014 again, the gala evening attracted more than 43 million spectators in front of the small screen.
Among the failures noted this year by many experts, the absence of Anthony Hopkins, crowned best actor for "The Father".
However, exceptionally, the organizers had changed the order of presentation of the statuettes, which traditionally ends with the best feature film, and ends with the Oscar for best actor.
"At 83, I never expected to receive this award, really not," apologized from Wales Anthony Hopkins in a video posted to Instagram.
He also paid tribute to the memory of Chadwick Boseman, who died last year of cancer after filming his latest film "The Blues of Ma Rainey".
The star was considered the big favorite in the category of best actor.
© 2021 AFP