The 97th Academy Awards attracted 19.7 million viewers, marking the largest audience in five years, according to figures released by ABC. This represents a slight increase over last year’s 19.5 million, even though the night was dominated by smaller films, including ''Anora'', which took home five Oscars, including Best Picture.
Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the ceremony also benefited from the widespread buzz around ''Wicked'', which received 10 nominations and featured an opening performance by stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The musical won two awards for production design and costumes.
The show saw a significant uptick in viewership from younger audiences, especially those aged 18-49, thanks to increased mobile and laptop streaming. The Oscars were the most-watched primetime entertainment show of 2025.
While viewership remains a far cry from its peak in the late 1990s, when ''Titanic'' led the broadcast to 55 million viewers, the show’s recovery from the pandemic’s impact is evident. The 2021 ceremony saw a drastic drop to 9.85 million viewers but began rebounding with 16.6 million in 2022.
Despite the rise in viewership, technical issues affected the livestream on Hulu, cutting off the broadcast before the Best Actress win and ''Anora''’s Best Picture win were announced, leaving some viewers disappointed.
The Oscars still significantly outperformed other awards shows, surpassing the Grammys, which drew 15.4 million viewers this year.
