The Oscars draw their largest audience in 5 years, despite the focus on ‘Anora’ and other smaller films

Smaller movies didn’t mean fewer viewers for this year’s Oscars.

About 19.7 million people watched the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday night, making it the most-watched Oscars in five years, according to ABC’s report on Tuesday.

Even with “Anora” — which won five Oscars including best picture — and other lesser-known films leading the night, the event still topped last year’s 19.5 million viewers, when the blockbuster “Oppenheimer” took major awards and “Barbie” had a strong presence.

The ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, featured a performance by “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and the film won for its production design and costumes.

AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reported on the ratings, highlighting that this year’s show had a large increase among 18 to 49-year-olds, helped by younger viewers watching on phones and laptops. ABC said it was the most-watched primetime entertainment program of 2025.

Still, the increase is part of a slow climb back from the pandemic low, and with the way live viewing habits have changed, the Oscars likely won’t return to its past highs.

Back in 1998, when “Titanic” swept the awards, 55 million tuned in. The Oscars stayed above 30 million viewers until 2018, when it dropped to 26.5 million. The lowest point came in 2021 during the pandemic, with only 9.85 million viewers. The numbers started rising again in 2022 — the year of Will Smith’s slap — when 16.6 million watched.

This year, Hulu streamed the Oscars live for the first time, but the broadcast cut out during the final moments, causing some viewers to miss Mikey Madison’s best actress win and “Anora” taking best picture.

Even so, the Oscars still had a much bigger audience than other awards shows this year, with nearly 20 million viewers compared to the Grammys’ 15.4 million.