Sunday’s 98th Academy Awards drew 17.86 million viewers on ABC and Hulu, based on Nielsen’s big data plus panel ratings.

My Oscar Book:

That’s down about 9 percent from last year’s Oscars, which drew 19.69 million viewers for a post-pandemic high, and the smallest audience for the awards since 2022, when 16.68 million people watched.

One Battle After Another and Sinners ruled the night, with the former winning six Oscars (including best picture and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson) and Sinners earning four awards (including a best actor win for Michael B. Jordan and best original screenplay for Ryan Coogler).

Conan O’Brien took his second turn as host of the awards.

The Oscars followed the trend of the season’s other two big awards telecasts, albeit with a slightly steeper drop. The Grammy Awards in February fell by about 6 percent vs. their 2025 edition.

The telecast was marred by audio glitches and technucal issues and cut off a couple of winners while letting some scripted bits go on too long.

The show also, however, featured heartfelt speeches by Jordan and best actress winner Jessie Buckley, well-received musical performances of nominated songs from Sinners and KPop Demon Hunters (the latter’s “Golden” took home the award) and funny opening and closing filmed pieces featuring O’Brien riffing on the nominated films.

My Oscar Book: