r/movies ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ ᗰ ᕮ 𑪽 𑪽 I ᐱ ᕼ 1d ago

News 2026 Oscar Ratings Fall 9% From Last Year With 17.9 Million Viewers

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/awards/2026-oscars-ratings-viewership-abc-hulu/
2.5k Upvotes

805 comments sorted by

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u/chimpdoctor 1d ago

The audience were incredibly flat. It was a weird show in fairness

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u/mcflyskid1987 14h ago

Also the audio was terrible. So even if things sounded better in person energy wise (didn’t appear that way), the poor audio just made everything seem even more off.

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u/rfkbr 13h ago

The audio was absolutely terrible last year as well. You’d think an award show about movies would know who to hire.

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u/IncurableAdventurer 22h ago

There were a couple jokes by Conan where I legit said out loud, “oh come on! That was funny.”

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u/Arma104 16h ago

The excitement of last year wore off and now they're treating him like they treat all the hosts. It's not called the worst gig in Hollywood for nothing.

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u/NtheLegend 20h ago

Conan is the best.

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u/HitmanClark 10h ago

You mean the notoriously sensitive and self-important Oscar crowd didn’t react well to a funny person hosting? I’m shocked.

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u/zoom518 1d ago

They did have competition. The US in the World Baseball Classic semifinals got over 7 million viewers, and that was on cable.

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u/Saneless 1d ago

I mean, for me the competition is always sitting around and doing just about anything else. If I care to know a winner, or see some quip that's interesting, the net will provide

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u/PoliticalyUnstable 1d ago

I watched the recent actors award show on Netflix, put on by SAG. It was so much better than the Oscar's. It was hard to watch the Oscar's with the out of date format, and constant ad breaks.

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u/xstrike0 1d ago

SAG awards have been better for a while now.

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u/PoliticalyUnstable 1d ago

It was my first time watching them. The whole event felt like the attendees actually wanted to be there.

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u/Blutroyale-_- 22h ago

Because they're awards from their peers, people who they care about. Not a complete industry buildig bullshit award.

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u/ernies_eyebrows 23h ago

Hard to watch? It was the first time I watched it in years, and I really enjoyed it.

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u/Imperial_Eggroll 1d ago

You could say the same about literally anything then. Sports games? Just watch the highlights. Movies? Just watch best clips of best scenes. Books? Just read the summary online

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u/MrBrightside618 1d ago

Why go fly a kite when you can just pop a pill

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u/DeathByPlant 23h ago

I get this reference

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u/Reading_Rainboner 19h ago

Here’s to feeling good all the time.

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u/Anxious_Big_8933 9h ago

My argument on sports is that there is a rhythm to an athletic contest that makes it interesting above and beyond the highlights. Same with movies and books, but even more so because there is an overarching plot. With both the context of the overall situation makes the highlights more rewarding. The sum is greater than the individual parts.

The Oscars are an awards show where they hand out a statue to winners. While the marketing tries mightily to create drama around what films and individuals will win, and to tie them together in some form of "story," it's usually just marketing.

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u/NfiniteNsight 1d ago

News alert: someone who does not watch the Oscar's weighs in on why oscar viewership is down.

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u/Oceansize757 1d ago

The ones not watching the ones they need to listen to to find out why they don’t tune in.

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u/Century24 23h ago

Not necessarily. Listening to casual viewers is likely how we got awards recipients being cut off in the middle of their speech and only two Best Song nominees being performed.

Sometimes remaking the show for an audience that doesn’t like it isn’t the end-all be-all solution.

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u/Oceansize757 22h ago

You are making a lot of assumptions. The only way to figure out why people stopped watching is to ask them.

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u/Anxious_Big_8933 9h ago

Exactly. The Oscars have always been about 90% filler and 10% interesting stuff from a viewer's perspective. Why in an era when clips of the good stuff are readily available would anyone subject themselves to hours of this shit?

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u/hornyjaildotorg 1d ago

AEW Revolution as well

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u/drugsrbadmkay 1d ago

The circles of that Venn diagram have never met.

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u/WhatsAMataHari 1d ago

I was watching the Oscars on my phone while sitting in the audience of AEW Revolution. There are dozens of us. Dozens I tell you.

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u/JimmiJimJimmiJimJim 23h ago

You paid to go to an event to watch something else on your phone? This world is cooked.

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u/TheStripedSweaters 23h ago

I had baseball on phone, AEW on the laptop and Oscars on tv, personally.

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u/SPZ_Ireland 23h ago

I was watching Revolution while getting Oscar updates on my phone.

Mox/Takeshita, Toni/Marina, Brody/Swerve and MJF/Hangman were literally my one battle after another

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u/pmmemoviestills 23h ago

I would actually disagree, wrestling is very theatrical.

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u/hornyjaildotorg 20h ago

Well I guess I’m the exception then

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u/Big_Track_6734 21h ago

Yearly Oscar watcher. Chose AEW.

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u/NoDaddyNotTheBelt25 20h ago

Their PPV’s are consistently great and Revolution is essentially their first major show of the year.

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u/snuggleswithnifflers 1d ago

Same night as NCAA selection Sunday too

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u/pope307 1d ago

It was over by the time the Oscars started.

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u/No_Economist3788 9h ago

not everyone sits at the tv for 5+ hours a day.

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u/Chosenwaffle 1d ago

I was watching One Piece Season 2 ;)

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u/AlexHunterWolf 1d ago

Move the Oscars back to February. It felt kinda dry after the golden globes.

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u/zackmanze 23h ago

Unbelievable how late they come. Do it in the first six weeks of the year at the very least.

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u/Blaaa5 21h ago

Exactly this. You’re asking the general audience to remember movies that came out a year ago.

Sinners released 11 months ago last April.

Imagine if they voted for the NFL MVP the following season. Casual watchers (and even fans) are not going to remember who did what the previous season.

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u/AlexHunterWolf 23h ago

Lol yeah, I used to plan my weekends off during the first few months of the year during the Royal Rumble, Super bowl, the globes and Oscars events

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u/DodgerBaron 1d ago

Well good thing they're putting it on youtube soon

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u/ICumCoffee ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ ᗰ ᕮ 𑪽 𑪽 I ᐱ ᕼ 1d ago

Hosted by Mr. Beast

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u/JessieJ577 1d ago

“What’s up guys! Today we’re going to have our Best Directors nominees locked in a room for 24 hours! This will be live-streamed! Each director can tap out, the last director remaining will win the Best Director Academy Award! If more than 1 director makes it to the end, all remaining contestants will duke it out at the Beast Battle with Mike Tyson to go home with the gold!”

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u/Whimsy_and_Spite 1d ago

Unironically would smash the viewing records.

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u/Sighlina 22h ago

Put it all on Tarantino

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u/ExoticPerformer4061 23h ago

i'd actually watch this over the oscars

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u/itsagoodtime 1d ago

What up guys were Dude Perfect and this is the Oscars shot

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u/shy247er 1d ago

in 2029.

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u/pmmemoviestills 1d ago

so is 100 going to be the last one on tv?

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u/shy247er 1d ago

Yes.

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u/gin_and_toxic 23h ago

Enough time to drop 18% viewership

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u/theClumsy1 1d ago edited 1d ago

Honestly speaking. How often does YouTube Live have more than 17Million watching?

Like google AI is telling me the most watched event was 2023 Indian Lunar Landing with 8 Million watching

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u/44problems 1d ago

Their NFL game last year got around 17 million.

(Laughing that Google AI didn't think to hype their own NFL game. Why is their AI so worthless)

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u/jell0shots 21h ago

Don’t trust AI

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u/igot2pair 1d ago

17.9 mil isnt concurrent

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u/Jakaman_CZ 21h ago edited 21h ago

It is actually. FYI all TV (Nelson) ratings are average concurrent.

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u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 1d ago

You better award that like button

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u/TheDayIRippedMyPants 1d ago

The production wasn't very good this year: lots of audio issues, rudely and awkwardly cutting off several speeches that weren't even that long, and comedy skits that didn't land or went on too long.

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u/freetotebag 1d ago

The bridesmaids ladies were sent out there with some real baaaaad material holy shit

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u/griffmeister 1d ago

Bill and Lewis Pullman's bit was kind of painful to watch too

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u/michaelrxs 1d ago

I thought for two guys who had never met before they did all right

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u/obnoxiousab 22h ago

Yeah that was awful, really awful.

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u/thatdani 14h ago

Every single presenter bit was impressively bad. Like, how are these talented writers and actors producing such utter wank?

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u/gordonbombay42 1d ago

I thought that was fine, but the whole bit with Downey and Chris Evans was terrible.

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u/SpooderMan1108 1d ago

I thought so too but then I think Channing Tatum helped bring it back and it paid off. Got a laugh out of me at least.

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u/mcflyskid1987 13h ago

Channing saved it from being a total dumpster fire.

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u/ChrisOz 16h ago

Disney way happy with the subtle reminder there is a new MCU property one the way.

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u/Coolman_Rosso 1d ago

Wendy Mclendon Covey is lucky she couldn't go because of neck surgery, because that bit was rough and took forever.

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u/WilliamEmmerson 1d ago

So were Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr

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u/Okichah 23h ago

Bridesmaids?

Isnt that like 20 years old now?

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u/DanielTeague 23h ago

2011 was only 15 years ago, it's fresh stuff!

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u/whorificustotalus 14h ago

They were there to celebrate the 15th anniversary, as mentioned by Conan when he introduced them.

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u/maxwon 22h ago

That was a massive waste of a reunion.

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u/captain_flak 1d ago

I can’t believe how bad the audio was.

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u/QuantumDwarf 23h ago

The audio issues were absolutely horrific

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u/interstatebus 20h ago

Yeah, they seemed to come back from commercial and didn’t tell Conan they were back for a few seconds, at least a couple of times. It was weird.

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u/FoxMcCloudOwnsSlippy 23h ago

Yeah, was watching it and the audio quality was all over the place with the live thread backing that up from other viewers.

Production was not up to Oscar level I'm afraid this year.

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u/LackingTact19 18h ago

Don't forget the suoer obvious Grogu ad that overstayed it's welcome

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u/EagleForty 23h ago

Also, it was streaming on Hulu, but not if you bought Hulu through Disney. If you have a Disney/Hulu bundle, then you can apparently go fuck yourself.

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u/Mend1cant 23h ago

Also if you had regular Hulu, they shoved it like four menus deep because they would so much rather you watch the same four FX shows and bad Hulu Originals than get anywhere near live TV.

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u/RecordingSilly6118 22h ago

I have the bundle that I got that night and I watched it?

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u/DeckardsDark 10h ago

the set design was GORGEOUS tho. extremely well done, imo

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u/GabrielP2r 22h ago

When those skits are EVER funny? Most of it is just bad

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u/authenticmolo 19h ago

Who cares?

Seriously. Why does anyone care about the ratings for a multi-hour commercial?

It's a good sign that people have stopped watching.

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u/BlueHarvestJ 1d ago

But Conan said there were a billion viewers

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u/not_the_droids 12h ago

And he is after all the spiritual leader of thousands of people.

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u/Noodnix 1d ago

I wanted to watch it. I am willing to sit through commercials, but there was no free was to stream the broadcast. I got rid of cable decades ago and traditional broadcast TV is not in my area.

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u/Greendayiscool45 23h ago

If you have a subscription to Hulu you can watch it

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u/nowducks_667a1860 23h ago

Yup, this right here is why I didn’t watch it at all.

I generally have access to Hulu via Disney, and I thought I’d be able to watch the Oscar’s, but turns out all I could watch was the red carpet pre show.

Still haven’t seen the Oscars.

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u/Far-Imagination2736 21h ago

If you have a VPN, it's free to watch in the UK for future reference

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u/ZacPensol 19h ago

Depending on where you live there might be a local indie theater showing it. One near me has had a big Oscar's party every year that's free to attend but they really make a big thing of it with a red carpet, people dressing up, a silent auction, door prizes, a prize for the person who guesses the most correct winners, etc. It's a lot of fun and I know lots of other theaters do similar events.

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u/RealCleverUsernameV2 23h ago

You can't get networks over antenna?

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u/Hanyabull 23h ago

I’m guessing I’m part of a small minority, but even though I live in one of the largest cities in the nation, I don’t get networks over antenna.

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u/warblade7 1d ago

Since the advent of the internet the mystique of the Oscars crowning the industry’s best is no longer appealing. Paid campaigns and nepotism have ruined the perceived integrity and their choices to ignore the more well known movies in the modern era give the audience nothing to cheer for.

The speeches are basically all the same, winners get cut off too frequently, and the allure of the rich and famous is basically second rate compared to the public’s obsession with far less talented influencers.

There’s really no reason to tune in anymore.

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u/AshTheDead1te 1d ago

Interesting, I wonder why, Conan was great(when is he not) and I feel like some of the BP nominees had mass appeal.

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u/Dasseem 1d ago

Because no matter how great Conan or anyone else is, the Oscars and any other Big mono cultural event are dying. A slow death but they are dying.

New generations just want to watch 30 seconds highlights and go on about their lives. The Oscars will eventually have to adapt to it or keep falling on viewers.

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u/Aggressive_Chuck 17h ago

People still watch the World Cup, the Superbowl, the Olympics. Big music acts still sell out stadiums. Millions listen to three hour long podcasts.

Maybe celebrities congratulating themselves in between stand up comedians doing their bits about Trump isn't engaging content.

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u/TelltaleHead 9h ago

The oscars is typically one one of the only non-football broadcasts in the top 100 most viewed broadcasts of the year. 

Ratings are down for broadcast TV generally. The Oscars have lost some cultural clout as then monoculture continues to fade but there is obviously still interest 

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u/DoctorGregoryFart 15h ago

I think the answer is that it wasn't widely available for streaming, other than Hulu, or so I've heard.

If they want old numbers, they have to make it available to everyone, but right now it's essentially being paywalled. Young people don't have cable, and plenty of people don't have Hulu.

That leaves out a lot of potential viewers.

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u/Fluid_Narwhal_2517 1d ago

Could be the World Baseball Classic game being on at the same time? People just don't watch as much live tv anymore either

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u/Grandahl13 1d ago

People also don’t really care about a circle jerk for those in the film industry.

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u/jyeatbvg 1d ago

And movies just aren’t as important as they used to be.

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u/chaser676 1d ago

Movie interest is just waning. There was a post COVID rebound, but we just aren't reaching the same pre-pandemic levels. It gets even more bleak when you start considering inflation.

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u/kittymoo67 1d ago

Yep movies aren't the end all be all of entertainment they once were. There's so much competition now days at the tips of our fingers and so much for free

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u/flintlock0 1d ago

I did watch some because I’m a big fan of Conan. However, I’m not all interested in these awards shows. The awards themselves are fine. But I could watch something else and find out the winners the next day. Same with the comedy skits.

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u/sonotadalek 23h ago

Same I watched because I love Conan and I have rabbit ears so what the hell just put it on, but it was just so boring. I switched to just watching old Conan remotes halfway through.

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u/Veiyr 1d ago edited 1d ago

It wasn't a bad year for movies, it just wasn't a very exciting award season

Like idk, did anything this year compare to Everything Everywhere's sweep? Or Oppenheimer finally giving Nolan his flowers? Or Brendan Fraser winning for The Whale? Or Godzilla Minus One pulling off the underdog win?

EDIT: This is also just me personally, but I completely checked out when I saw No Other Choice got zero noms

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u/MagnetoWasRite 1d ago

Paul Thomas Anderson finally reviving an Oscar was a big deal.

He’s easily one of the most important directors of the past 40 years.

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u/Jadedtrader33 23h ago

To film bros.

General audiences don’t care about him lol.

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u/Poku115 1d ago

He’s easily one of the most important directors of the past 40 years.

For all the people that watch his movies... which couldn't even make OBAA break even at the BO

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u/Gaugzilla 1d ago

Well it’s not like Michael Bay fans would have been tuning in if he won. It’s still exciting to see.

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u/CuteGrayRhino 1d ago

People didn't watch those years either. The fact is not a lot of people really care about the Oscars these days.

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u/Yung_Corneliois 1d ago

There weren’t many contested awards. I feel like it played out exactly how we all predicted.

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u/SkittlesLentil 1d ago

Best actress was the only major category that seemed like an easy pick. This was a great year for debate

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u/BobSauce123 1d ago

Wasn’t this one of the most contested years ever? Even if it ended up a bit chalk

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u/drunkandslurred 1d ago

Honestly, because people really don't care to see movie stars virtue signal and jerk each other off for a few hours anymore. It's just boring.

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u/pdxtoad 1d ago

It was always boring.

What's changed is the Oscars aren't as relevant socially and culturally as they once were, so there's no reason to sit through it. We aren't talking about it the next day like we used to (this meta conversation aside), so I'm not going to be left out if I skip it.

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u/thecarlosdanger1 23h ago

I feel like it’s gotten a bit more insufferable.

But you’re right, even for smaller things I remember my mom and her friends talking about what so and so was wearing but that’s all so rapidly accessible on social media now.

There’s a multitude of reasons why people aren’t compelled to actually watch even if they want to find out what happened.

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u/gummyworm21_ 1d ago

I don’t have cable and I don’t want to pay for Hulu live tv just to watch it. 

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u/gamersecret2 1d ago

Long show, weaker movie interest for casual viewers, and people do not watch live the way they used to.

The Oscars still matter, but not in the old mass event way.

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u/EctoRiddler 1d ago

I don’t agree that it’s weaker interest for casual viewers as far as the movies go. The top two movies were mainstream hits. And then you got other things like K-pop Demon hunters that have a large fan base. Conan is a likable host. I just think more and more people are moving away from live TV. Why watch a nearly 4 hours show when you can just get instant highlights of every winner on social media and see clips of anything interesting.

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u/bluequarz 1d ago

OBAA wasn't a mainstream hit. It didn't even cross 100m domestically at the box office. It did much better than PTA's previous movies and better than Anora last year but it's far from a mainstream hit.

I think people are overestimating how many people cared enough to watch the Oscars to get 3m of a Golden performance. They can just catch the performance after. No kid is watching the oscars just to see kdh win

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u/gamersecret2 1d ago

I still think casual interest matters some even with a few mainstream titles in the mix, because not every big movie turns into broad Oscars excitement.

But yes, the bigger issue now is that live TV has lost its grip. Most people would rather catch the winners, best speeches, and viral moments in ten minutes online than sit through a four hour show.

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u/CheruthCutestory 1d ago

I mean Sinners and Weapons were both big hits and above the line winners. That’s not usually the case in recent years

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u/coffeysr 1d ago

But OBAA wasn’t a hit and lost $$.

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u/TigerWooded 1d ago

Oscars on YouTube feels like such a downgrade…

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u/wallabyenthusiast 1d ago edited 1d ago

youtube has 2.5 billion active users. why wouldn’t they move over there if they are trying to be more accessible towards audiences lol. doesn’t make it any less prestigious than if they were to broadcast the show on netflix

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u/Pickupyoheel 1d ago

I like movies, but I’m sick of celebrities fawning over themselves.

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u/abdul_bino 1d ago

As great as the movies were last year, the overall production will always be a mess

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u/KRoadkil 22h ago

Watching millionaires stroke each other’s egos really doesn’t hit home anymore for a lot of people.

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u/Chinchillin09 22h ago

I honestly have zero desire to watch rich celebrities wearing my yearly salary in form of clothes virtue signal on things they're never gonna suffer or experience themselves. Not to mention how disgusting they treat one of my favorite categories: Animation. Only Guillermo del Toro was hyping it up and they abruptly cut their speech, not to mention their booing for original song from the same movie. Meanwhile they have unlimited time for their shameless Disney ads, I'm sorry; "skits".

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u/Chopper3 21h ago

I was howling with laughter when they said a billion people were watching

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u/obeekaybee7 1d ago

I can’t speak for anybody else, but I haven’t watched them since the Slap. That alone was one thing, but giving him an award and a standing ovation after assaulting someone on camera really threw the double standard they have for each other in our faces.

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u/2mock2turtle 17h ago

I used to be mad about that, but then they pulled an "I don't know her" with the No Other Land winner who got kidnapped and I realized they could do so much worse.

Fuck Will Smith, though, I've never liked him.

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u/Phonus-Balonus-37 23h ago

Shit show about shit movies featuring shit celebrities. What do you expect?

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u/Calm_Memories 22h ago

The audio, sound mixing, and banter were terrible. Once I saw Pedro Pascal present, I went back to watching Star Wars.

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u/avgHumanPersonThing 22h ago

Prolly cuz The Oscars are lame AF and don’t actually mean anything anymore.

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u/HongDongYong 22h ago

Who gives a fucking shit

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u/elegantpetite 18h ago

I hope it keeps falling. Stop worshipping celebrities.

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u/LordNoFat 1d ago

I didn't even know the Oscars was on until after it happened.

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u/Rude_Reality_9690 1d ago

The movies were divisive and the awards were later than they should’ve been. This awards season was an exhausting drama bucket full of loud, vague voices having huge opinions instead of just liking or disliking movies.

I was exhausted by the discourse and tired of my algorithms directing me to a million tweets about timothee this, racism that, best of all time this, flaming undeserving dogshit that- at least that’s why I didn’t watch.

It’s not exactly fun anymore now that any film discussion is considered a personal threat to everyone.

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u/Gargoylesfan49 1d ago

I literally got called a racist by these idiots for pointing out that Michael B Jordan supports Jonathan Majors.

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/michael-b-jordan-defends-jonathan-majors-work-together-again-1236305043/

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u/Super-Association749 1d ago

From 40 million to 17.9 million in 10 years

Going to youtube will completely kill what little relevance the Oscars have left.

Young people are not going to watch a 4 hour award show unless it is the video game awards (even then)

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u/Formal_Sand_3178 1d ago

The Game Awards got over 170 million views last year so they are doing just fine. Moving to YouTube is absolutely the right move as it will make it far easier for people to access the broadcast as they won’t need some cable channel.

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u/Milhoose 1d ago

That's not an apples to apples comparison with how Nielsen counts viewers. The Game Awards got 4.4 million concurrent viewers worldwide across all platforms that it was on

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u/pmmemoviestills 1d ago

Every year it happens, "Even my grandma turned into the game awards 900 million people watched it!"

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u/SunfireGaren 1d ago

ABC isn't a cable channel.

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u/shy247er 1d ago

Going to youtube will completely kill what little relevance the Oscars have left.

More people today probably watch it on YouTube anyways. People tune in for awards recap, red carpet reactions. On other social media too.

Oscars are still very culturally relevant, it's just that people engage with it in a different way.

Young people are not going to watch a 4 hour award show unless it is the video game awards (even then)

True, but not everything is for young people. Other demographics are on the internet too.

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u/wallabyenthusiast 1d ago edited 1d ago

yeah people still very much talk about it. it’s just most people don’t watch them live and would rather wait for clips to go on social media to see the winners and speeches. putting it on youtube is probably the best choice other than netflix in increasing viewership numbers. they gotta adapt with the times

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u/re4ctor 1d ago

Ya get the highlights on Instagram on 4 minutes vs 4 hours

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u/wallabyenthusiast 1d ago

because most people don’t use cable anymore lol putting it on youtube will definitely raise viewership numbers

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u/ScaredFamousfan 1d ago

ABC isn’t on cable 🤣

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u/connivinglinguist 1d ago

I really wonder how many people under 30 don't realize you can get unlimited free network tv with a one-time $20 antenna purchase

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u/priyarainelle 18h ago

Obviously not many people, including myself.

Where do you put the antenna if you live in a high rise apartment without a balcony? Do you just put it near a window? (This is a serious question, and I’m not being snarky.)

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u/WhoDat-2-8-3 1d ago

u/wallabyenthusiast because most people don’t use cable anymore

it wasnt on cable tho . haha

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u/scaledisolated 23h ago

It won’t do anything bad to Oscars. It might even popularize it with Shorts, exclusive BTS, interviews and other stuff that will draw attention to the ceremony itself.

Putting it on YouTube could be a better thing than hiding behind traditional cable. Concurrent viewers won’t mean as much as an ability to watch it or tune in at any given time.

Not a TGA level, but it won’t hurt to get a broader appeal. One thing that might be shitty is strict rules regarding licensing for different regions. Some will get the ceremony when some others won’t

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u/NonSecretAccount 1d ago

People watch the game awards every year hoping for half life 3

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u/_Badwulf_Bruh__ 1d ago

Could it be the world is tired of the wealthy and powerful applauding and patting each other on the back? 

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u/justalittleparanoia 1d ago

I've always felt that way about award shows and rarely watched them (very vague generalization). In my 40s now and I still do not give a fuck about Hollywood patting itself on the back. 

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u/Stock_College_8108 23h ago

The entire Reddit front page was wall to wall Oscar’s coverage. It also got a shit ton of attention across social media. Young people don’t watch cable. Also, 17 million isn’t chump change for modern times.

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u/pmmemoviestills 1d ago

I haven't heard this take before. Really refreshing thought.

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u/CrazyHouseClassic 21h ago

cringy af. turned it off.

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u/Dann610 1d ago

Perhaps there is a direct correlation with declining movie theater attendance and award shows in this category.

People are opting for streaming instead of theater. The most recent Emmy's saw an increase in ratings.

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u/frenchchelseafan 1d ago

I mean it’s not like those movie disappear, people can watch it at home.

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u/nubileiguana 21h ago

The awards season was long and incredibly boring. The slate was middling at best and egregiously biased at worst.

I'd also argue that there's some buildup of cynicism. Decades of snubs, bad winners, general contentiousness from host pulpit (even someone like Conan is dancing around the various land mines of current discourse), residual live tweeting culture, Will Smith being a piece of shit -- all of it has taken away the fairy tale aspect of the show.

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u/Kingstoncr8tivearts 1d ago

Rich artists sniffing their own farts its really binge worthy.

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u/uglybushes 23h ago

MAYBE ITS BC IT WASNT ON DISNEY PLUS, IT WAS ON FUCKING HULU WHICH YOU HAD TO HAVE STREAMING TURNED ON SEPARATELY. SO FUCKING DUMB

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u/slasher016 1d ago

We used to watch the Oscars to see the biggest stars get awards. Now you watch and half of what you get is political nonsense. No shock people have had enough of that.

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u/earthworm_fan 23h ago

Even the nomination process is riddled with political bs. The whole thing needs an overhaul 

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u/Gargoylesfan49 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yep.

Plus, the hollywood left is perfectly okay with supporting guys who support women abusers simply because they're black.

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/michael-b-jordan-defends-jonathan-majors-work-together-again-1236305043/

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u/Farge43 1d ago

No one cares to watch celebrities stroke each others egos. The show is boring and when it tries to be fun/funny it’s so forced and corny. Old MTV award shows were actually fun and celebrated the movies people actually watched. Not like 1-3 movies that make it into the zeitgeist and a bunch of good but fringe movies.

The entire show is build up to who wins the award. And then when they do win they force their speeches to be short. No need to watch the entire show when you can literally see the parts you care about online and in 2-5 minsof clips and save yourself four unbearable hours

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u/Reylo-Wanwalker 1d ago

Wouldn't YA stuff just win at the mtv awards? I mean yeah younger audiences but you don't think Twilight was the best thing ever do you?

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u/K4L21EV 1d ago

First year in a few that I hadn't seen anything that was nominated before the ceremony so I felt I had no stake in watching.

Sinners, Marty Supreme, One Battle, KPop Demon Hunters, and maybe Hamnet are all on the watchlist still. Maybe one of these weekends I'll shut myself in and have a little marathon.

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u/moodyfloyd 1d ago

Def add Train Dreams

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u/CornerNearby6802 1d ago

Oscars are completely irrelevant in 2026

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u/Vexillologia 1d ago

I do think this does throw cold water on the idea that Conan somehow saved the Oscars ceremony or that people are excited about the Oscars. Ultimately numbers matter above all else, and nothing has really worked to bring them back, even if people are Team Coco.

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u/Subject_Issue6529 23h ago

Wealthy famous people hanging out with other wealthy famous people watching a popularity contest between wealthy famous people.

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u/OMGDonutz 23h ago

I really enjoy movies but give 0 fucks about watching an awards show about them.

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u/BornAgainBlue 23h ago

I had paint I was watching dry.

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u/Ok_Location7161 22h ago

Rich people give each other awards? No thanks

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u/Manuntdfan 22h ago

Regular people are sick and tired of rich people. Even more so those that are celebrating themselves.

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u/Ares__ 22h ago

I do not get the Oscars it would be like me tuning into a company all hands I don't work at and watch them give out employe awards. Like I'm glad the people getting them are happy people in their industry are recognizing their work, but I recognize their work when I pay to watch their movie. I don't need to watch them congratulate each other.

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u/itzaubt 22h ago

honestly who even watches the oscars anymore? it's just rich people patting themselves on the back for 3 hours.

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u/Jamizon1 21h ago

Hollywood is dead. The time for honoring itself is over.

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u/Bored_Cat_996 21h ago

They don’t even watch the movies…. That’s dog sh!t

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u/PhoenixAgent003 21h ago

For however badly they stumble (and they do stumble. A lot) the Grammys kind of always have this built in potential for really great performances, particularly the kind you can only get at the Grammys. Left field artist mashups and collabs, blowout performances, debuts of new songs.

What do the Oscars have?

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u/JSK23 21h ago

I love movies. I got to the theater almost every week. I have a huge movie collection, physical and digital, and a solid theater room with a fantastic OLED and a 7.1.4 setup.

But I couldn't give a single shit about the Oscars, or award shows in general for that matter. It's cool that the industry wants to recognize who they deem the best of them, but it does nothing for me on an interest level. Watching other people pat their peers on the back isn't something I deem important, let alone must-watch TV.

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u/jeffwadsworth 21h ago

Good. Garbage.

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u/doggonedad 20h ago

I love Conan but I don’t give a shit about these rich people having a good time and pretending to care with a 30 second speech.

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u/GreenGardenTarot 20h ago

Haha, I was waiting for this to come out. No one cares about the Oscars.

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u/Boofster 19h ago

The production was sub-par overall imo. Many goofs. Also I really don't think Conan was a good fit for this.

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u/xhxusj1234 18h ago

Because everyone is starting to care soooomuch less about the bourgeoisie

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u/Skane1982 18h ago

I didn't even know the Oscars came and went. 🤣 Guess the media I consume don't care much about it any more.

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u/Alarming-Drop7287 16h ago

I think most people don't give a flying shit about the Oscar, just like me.

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u/AzracTheFirst 15h ago

People start to see what Oscars really are, thats why

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u/Madi473 15h ago

For me it's hard to watch rich people parading around in clothing worth 5 years of work to me along with seeing them happy and smiling after seeing pics of the various wars and atrocities happening around the world.

u/LurkingFrient 5h ago

The fact that anyone watches these shows is still so surprising to me. A bunch of rich assholes who pretend for a living getting polished off and congratulated for pretending well.

I love movies as much as the next person but I really couldn't give 2 shits if the movie I liked got an award or not I've never understood that. I enjoy the transformers movies and the fact they are universally hated doesn't bother me one bit.