It was widely reported that the 2003 Academy Awards was the least-watched Oscar ceremony since Nielsen Media Research began keeping records in 1974.
Larry Hyams, ABC's chief "excuse" researcher said:
"It was such a special instance, it's hard to speculate what it was beyond the war coverage." He noted that "viewer-ship has been sharply up for cable news networks covering the war full time".
Could it be the lack of viewer-ship had everything to do with the disdain many Americans feel toward the Left Coast Hollywood Wing Nuts who called the them ignorant and uninformed in their stance on the war effort, that our President is a liar, that they would make an exodus from this country should Bush be reelected and studios have especially become inherently incapable of producing quality films worthy of any true Oscar recognition?
They just don't get it! The In Crowd has become the Out Crowd to millions of Americans.
Earlier Oscar lows came in 1987, when 37.2 million people watched "Platoon" win best picture, and 37.8 million in 1986, when "Out of Africa" won. Oscar's record was the 55.2 million viewers in 1998, when "Titanic" won.
I predict also with the snubbing of Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", the numbers may even fall [as in fall off a cliff] to an all time low.
I don't understand why THE PASSION getting an Academy Award is so damn important. It was a good movie. It wasn't the best movie this year. It just wasn't. I don't think Mel made this movie to get an Academy Award. And, in a way, I'd rather it not get sullied in with the rest of the stuff that night. It's like in a special class by itself. It's commercial success was unprecedented. Why isn't that enough?