Where once the Oscars was a glittering event tuned into by millions, it’s seen lackluster audience numbers in recent years, not helped by the global health crisis, but prominent way before it burst onto the scene. Alongside last week’s Oscar nominations, we saw it announced that they would return to live hosting, something that’s often been cited as the straw that broke the camel’s back regarding audience drawcards. Can we really blame the slow downward trajectory on a failure to live up to the weighty legacy created by Billy Crystal, however? Brandon Blake, the entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A, dives under the true surface of the decline for us.

Breath of Life:

The Academy is certainly facing heavy pressure to do something to rebuild those lucrative ratings their advertisers miss so much. And it’s undeniable that for a golden moment in the 90s at least, the comedic hosts of the Oscars were at least as much of a drawcard as the movies themselves. But, we hate to break it to them, simply returning a trio of (undoubtedly talented) comedians to the host role is not going to be quite the sop to ratings they seem to assume it will be.

In an attempt to remain relevant and attract a new generation of viewers, we’ve also seen them take to Twitter with the #OscarsFanFavorite competition, where fans are called on to vote for their favorites for best picture. A commendable venture into the world of social media, the salvaging redemption of more than one brand that had lost touch with younger viewers and needs to regain ground. But- and let’s be real here- also a sign of their apparent inability to understand the real issue with the Oscars and the public.

Most people outside the industry- and especially the Gen Z viewers who are most likely to respond to such a competition- probably haven’t heard of half the Best Picture category.

The Snub to Top All Snubs:

We don’t take a single thing away from any of the Top 10 nominees for this year. But let’s use some brutal honesty. They didn’t do a thing to help save the box office or entice viewers back to the Big Screen. That job fell to No Time to Die and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Two films are notable only for being snubbed.

And no, nominating Billie Eilish for her remarkable opening song does not count as a nod to No Time to Die’s role in preparing the way for Spider-Man to, quite literally, bust almost all movie records there were and then some. If ever there was a ‘blockbuster’ that deserved some Academy recognition, Spider-Man should have been it.

It’s hard not to point out that the year that Titanic sailed away with nearly every award is also one of the most-watched Oscar ceremonies ever. Of course, that doesn’t mean that we should only see popular titles in the Best Picture category, and the reasons that 2018’s proposal to add a ‘popular movie’ category was shot down were mostly logical. But given that the expanded Best Picture category was supposed to allow a little space for movies with a more popular release, and has again simply become small arty fare, that, while each a beautiful piece of film, can hardly be called mass-consumed or audience pulling, we have to say this one’s a bust.

Until and unless the Oscars find a way to properly integrate what people respond well to and enjoy into the ceremony for real, and not just what the Academy finds high-brow artistic worth in, this disconnect will continue. And while audiences remain resigned to not seeing anything they deeply enjoyed in lights, we can hardly be surprised if the rating slide continues. Sadly, there’s no way around that dilemma for now.