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By Gavin Boyle
Only 17.86 million viewers tuned into the Oscars this year, a 9% decrease from last year’s post-pandemic high of 19.69 million viewers.
“Live events have never been more important to our culture and industry, and we just acquired one of the crown jewels, adding to our portfolio of world-class programming across all genres,” said Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, when the company acquired the rights to the Oscars along with the Grammys and the 2027 Super Bowl.
The drop in viewership comes as the award ceremony continues to highlight and reward movies that do not reflect the values that American audiences crave. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER and SINNERS were the major winners, collecting six and four Oscars respectively. Both movies were rated poorly by Movieguide® for their excessive violence and strong language along with an unfair portrayal of Christians.
Related: Yes, the Oscars Are Coming to YouTube in 2029
Some may argue that the lower Oscars viewership is a result of cord cutting, and that theory will be put to the test in 2029 when YouTube begins to host the award ceremony on its platform for free viewership.
“We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor in a joint statement when the deal with YouTube was announced. “The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible — which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community.”
“This collaboration will leverage YouTube’s vast reach and infuse the Oscars and other Academy programming with innovative opportunities for engagement while honoring our legacy. We will be able to celebrate cinema, inspire new generations of filmmakers and provide access to our film history on an unprecedented global scale,” the announcement continued.
Movieguide®, however, works to promote family-friendly movies every day that audiences actually desire. This is the reason we run the Movieguide® Awards every year.
“It’s our prayer that, with each passing year, we’ll be able to report on increasing industry profits made on movies that uplift society, enrich people’s lives, and honor family, life and God,” Movieguide® founder Dr. Ted Baehr said last year. “Of course, the bottom line can’t be measured in dollar signs or stars and pluses. It can be measured only in a society that moves in grace toward real truth, goodness, justice, beauty, and blessings.”
This year’s Movieguide® Awards highlighted movies that uplifted audiences while portraying Christian themes in an honest and authentic way, including HOUSE OF DAVID, THE CHOSEN, SUPERMAN, WHEN CALLS THE HEART, BOSTON BLUE, LILO & STITCH, ZOOTOPIA 2, TIMELESS TIDINGS OF JOY, among others.
The 2026 Movieguide® Awards are available to stream on Pureflix. Movieguide® is committed to continuing to serve the families of America even while Hollywood is content with promoting movies like ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER and SINNERS.
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