80th Annual Oscars Brings In Low Ratings

The 80th anniversary of the Academy Awards has been marked as the least watched Oscar telecast ever. This past Sunday's broadcast, hosted by Jon Stewart, drew in about 32 millions viewers, this number being small compared to other Oscar telecasts. Prior to this year, the lowest ranked Oscars was in 2003, right after the U.S. led invasion of Iraq had just begun.

To most people, there was no surprise that the Oscars brought in such a small audience. Many films that were being showcased were ones that had received great critical reviews, but, still, they were not box office hits.

For example, "No Country For Old Men," which won four awards including best picture, brought in a respectable $64 million at the North American box office. The only film that was nominated for best picture, and crossed the $100 million mark at the box office was the comedy "Juno," which, in the end, only received one win.

Another reason of such low television ratings is that not only were there no box office blockbusters showcased, but many of the acting awards were given to European actors that the American audience may not even have heard about.

Also, this year's low ratings can also due to the recently ended writers strike, which had threatened the Oscars, and also forced a cutback in the Golden Globes.