Academy Awards (Oscars)

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    Oscars Draw 18 Million Viewers, an 8% Drop

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    The show was broadcast on ABC, as it has been for decades, but also streamed live on Hulu, where there were glitches.The Academy Awards drew 18 million viewers on Sunday, ABC said, citing Nielsen data. That is an 8 percent drop from the 19.5 million who watched last year.The audience decline ends a three-year streak when Oscar ratings had been on the rise.The decline follows a trend among other award shows, which have seen their ratings growth come to a halt this year. The Grammy Awards attracted 15.4 million viewers last month, a 9 percent decline from the year before. The Golden Globes in January also saw a modest decline from last year.ABC said the Oscars had grown 3 percent among adults under the age of 50.ABC broadcast the Oscars on Sunday, as it has for decades, but the show also streamed live on Hulu, which helped boost viewership.The livestreaming experience, however, was far from perfect. There were glitches at the beginning of the show, and some subscribers did not see the finish, when their feed was abruptly cut off shortly before the best actress and best picture awards were given out.“Thank you for watching!” read the on-screen message. “This live event has now ended. You may exit playback and select something else to watch.”Still, even with this year’s decline in audience, the Oscars will be among the highest-rated entertainment shows of the year. And, perhaps more significant, the Oscars will go another year as the most-watched live awards show, continuing to best the Grammys.The show, which was hosted by Conan O’Brien, received mostly good reviews. Vanity Fair said it was “the best ceremony in years,” although Variety argued that “the telecast felt too small for Hollywood’s biggest night.”The ceremony was also long: It clocked in at nearly four hours.Sunday’s Oscars came nowhere close to the box office firepower of last year’s telecast, which was fueled by “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie.” “Anora” took home best picture on Sunday night, one of its five Oscar wins. But with that win, “Anora” secured a record for having the lowest domestic ticket sales in best picture history, outside of the pandemic. More

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      Adrien Brody’s Gum Toss Ahead of Best Actor Speech Gave Oscars a Memorable Moment

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      Adrien Brody had one of the strangest moments of this year’s Oscars. And it wasn’t his five-minute speech.Adrien Brody was en route to the stage at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night to collect his Oscar for best actor when it appeared to dawn on him that he had forgotten to do something — something important.So, halfway up the staircase, Mr. Brody paused and removed a piece of chewing gum from his mouth. But what to do with it? He turned to locate his girlfriend, Georgina Chapman, who stepped forward from her position in the front row as Mr. Brody readied himself to make a softball-style underhanded pitch to her.It was not a perfect toss. Ms. Chapman had to wheel to her right to catch what briefly became the most famous wad of chewed-up gum in the world. But she delighted in her feat, raising her arms in triumph as she returned to her seat just in time to see Mr. Brody accept his award from Cillian Murphy, last year’s winner in the category.Mr. Brody was not asked about the gum toss during his backstage interview after his win, so no further details were available about the type of gum it was, or how he decided against simply swallowing it.It was an unscripted moment for Mr. Brody and Ms. Chapman, whose relationship has drawn its share of tabloid attention. It also served as a bit of levity before Mr. Brody delivered a lengthy speech that focused, almost exclusively, on his hard path back to Hollywood pre-eminence thanks to his role in “The Brutalist,” for which he won the award.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      For Some Fans, Demi Moore’s Upset Loss for Best Actress Stung

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      Moore had been considered a favorite for her strong performance in “The Substance,” but lost to Mikey Madison of “Anora.”Demi Moore snagged statuettes all through the awards season for her dynamic performance in “The Substance,” a film about the indignities women past 50 face in Hollywood. She was favored by many to win the Oscar for best actress.But when the envelope was opened on Sunday night Moore, 62, was passed over in favor of Mikey Madison, 25, who pulled an upset and won the best actress trophy for playing a sex worker in the film “Anora.”While Madison’s performance was widely praised, her unexpected victory left many admirers of Moore puzzled and angry as it kept her from a perfect ending to her career comeback.One disappointed fan on social media said that each of Moore’s acceptance speeches this awards season had been “amazing” and that she would have loved to hear another from her at the Oscars. “Her performance was truly one of a kind, and I’m so happy both she and the film made it this far,” the supporter said. “Just wish she could’ve won.”On a subreddit dedicated to Moore’s upset, some fans suggested that her loss underscored one of the central themes of the film: the challenges older actresses face in a Hollywood that is obsessed with young women.One commenter noted that the academy had been observed in the past to “like young women and old men.” Another lamented: “Literally pouring all that brilliance on screen only for the younger actress who benefited from sex appeal and social hype to take that prestigious of an award from her.” Others pointed out that since “The Substance” was a body horror film, Moore had faced an uphill climb to win a best actress Oscar.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Inside the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscars Party

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      Zoe Saldaña stood in the middle of Vanity Fair’s Oscars after-party Sunday night, holding an In-N-Out burger in one hand and her best supporting actress statuette in the other.She hugged Cynthia Erivo twice and then grinned for a selfie with Gayle King. Queen Latifah applauded as she twirled at the center of a dance circle.If Adrien Brody had similar moves, he kept them to himself. He brought along his Oscar for best actor and his parents, who were asked over and over about how proud they must be of their son.“We’re so ashamed,” his father, Elliot Brody, deadpanned.At Vanity Fair’s annual post-Oscars party, the ceremony’s victors and also-rans streamed in one after another for a stiff drink or a victory lap.Kim Kardashian, left, and Helena ChristensenParis HiltonHalle BerryDanielle Brooks, left, and Cynthia ErivoWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      On the Ground at the Governors Ball 2025 Oscars Party

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      Adrien Brody, with his best actor statuette, for “The Brutalist.”Zoe Saldaña, who won best supporting actress for her role in “Emilia Pérez.”Conan O’Brien, who hosted the ceremony. Paul Tazewell, the “Wicked” costume designer, with his Oscar.Kieran Culkin, holding his statuette, with his manager Emily Gerson Saines.From left, Sean Baker and Samantha Quan of “Anora,” holding Oscars, and behind them, Wolfgang Puck.Willem Dafoe.Brandon Wilson of “Nickel Boys.”A server, in the shadows.Basel Adra, left, and Yuval Abraham, winners of the award for best documentary feature film for “No Other Land.” The director Gints Zilbalodis, who won for his animated feature “Flow.”Guests at the party. More

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      The Best Dressed Men at the 2025 Oscars Skipped the Traditional Tuxedo

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      At last night’s Oscars the men who skipped the penguin suits stole the spotlight. Stylists and brands should pay attention.If you wish to fully grasp Timothée Chalamet’s Oscars suit, you may do better to consult a food reporter rather than a fashion critic.They might be able to tell you the outfit was a shade of French butter. Or was it egg yolk? Perhaps just lemon?Whatever the tint of his monochrome look, Mr. Chalamet’s effervescent not-a-tux was the consensus gotta-talk-about-it outfit of the evening. There was certainly much to scrutinize. The jacket was cropped like a maitre d’s uniform. A tie? Overlooked. In its place, a dot of a pearl collar. The pants, which weren’t even suit pants but were, in fact, shaped like five pocket jeans, puddled indifferently around his glossed black boots.Timothée Chalamet was nominated for his role in “A Complete Unknown.” Nina Westervelt for The New York TimesIt’s unclear if this outfit was nodding to an outfit Bob Dylan once wore, as some of Mr. Chalamet’s carpet looks have during this award’s season sprint, but his Oscars look at least had the spirit of Dylan. (This critic’s theory: It was “Blonde on Blonde” in outfit form.) This was a suit that smirked at ceremony but felt glamorous and elevated despite it’s provocation.The unusual red carpet outfit also provided a crucial preview for Givenchy, who made it specially for Mr. Chalamet.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Fairy Tale Night of Sean Baker, Director of Dreams Gone Awry

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      Baker’s four Oscars for “Anora” are validation of his sensitive portrayals of people on the margins who always seem to come up short.Sean Baker came equipped with extra speeches, and that was wise: On the night of the Oscars, he wound up onstage four times to receive four statues.That’s not just unusual. It’s almost unheard-of.Baker’s film “Anora,” about a sex worker in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn who marries the son of a Russian oligarch and then watches it all go sideways, earned five Oscars overall on Sunday. One went to its ingénue star, Mikey Madison, and four to Baker: best director, best original screenplay, best editing and best picture.By taking home four Oscars on a single night, Baker joins just one other luminary: none other than Walt Disney, who pulled off the same trick in 1954. That year, Disney won best documentary feature (“The Living Desert”), best documentary short subject (“The Alaskan Eskimo”), best cartoon short subject (“Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom”) and best two-reel short subject (“Bear Country”).But even Disney didn’t pull off Baker’s feat: earning four Oscars on one night for the same movie. Doing so requires wearing a lot of hats, and Baker, who started his career in ultra-low-budget independent films, has a deep hatrack.Movies are a collaborative art, and even the most hands-on filmmakers work with a team of artists and craftspeople. But writing, directing, editing and producing a film leaves a distinctive personal mark. Disney, who was heavily involved with his studio’s projects, certainly did so. Similarly, “Anora” audiences who know Baker’s work probably spotted his fingerprints from the moment the film starts. (And not just because Baker emulates John Carpenter, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson by sticking with one typeface for the titles of all his films — Aguafina Script Pro, if you were wondering.)One of Baker’s hallmarks, the one people most often associate with him, is a focus on people who live on the margins of society, especially but not exclusively sex workers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Morgan Freeman Honors Gene Hackman at Oscars

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      Morgan Freeman honored Gene Hackman at the Academy Awards on Sunday, opening the telecast’s in memoriam segment by saying that the film community had “lost a giant.”Last week, Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in their home in New Mexico. In recent days, the question of how they died has consumed Hollywood and bewildered the community of Santa Fe.Freeman appeared with Hackman in the 1992 western “Unforgiven,” which won Hackman his second Oscar, and the 2000 thriller “Under Suspicion.”“Like everyone who ever shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone’s work,” Freeman said.Calling Hackman a “dear friend,” Freeman noted that the actor often said that he did not think about his legacy but hoped that people would remember him “as someone who tried to do good work.”“So I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you’ll be remembered for that, and for so much more,” Freeman said.The producers of the telecast had only a few days to decide how they would honor one of the giants of acting. On Wednesday, law enforcement found Mr. Hackman’s body in the mud room of his home outside Santa Fe, next to his cane and sunglasses. Ms. Arakawa’s body was discovered in a bathroom, near an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the countertop.An examination of Mr. Hackman’s pacemaker indicated that the actor had died on Feb. 17, the Santa Fe County sheriff said. A detective wrote in an affidavit that Ms. Arakawa’s body had shown signs of decomposition and that Mr. Hackman showed signs of death “similar and consistent” with his wife.It could take weeks or longer for investigators to piece together a timeline as they interview the couple’s contacts and wait for toxicology results and autopsy reports. More

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      Zoe Saldaña Wins Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in ‘Emilia Perez’

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      Zoe Saldaña won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in the Spanish-language musical “Emilia Pérez.”She plays Rita, a downtrodden Mexico City lawyer who decides to accept an offer to help Emilia Pérez, a drug cartel boss played by Karla Sofía Gascón, set up a new life after receiving gender-affirming surgery.Saldaña anchors what many critics pointed to as the film’s standout song, “El Mal,” during which Rita confronts corrupt politicians during a gala. (“El Mal” won the Oscar for best original song.)“Thank you to the academy for recognizing the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita,” Saldaña said.In her acceptance speech, Saldaña said her grandmother, who came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1961, would be proud of her win.“The fact that I’m getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish, my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted,” Saldaña said.The film headed into the ceremony with 13 nominations, the most this year. Its awards buzz was quieted, though, when a journalist resurfaced a series of racist comments posted by Gascón on social media years ago. Gascón apologized but in the wake of the scandal, Netflix refocused its awards campaign on Saldaña’s performance.She won in a category that included Monica Barbaro for her performance as Joan Baez in “A Complete Unknown”; Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good in “Wicked”; Felicity Jones in the period drama “The Brutalist”; and Isabella Rossellini in the papal election thriller “Conclave.” More